Can't believe I forgot this. ]Fiovan Constitution 10.3.1:

QuoteIf a vacancy arises in the Praisidïeu the remaining members may co-opt any citizen to the vacant role in the Praisidïeu, subject to ratification of their choice by the General Assembly. If two or more vacancies arise in this way simultaneously, the Secretary of State shall declare the Praisidïeu to be vacant.

So who wants to be on Fiova's 3 person ruling council?

Why is a new citizen asking about joining the TNC at the same time he's talking to me via PM on joining the Free Democrats?

Estimat Túischac'h, my question is for the Minister of Technology.

On November 12 last year, the former Seneschal said that "the Database Replacement Committee will now be in my priority list".

Can the Minister of Technology please inform us as to whether this committee still exists, and if so, what work has it done?

This serves as the 14 days notice required under Party Constitution s.8.

Very vague agenda:
- election of Party President, Party Secretary, and Provincial Branch Chairs
- any amendments to the Party Constitution or Programme
- speeches

If you're not a member of the Free Democrats yet - you have 14 days to change that! PM me or Party Secretary @Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir

Quote from: Sir Txec dal Nordselvă, UrB on January 09, 2024, 11:24:07 AMEnlarging the Sabor with some ex-officio offices might be a good idea also, though I do believe that permanent membership should continue to be merit based.

Right. Check this out

BE IT ENACTED that El Lexhatx L.7, which currently reads:

Quote7. Among the first acts of his reign the King shall name a Privy Council (Sabôr, in Talossan) consisting of several Privy Councillors (called Guaïrs in Talossan) with whom he shall consult whenever possible on all matters of grave importance to the Kingdom, and whose duty shall be to offer the King the benefit of their individual and collective wisdom and advice. The King shall take care to include in this council those citizens with the longest and deepest connections to the ongoing historical life of the Kingdom, in particular those who are personally familiar with the homeland itself. Should at any time they deem it wise or necessary to do so, Privy Councillors, acting alone or in concert with fellow councillors, may publicly issue a "Letter to the King" about any matter of grave importance to the Kingdom. The Privy Councillors shall serve at the pleasure of the King. Privy Councillors shall be entitled to add the honorific initials "GST" to their signatures, for "Guaïr del Sabôr Talossán."

shall be amended with the addition of the following paragraph:

QuoteThe Seneschál and the Senior Justice of the Cort pü Inalt shall be Guaïrs ex officio.

BE IT ENACTED by the King, Senäts and Cosă in Ziu assembled that the following section shall be added to El Lexhatx A.7.3.1:

Quote7.3.1.1. "Sexual violence" shall include abuse of trust, where a Talossan citizen over the age of 18 initiates sexual conduct (physically or by means of words or images) with any person under the age of 18; and the citizen over 18 is in a position of supervision, authority or tutelage over said person under 18.

WHEREAS, given Talossa's unique nature in that it is all too easy to flee justice, it seems proper that criminal trials should be able to proceed without the defendant's presence;

AND WHEREAS this presents unique problems to ensure that the defendant gets a fair trial;

BE IT ENACTED by the King, Senäts and Cosă in Ziu assembled that the following section be added to El Lexhatx G.6.

Quote6.12. Trials in absentia. If the accused or their representative, being properly informed as stipulated by law, fails to respond to or participate in criminal proceedings as set out above, then a Public Defender shall be appointed to act for them. This Public Defender shall exercise all rights granted to the accused by Organic and statute law.

6.12.1. The accused shall have the right at any time during criminal proceedings "in absentia", to dismiss the Public Defender and to take over their own defence. In such a case, the accused may request that any evidence that had been presented in their absence be presented again; where this is not possible, they will be shown records of it and may comment on it.

6.12.2.  Where the case has ended with an enforceable judgment, the convicted party may request a fresh trial within two calendar months of the delivery of the judgment to them. The fresh trial may not lead to an outcome that would be less favorable to the defendant than the outcome of the previous in absentia trial.

Auspicious greetings to all Talossans on this, the 44th anniversary of Talossa's independence! Every time something bizarre happens in this country, I have to remind myself: we are all living in the imagination of a 14 year old boy. The question, given that, is not why Talossa is so weird, but why Talossa is not even weirder.

I bring you greetings on behalf of Talossa's opposition party, the Free Democrats. We are proud of our excellent performance in the General Election of September/October this year, which shocked and surprised many - including me. But we are also proud of how we have conducted ourselves as a constructive opposition after that. Our great success in that regard has been our accord with the Talossan National Congress (TNC) government, whereby the two parties agreed that to a consensus position on Organic Law issues and on the Chancery, the two issues which had attracted so much ill-tempered partisanship in recent years.

