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offtopic:crisis_of_2009

The AH.com Political Crisis of 2009

The Territorial Crisis

A policy opposed by the EVIL party and DISSPR, albeit supported by personages such as Krall, was the relocation of Parliament to the Moon; in an effort to win votes on a territorial reform bill, MP Susano included this provision in the bill, proposing the incorporation of the satellite as a capital territory.

Abdul Hadi Pasha vs Susano

The Moon already being one of the AH.com Territories, Abdul Hadi Pasha's Sultanate of the Moon, it proved politically impossible to place it under Parliamentary rule. Disputes related to this resulted in Abdul Hadi Pasha ceasing to recognize Parliamentary supremacy over his demesne; subsequently, Susano separated Alsace-Lorraine from Presidential authority. Acting President Hashasheen decided to simply ignore the two feuding territories, which didn't help.

The Prime Minister Crisis

The Second Republic

On the Night of September 23rd, Former President Leo Caesius came forward with an attempt to end the crisis by proclaiming the Second Imperial Republic of AH.com, a project that met with degrees of support from throughout the AH.com political spectrum:

Fellow AH.com Members,

When the former regime assumed the reins of government in August of 2009, under the direction of President TheDarkServant and Prime Minister Maverick, its accession was heralded in the history of this forum. With our great forum at the mercy of political misdirection and groaning under the weight of a thousand spammers, a new sense of hope was created in the mind of every AH.commer.

Of late, however, we have witnessed a systematic denigration of that hope. The promised sense of direction and newfound unity, so often to be found upon the lips of our newly elected parliamentarians, is today nowhere to be found. The initial objectives of the regime were betrayed. Pointless partisan bickering has rendered the erstwhile promises of the former government a sad joke.

It is with a heavy heart that I, in my capacity as Honorary Chairman of the AH.com Bridge Association, must hereby declare the suspension of the AH.com Parliament. Elections will be held at the beginning of the next month, Oct. 1-4. Until that point, the role of the former regime has been suspended and AH.com will remain under martial law.

The following Revolutionary Charter is now in place.

AH.com Charter of the Second Republic

We the members of AH.com hereby adopt the following Charter:

CHAPTER 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS

I. The members of AH.com and its associated Territories form the Federation of AH.com.

II. The Federation of AH.com exists as a member-driven political RPG, NOT as an actual government for the Board.

CHAPTER 2: CITIZENSHIP

I. Every member of AH.com is considered a citizen of the Federation of AH.com.

II. No member may be denied admittance to a Territory.

III. No member may be a citizen of more than one Territory.

IV. The right to move between Territories is granted to each member.

CHAPTER 3: TERRITORIES

I. The Territories of AH.com are sovereign insofar as their sovereignty is not limited by this Charter, and exercise all rights not transferred by themselves to the Federation.

II. The Territories are annexed by the President; he may not annex more than three per term.

III. The Governors of the Territories are appointed by the President for terms of whatever length he deems proper; the terms of Governors of existing Territories are indefinite.

IV. The Governors of the Territories may not be removed by Parliament or the President until their terms have ended, except in the case of inactivity.

V. A Governor of a Territory shall be considered inactive if he does not make post while acting in the capacity of Territorial Governor during a period of one year.

VI. Each Territory with 10 or more citizens may send a Deputy to the Diet for each full 10 citizens it has; these Deputies may be selected or appointed in any way the Governor of that Territory deems proper.

VII. The Electoral Officer will enumerate the number of citizens residing in a Territory 24 hours prior to the Parliamentary elections with the assistance of the Territorial Governor.

VIII. Any elected Territorial body may remain in session for no more than one week per month.

IX. No elected Territorial body will hold elections more frequently than biannually.

CHAPTER 4: DIET

I. The Diet is the lower house of Parliament.

II. The Diet shall be constituted of 15 National Deputies, elected for one year terms, and any Territorial Deputies which may be sent by qualifying Territories; the Territorial Deputies shall have the same voting rights and privileges as the National Deputies.

III. The Deputies shall have sole power to propose legislation.

IV. The Deputies shall elect a Prime Minister at the beginning of each term by majority vote. If no majority exists, the Deputy with the most votes shall be Prime Minister.

V. A new election for Prime Minister will be held if a majority of the Deputies vote in favor a motion of no confidence.

VI. In the case of resignation by a Prime Minister, a new election of the Prime Minister shall be held.

VII. The place of a Deputy who resigns shall remain vacant until the next election.

VIII. A Deputy may be expelled from Parliament by two -thirds vote.

IX. A law which does not contravene any aspect of this Charter shall be considered passed by the Diet by majority vote.

X. Voting on a law may not extend for longer than one session; a law that is not passed at the end of a session shall be considered to have failed.

XI. The Diet may overturn the veto of the President by two-thirds vote.

XII. The Diet may overrule the objection of the Landsraad by majority vote.

XIII. The Diet may amend this Charter by two-thirds vote in conjunction with the Landsraad.

XIV. The Diet may impeach the President and remove him from office by two-thirds vote in conjunction with the Landsraad.

XV. The Diet may never constrain its own powers from removing any institution or office which it creates.

XVI. The Diet may remain in session for no more than one week per month; a session may end early upon a two-thirds vote of Parliament.

CHAPTER 5: LANDSRAAD

I. The Landsraad is the upper house of Parliament.

II. The Landsraad shall be constituted of five Lords, elected for one year terms, and any Representatives which may be sent by qualifying Workers’ Councils; these Representatives shall have the same voting rights and privileges as the Lords within the Landsraad.

III. The five Lords of the Landsraad will be apportioned between the peerages as follows: one from the British Peerage, two from the American Peerage, one from the German and Chinese Peerages combined, and one from the International Peerages and Lords Spiritual combined.

