October 19, 1990
Democracy returns to Lasir; Mass scale reforms announcedFixing labor laws and decreasing military size first on the list On October 15, 1990, the military announced that it redrew all control of the government and would have the people establish a new government in return. The mysterious event was only a day after the presidential palace was bombed by unknown entities, killing many senior officials, including the president, inside. The new People's Republic of Lasir is being headed by Premier Ratri Bunnag until the first elections, in 2 months time, takes place. The new Constitution lays out a new government that is a mix of a representative and direct democracy. The unilateral congress, called the National People's Assembly, consists of 246 seats that are voted in via proportional representation. Each representative serves a term of 4 years, which corresponds with the Presidents. There is no upper house, with congress being checked by the President. The President is elected by a first-past-the-post system, and also serves for a term of 4 years. The executive branch is headed by the Cabinet, which the President oversees and appoints. The president is both the head of state and the head of government. If need be, the Assembly can impeach the president if they gather a 3/4 majority. A national referendum will also take place, requiring a 2/3 majority of the people as well. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court, which is given the power of judicial review, allowing it to judge laws whether they are constitutional or not. Judges are appointed to lifetime by the president with approval of Congress. The first elections for the People's Republic of Lasir will take place on December 3.
The people are given the right to referendum, to make sure the government's power doesn't get too out of hand. If a citizen acquires 50,000 votes within a period of 180 days, they can request a national referendum to null a law that Congress may have passed. The NPA is allowed to offer a counter-proposal, in which on the ballot during the referendum the people can decide to null the law, leave it as it is, or select the counter-proposal. If a citizen can acquire 130,000 votes within a period of 18 months, they can draft an amendment to the constitution and send it to Congress. Congress is not allowed to reword the amendment, but may offer a counter-proposal which might be better worded or fight the country better. In such a scenario, a national referendum will take place in which the people can vote for the original proposal, or Congress's counter-proposal. Additionally, any law that might change the lives of the Lasian people must go through a national referendum, winning by simple majority.
Premier Bunnag has announced two new major changes, one which will have to pass referendum, as a beginning of a so-called dynamic mass reform. He said in a statement this morning:
In order to make sure our country is never vulnerable to a military coup again, I am decreasing the size of the military to 980,000 active personnel. In addition, the ban on citizen ownership of firearms will be lifted. Citizens will now have the availability to buy semi-automatic pistols and some minor sub machine guns. The military, while needed for the defense of our country, has shown that even itself is vulnerable to corruption. Decreasing the size of the military will also decrease the financial burden on the Lasian government as we prepare ourselves for mass-scale economic reform. Therefore, my second action I would like to make will be a mass-scale economic reform, banning child labor, slavery, and the sale of human beings. This was an atrocious act caused by the weakness of the old dictatorship, one we will not allow in our new nation. Our nation is founded upon the belief that all individuals shall receive freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and the right to find happiness. I can tell you, these children are not happy. Slavery is now an act punishable by up to a lifetime sentence in prison for any person who holds another human being against their will. All such personnel are immediately ordered to return these children to their parents, or if unavailable, to the state, where they shall live in relative comfort until we can find them somewhere to stay. The Lasian National Police Force will be conducting a nationwide investigation in order to root out any scum who still refuse us. All children now must be of the age 15 or older in order to be employed by businesses, and such a contract must also be signed by the legal parent or guardian.
The Military Disarmament Act (or MDA) will have to pass a national referendum, though it is easy to see that the majority of people will vote in favor. Excess equipment is to be stockpiled, and the government has announced a variety of plans in order to help the unemployed veterans to find new jobs. It seems that Lasir is once again on a steady path to stability and happiness.
In other news, several political parties and candidates for the presidency have sprung up. So far, the left-wing Rykovian Socialist Union (RSU), central Lasian Center Party (LCP), centre-right Conservative Party of Lasir (CPL), and the far-right nationalist movement Lasir First (LF) have gathered a considerable following. In terms of the presidency, multiple candidates have shown up, but the polls show that its a close race between LCP candidate Ratana Sangsorn and Lasir First candidate Yahaya bin Senin. Sangsorn currently leads the polls by 57.8% to bin Senin's 42.2%, but who knows what could happen. Sangsorn has announced that she will try to seek major consensus in all things and try to bridge the gap with all parties in Congress, but bin Senin has announced very nationalistic ideas such as reduced immigration and protectionist tariffs. We will be updating you shortly.