Our major goal in politics this year was to turn down the partisan heat of politics, and move to a new situation where both sides of the Cosa could keep things civil and work together for the national interest. I think we've accomplished that. It might be hard to remember how high partisan temperatures were just a few months ago. As recently as late October, my personal friend the former Mençéi and Senator from Benito was driven to renounce his citizenship, over what was objectively quite an innocuous remark. Because when things are so hot, even the mildest criticism gets turned interpreted as an unforgiveable slight on one's honour.

What a difference a few months makes. Just before the accord between the two major parties was signed, the leadership of the TNC were deploring what they called persistent partisan attacks from the Free Democrats. Then, when we concluded the accord to reduce those attacks... one of the leaders of the TNC quit in protest at it. People might be excused wondering what the real problem was, given that.

Although the accord has brought down the temperature so much - and importantly, led to a good relationship between myself and Seneschal Bråneu Excelsio - there are some who have raised valid criticisms that there is now too little partisan bickering - or, at least, that the relationship between Government and Opposition is now too "chummy", that the Opposition are not giving Government performance enough scrutiny and accountability. We acknowledge the justice in this complaint; we can only say that we were giving the new Government, which lost one of its leading members before it was even formed, a bit of grace. That has been extended because of the absence of another leading Government member, Baron Alexandreu Davinescu, on personal bereavement leave. But there are 4 other people in the current Cabinet. Patience cannot be extended forever.

The current TNC government is beginning to, simply put, beginning to drop the ball. Not organising a budget for the Second Clark is not a good sign. It is also not a good sign that one of its Senators appears to be sponsoring a bill which - on the face of it - contravenes the terms of the Accord. A party which cannot effectively present a united front among its legislators is not a party with whom trust can be built and binding agreements made.

But a weak government can bumble on indefinitely if it doesn't face a strong opposition. We remember this from our own history, where the Free Democrat-led government in the 56th Cosa dropped a whole lot of balls. It was not until a serious opposition evolved, in the guise of the TNC, that we were put back on our toes. To his credit, the Seneschal himself recognizes it - and has asked the Free Democrats to increase our scrutiny and our use of Terpelaziuns! Such a change from his predecessors who saw "Terps" as a hostile act. As I keep saying, Talossan politics are in a healthier position.

But they will not be fully healthy - I think - until there is a serious Alternative Government, until the Opposition (in the form of our party, or another one) comes up with a team of activists who could credibly claim to be able to take over the Government once given a mandate by the people. The Free Democrats have taken a step towards that with the recent naming of our Shadow Cabinet. But I don't think we've proved ourselves in that regard yet. To be the champ, you've got to whup the champ. To deserve to take over, you need to be better than the incumbents. The TNC did that a couple of elections ago. Can the Free Democrats do that now? If we don't, we risk handing over the mantle of "effective opposition" to people who lack our democratic mandate and our broad supporter base.

In the end, I think the unique selling point of the FreeDems - the reason we survived a shellacking two elections ago and bounced back - is that we are a party of ideology. Liberty and democracy first. We are devoted to a project where Talossa is a democratic country, based on rule of law, personal initiative and (yes) a reduction in the political role of the Monarchy and an increase in the centrality of elected officials. The TNC, in contrast, have presented themselves as something of a "post-ideology" party. While they do include a hard-core of monarchy enthusiasts from the defunct RUMP, the real reason why they rose so quickly to become the Government is that they were the "party of activity". For a while, all the active new citizens joined the TNC, which didn't impose any constitutional ideology upon them, but let them "do their thing". But what happens to the party of activity when its two most active members are no longer there? We're seeing that now.

There is something to be said for being a party of ideology, after all. But I would love the Free Democrats to become the party of activity as well. So I dearly hope that our performance as Opposition, and our process of building an Alternative Government, will inspire a new wave of enthusiastic, active new citizens to join our ranks. Hopefully our upcoming Party Convention will be an impetus for that.

Så vivadra Talossa! Så vivadra Talossa democrätic!

I direct my fellow MZ's attention to El Lexhatx G.11.1:

QuoteUppermost Cort Judges may be compelled to retire through organic removal from office through an act of the Ziu in accordance with Article VIII of the Organic Law. In accordance with the appropriate section, the inactivity of a Justice is defined as the failure of that Justice to act, rule, or appear in an open case the Justice is assigned to or participating in for more than 60 days, as certified by the Ziu in a majority vote.