IV. The Landsraad may object to any law passed by Parliament by majority vote; if no member of the Landsraad objects within 24 hours of a law’s passage, it shall be considered passed.

V. If the Landsraad does not rule definitively on a law before the end of a Parliamentary session, it shall be considered passed.

VI. The Landsraad may amend this Charter by two-thirds vote in conjunction with the Diet.

VII. The Landsraad may impeach the President and remove him from office by two-thirds vote in conjunction with the Diet.

VIII. The Landsraad may remain in session for no more than one week per month; a session may end early upon a two-thirds vote of the Landsraad. CHAPTER 6: EXECUTIVE

I. The President is the head of the executive branch of government.

II. The President may appoint any Cabinet members to posts which he deems proper.

III. In the case that the President appoints more than ten Cabinet members, Parliament may reject any additional Cabinet member by majority vote, not subject to veto.

IV. A member of the Cabinet may be removed by two-thirds vote of Parliament at any time.

V. The President shall have sole power to appoint Territorial Governors; in the case that a Territorial Governor resigns or is inactive, the President shall appoint a replacement.

VI. The President has sole power to sign laws.

VII. The President may veto any piece of legislation; it shall be still be considered law if Parliament overturns his veto by two-thirds vote.

VIII. The President may appoint one Vice-President.

IX. In the case of absence, resignation, or inactivity of the President, the Vice-President shall take over his duties.

X. In the case of absence, resignation, or inactivity of the Vice-President, the President may appoint a new Vice-President.

XI. In the case of absence, resignation, or inactivity of the President and Vice-President, the Prime Minister shall take over his duties.

XII. In the case of absence, resignation, or inactivity of the President, Vice-President, and Prime Minister, the members of the Cabinet shall take over the President’s duties, in order of precedence established by the President upon his taking office.

CHAPTER 7: WORKERS’ COUNCILS

I. Respecting the rights of the workers of AH.com to convene for their common benefit, and to ensure that the power of the nobility is checked, this Charter establishes the political instrument of the Workers’ Council.

II. A Workers’ Council may be founded by any citizen of the Federation of AH.com.

III. Each Workers’ Council with 10 or more citizens may send a Representative to the Landsraad for each full 10 citizens it has; these Representatives may be selected or appointed in any way the members of that Workers’ Council deem proper.

IV. The Electoral Officer will enumerate the number of citizens contained in a Workers’ Council 24 hours prior to the Parliamentary elections with the assistance of the members of the Workers’ Council.

CHAPTER 8: ELECTIONS

I. Parliamentary elections will be held for 48 hours from October 2 to October 4 annually.

II. Parties must be registered with the Electoral Officer in a thread that will open 24 hours prior to the election, and close immediately prior to the beginning of the election.

III. The 15 National Deputies of the Diet will be elected using a party-based, closed list system.

IV. The Sainte-Laguë method will be used to select Deputies.

V. The Territories shall select Deputies to the Diet on the same dates as the Parliamentary elections.

VI. A tie in the Diet elections will be resolved by a run-off of individuals lasting 24 hours taking place immediately after the conclusion of the Parliamentary elections.

VII. Presidential elections will consist of one or two rounds: the first will be held for 48 hours from October 1 to October 3 annually, a second, if required, will be held for 48 hours from October 3 to October 5 immediately after the first round.

VIII. Candidates for the Presidency must register with the Electoral Officer in a thread that will open 24 hours prior to the election, and close immediately prior to the beginning of the election.

IX. If a candidate receives over half of the votes in the Presidential election in the first round, he will be elected President.

X. If no candidate receives over half of the votes in the first round of the Presidential election, the two candidates with the most votes will compete in a runoff election: the winner will be elected President.

XI. The Lords of the Landsraad will be elected by personal messages sent to the Electoral Officer from October 2 to October 4 annually.

XII. Each Peer may cast only one vote; this vote may be cast in any region in which the Peer holds a title.

XIII. Each Peer’s vote will count the same as the vote of any other Peer.

XIV. The Sainte-Laguë method will be used to select the Lords of the Landsraad.

XV. The Workers’ Councils shall select Representatives to the Landsraad on the same dates as the Parliamentary Elections.

XVI. A tie in the Landsraad elections will be resolved by a run-off of individuals lasting 24 hours taking place immediately after the conclusion of the Parliamentary elections.

Following the proclamation of the Second Republic, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of War and Peace Douglas placed Operational Order #2 into effect, closing Parliament and calling for elections to be held on October 1-4.

Acting President Hashasheen, with the Stranger Syndicate and his Paramilitary organization, the OSA, offered their support, which was also offered by the leadership of the EVIL party to an extent for some time during the revolution.

Thus Vice President Lightinfa and Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition Susano were teleported to a Steampunk Death Star in orbit for mandatory conferences over tea, while several regional and personal militias were disarmed by forces of the Second Republic.

Gotterdammerung

On September 24th, The Almigthy IAN put an end to AH.com politics after an entire day spent in discussions and fights over the legality of the abovementioned actions.

The last activity of the AH.Com Government took place at the most recently created territory of Lesser Latvia and Lesser Lithuania, which was holding an election at the time and was immune from the effects of the crisis.

At the Latvian-Lithuanian capital of Skaistkalne-Germaniskis, the AH.com Political system was put to an end by its founder, Douglas, aka Fenkmaster, who reminisced about the recent events by remembering the birth of the republic and resigning from his post as Governor of Lesser Latvia and Lesser Lithuania,thus ending a lengthy chapter in the Board's history.

Epilogue

A discussion immediately ensued among participants and well- and ill-wishers over the future of the political system.

offtopic/crisis_of_2009.txt · Last modified: 2019/03/29 15:13 by 127.0.0.1

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