Given the currently lack of anything in the matter of Hammond vs Cezembre before the CpI, it seems to me that Justice Owen Edwards will fall afoul of this section on January 10 2024, if he doesn't do something in the case before then. Does anyone have a contrary view?

I would also draw attention of the Ziu to Organic Law VIII.4, which reads in part:

QuoteEvery Judge of the Cort pü Inalt shall be subject to a re-appointment in intervals of five years, measured from when their initial appointment. These intervals may be increased two to no more than 10 years provided that any legislation retroactively applies to all sitting members of the Cort pü Inalt and is supported by two-thirds of the Cosa and a majority of the Senate in two consecutive Cosas.

Unless otherwise set by law, re-appointment shall be deemed automatic if no member of the Ziu has requested a re-appointment vote in the Cosa immediately preceding the expiration of the Judge's term; and re-appointment shall only require a simple majority of each house in the Ziu. The Ziu may modify the foregoing provided the requirements of re-appointment never exceed that for appointment.

Chief Judge Cjantschéir was appointed in 2014, and Judge Edwards in 2015. I merely point this out for information, as no-one has requested a reappointment vote... so far.

The Free Democrats of Talossa, His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Ziu, are pleased to unveil our team of spokespeople on the various Ministries of Government. These will also be the Members of the Ziu tasked with asking Terpelaziuns on these questions.

Miestră Schiva MC: Shadow Seneschal, Justice, Technology
Antalglha Xhenerös Somelieir MC: Culture, Immigration, Foreign Affairs
Senator Ian Plätschisch: Finance, Defence
Sir Lüc da Schir MC: STUFF

The Free Democrats have pledged to be a constructive Opposition, to maintain cordiality and co-operate with the Government where necessary and appropriate. Unfortunately, the Government has not lived up to its own publicity as the party of activity so far this term - the failure to produce a budget for the Second Clark is the main example of this. Presenting a credible alternative Government is the main way, in a parliamentary democracy, to keep the Government on its toes; and the Free Democrats are proud to do that.

Estimat Túischac'h, I rise to deliver a Terpelaziun to the Minister of Technology, as authorised by El Lexhatx H.2.

The question is: given that the Immigration form on the National Website is no longer working; and given that Wittenberg has - as I understand it - had to run from MinTech's personal server since our web service provider is no longer reliable; and given all the other questions raised in my Terpelaziun of July 24 this year, which do not seem to have been resolved either;

• 1. Given that the former Talossan Web Registrant, Istefan Perþonest, has been active in his capacity as CpI Justice within the last 2 months; and given that the Secretary of State has informed me that "Istefan is willing to receive email from any Talossan"; what steps have been taken to complete the transfer of domain names away from DoRoyal, as mentioned by MinTech in his response to the July 24 Terpelaziun?
• 2. Does the Government have a plan and a schedule for cutting our ties with DoRoyal altogether and moving to a new web provider; and if so, can they please present this plan to the Ziu?

The Free Democrats of Talossa



Who we are: a Talossan political party since 2016, dedicated to "liberty and democracy first"; 80 seats in the Cosa, 5 Senators, and some of the most important names in Talossan political and cultural history. ETA: and we'll be leading the incoming Government!

Leadership:
- @Miestră Schivă, Party President
- @Antaglhă Xhenerös Somelieir, Party Secretary

Party Constitution


Party Policy

The leadership, the constitution and the policy can all be changed at our Party Convention, scheduled for every winter (Talossan season). Next scheduled for December 2024-March 2025.

Place of business: apart from this board we have a private Discord forum for members.

How to join: post here! Or contact a member of the Party Leadership

https://wiki.talossa.com/Law:El_Lexhatx#H._Legislation

QuoteDue to a series of "catastrophic failures" 57PD10 added a Lexh.H.21 But it should already have been there because 57PD1 also introduced a § H.21 while simultaneously deleting § H.17 without providing for a renumbering that instead was carried out even though it was not authorised [1]. Therefore by reinstating former 57PD1 § H.21, the subsequent 57PD10 that explicitly provides for the introduction of a new section § H.21 causes a conflict that should automatically provide for the displacement of the already existing section. This situation should be cured by law.--Üc R. Tärfâ (talk) 03:19, 19 March 2023 (CDT)

I think I more or less grasp what Üc was saying here, but I confess I'm not exactly sure what form of legislation we need to introduce to "cure" it.

WHEREAS the Senäts elections alongside the 58th Cosă election clearly show the need for clear direction and consistency in how ties are broken in Ranked Choice Voting

BE IT ENACTED by the King, Cosă and Senäts in Ziu assembled that El Lexhatx B.14.7, which currently reads

Quote14.7. If, after any iteration, there are two or more candidates with the fewest ballots assigned to them, the candidate with the fewest first preferences assigned to him shall be eliminated. If these candidates all have the same number of first preferences assigned to them, the candidate with the fewest second preferences assigned to him shall be eliminated, and so forth.

    14.7.1. If no such distinction can be made between these candidates because all have the same number of votes on every level of preference, the remaining iterations shall be conducted under multiple scenarios. Each scenario shall eliminate one of the tied candidates.

        14.7.1.1 If the different scenarios described by B.14.7.1. result in the same winner of the election overall, the winning candidate shall become the Senator.
        14.7.1.2 If the different scenarios described by B.14.7.1. result in different winners of the election overall, the result will be considered a tie between the winners of the different scenarios and will be resolved in accordance with Org.IV.6.

shall be amended in its entirety to read:

Quote14.7. If, after any count, there are two or more candidates with the fewest ballots assigned to them, the candidate with the fewest ballots assigned to them after the previous count shall be eliminated. If the candidates were also tied after the previous count, the candidate with the fewest ballots assigned to them after the count before that shall be eliminated, and so on until one candidate is eliminated.

14.7.1. If no such distinction can be made between the tied candidates because all have the same number of ballots assigned to them after each count, preliminary subsequent counts shall be conducted under multiple scenarios. Each scenario shall eliminate one of the tied candidates.

        14.7.1.1 If the different scenarios described by B.14.7.1 result in the same winner of the election overall, that candidate shall be declared the winner.

        14.7.1.2 If the different scenarios described by B.14.7.1 result in different winners of the election overall, all of the originally tied candidates who would not win under any scenario shall be eliminated simultaneously, and subsequent counts shall proceed according to B.14.6. If all of the tied candidates would win under at least one scenario, the result shall be considered a tie between all candidates who would win under at least one scenario, and shall be resolved in accordance with the Organic Law.

Estimat Túischac'h, I rise to ask a question of the Seneschal, as authorised by El Lexhatx H.2. Well, I don't have much choice in which member of the Government to address - because as far as I can tell there's only one so far!

My question is twofold:
a) when will the 59th Cosa Cabinet be announced?

b) are all or some of the outgoing 58th Cosa Cabinet members still in their posts in a caretaker basis; or is the Seneschal running the whole government by himself temporarily; or a combination? I ask because clearly Danihél Txechescu is clearly still administering the National Webspace; but the Seneschal himself appears to have taken over Immigration from his predecessor.

Grült méirçi.

So the Bureau of Home Affairs has gotten in touch requesting that each province provide, among other things,

"*For each province to register at least one landmark and at least one community with the National Registry"

I recommend that Fiova's landmark be the Bronze Fonz, located on the western border of Cuféir Canton.

Any better ideas? (Not sure what they mean by "community", maybe @Home Affairs can elaborate?)

Is the new session of Vuode's legisature interested at all in changing your current provision for Senäts elections which requires candidates to nominate well in advance, with no write-ins, which means that (by my count) there has not been a competitive Senäts election in Vuode for at least 4 years?

Three different controversies have prevented the new Senäts from properly convening and doing its business, with knock-on effects on the Cosă and the formation of a new government. I am still technically representing a party to a Cort pü Inalt case in one of those controversies (the Cézembre election), so I will here comment on the other two.

The Maricopa Senäts election

When Txoteu Davinescù took his case to the CpI about improper organisation of the tiebreaker in this election, a lot of comment was negative towards him in that the Premier of Maricopa was pressed for time and so had to organise a poker match at 24 hours notice during US working hours. The argument that the Maricopa Senäts race had to be finalised quickly makes a lot of sense. But given that, what doesn't make a lot of sense is the Premier of Maricopa's decision to drag out the controversy in front of the CpI. Txoteu has given his consent for an alternative tie-breaker which could be done instantly - the Maricopa Premier has "acknowledged" that but clearly doesn't want to do it, preferring to stick to a Cort case (which might take weeks) insisting on their right to, um, organise a poker match at 24 hours during US working hours because time was a factor?

The Mençéi election

Traditionally the Mençéi, the "honorable President" of the Senäts and a member of the CRL responsible for checking legislation for defects, goes to a long-standing and experienced Senator, preferably from outside the governing party. So naturally, the newest Senator from the governing party nominated himself for the post within five seconds of assuming his seat - and his whole party supported him.

It's generally accepted that in the recent election, the TNC suffered a small setback in votes because opposition claims that they had a tendency to excessive partisanship and a dismissive attitude to those outside their party resonated with the voters. It seems to me that we are currently bogged down in organising Talossa's legislature, partly because of those very factors.

I would recommend that we adopt a principle of climbing down when insisting on our "right" to do things our way is derailing things; that the Premier of Maricopa accept Txoteu Davinescù's suggestion of an alternative tie breaker; the TNC Senators abandon their effort to make a brand-new Senator Mençéi (why not the Senator from Vuode, who at least has a bit of experience, if they must put up a candidate?); and we can get this show on the road properly.

WHEREAS Cunstaváis serve for an indefinite term, which encourages a do-nothing attitude:

BE IT ENACTED that Organic Law XI.4 be amended from the current:

QuoteThe King shall appoint a Cunstavál (or Constable) for each Province. Until such time as the King or Cunstavál proclaims a provincial constitution providing otherwise, a Province's Cunstavál shall serve as Military Governor and may exercise all the powers of the provincial government. No Cunstavál shall proclaim any provincial constitution, nor shall any province pass a constitutional amendment, which conflicts with any provision of this Organic Law or with any other national law, or grants to the Cunstavál royal powers less extensive than those granted to the King on the national level (except that the provincial royal powers need not include a right of dissolution if provincial elections are held concurrently with Cosâ elections). No Cunstavál shall proclaim any provincial constitution which has not been approved by a referendum in which at least either a majority of all citizens of the province or a two-thirds majority of votes actually cast is in favor of the constitution. No person shall be at the same time Cunstavál of one province and the leader of the provincial government of another province.

to read in its entirety as follows:

Quote1. Every royal power that the King possesses as granted by this Organic Law shall also apply to the provincial governments; with the exception that the provincial royal powers need not include a right of dissolution if provincial elections are held concurrently with Cosâ elections.

2. The King may appoint a Cunstavál (or Constable) for any Province to exercise these powers on his behalf, for a term not exceeding three years. The King may reappoint a Cunstavál. The terms of existing Cunstaváis shall expire no later than three years after the adoption of this amendment.

3. Until such time as the King or Cunstavál proclaims a provincial constitution providing otherwise, the King or Cunstavál shall serve as Military Governor and may exercise all the powers of the provincial government.

4. The King or Cunstavál shall not proclaim any provincial constitution, nor shall any province pass a constitutional amendment, which conflicts with any provision of this Organic Law or with any other national law.

5. The King or Cunstavál shall not proclaim any provincial constitution which has not been approved by a referendum in which at least either a majority of all citizens of the province or a two-thirds majority of votes actually cast is in favor of the constitution.

6. No person shall be at the same time Cunstavál of one province and the leader of the provincial government of another province.

Thank you so much, Free Democrats of Talossa!

I don't think it's too much to argue that we brought our Party back from the dead this election. Thank you to Antaglha, our Party Secretary; thank you to our other candidates Eðo, Lüc and Txoteu. And thank you to every single member of the Free Democrats, who turned out to vote, and gave us (in terms of seats) our third-best election result ever, coming after the shellacking we got last time.

Thank you also to the new citizens who responded to my appeal, and voted for a party that would set a curb against Government power grabs. I urge all the new citizens who voted for the Free Democrats (and I might mention Koray from Atatürk and Tamás from Cezembre, who did so publicly) to consider joining our party, in time for our upcoming Convention, regularly scheduled for January.

Although we defied the odds and the best predictions by dragging our party back into contention, you may have noticed that we still didn't "win" the election. I put it to you that if we want to win the election, we need to have a credible Alternative Government Team, and we need a Party Culture which can offer something to get new citizens (and old-timers, for that matter) actively involved, and enthusiastic about our message of liberty and democracy first.

I should note, finally, that I have contacted Bråneu Excelsio to congratulate his party on their first-place finished, and suggested ways in which we can dial down the partisan nastiness which has long bedeviled Talossa, and make the 59th Cosă a scene of real cross-party collaboration.

¡Så vivadra Talossa! Så vivadra Talossa democrätic!