Okay cünpartiaes, I'm going to set up a draft post here outlining everything we've got so far to vote on. WE ARE NOT VOTING ON IT YET - that'll wait until after the guest speeches.

Nominations for Party President:
Miestră Schivă

Nominations for Party Secretary:
@Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir

Nominations for Provincial Branch Chairs:
(none yet))

Proposed Amendments to the Party Constitution (need 2/3 majority):

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 1: MEMBERSHIP
That Section IV of the Constitution be changed from:

QuoteIV. Membership shall be open to all Talossan citizens. The Secretary of the Party shall be entitled, no more than once a year, to conduct a Census of all party members to make sure they still see themselves as Party members and that their contact details are up to date. Any member who does not respond to this Census within 30 days shall be deemed to have resigned from the Party.

to:

QuoteIV.
a. Membership shall be open to all Talossan citizens who agree to abide by this Constitution, endorse the Party Policy, and are not currently members of another nationally registered party. However, the rights of any party member in good standing to seek changes to the Constitution or Policy in accordance with this Constitution shall never be infringed.

b. A prospective member must provide such contact information to the Party Secretary as the Party Secretary may ask for. The Party Secretary shall keep this information confidential, to be shared only with the Party Leadership, and used only for party business.

c. The Secretary of the Party shall be entitled, no more than once a year, to conduct a Census of all party members to make sure they still see themselves as Party members and that their contact details are up to date. A Party member who does not reply to this census within 30 days shall be deemed to have offered their resignation, which shall be accepted at the discretion of the Party Leadership.

CONSTIUTIONAL AMENDMENT 2: SUSPENSIONS AND EXPULSIONS
That section XIII of the Constitution be changed from:

QuoteXIII. In the event that a member is acting in a way that is damaging to the reputation of the Free Democrats, a petition representing at least half of the party membership may be presented to the party leader asking for the member's removal. The party leader shall schedule closed removal proceedings and notify the member in question, along with a copy of the petition, no less than ten days before such proceedings are to begin. During the proceedings, the member shall be afforded an opportunity to present his defense, and other members may also make their own arguments for or against the removal. On the fifth day of the proceedings, the party leader shall call a closed vote to be held on the removal. If two-thirds (2/3) of the membership vote in to remove, the member shall immediately be removed, and the party leader shall publicly announce the removal. A removed member shall be eligible to rejoin the Free Democrats after two General Elections following the removal.

to:

QuoteXIII.
a) The Party Leadership, upon petition of at least 1/2 of party members or at its own initiative by majority vote, shall suspend members for:
i) stated violations of this Constitution;
ii) publicly voting for or joining another nationally registered party;
iii) bringing the party into disrepute in a stated way.

b) A suspension decision, the justification for it, and the provisions for lifting this suspension (as contained in the rest of this section) shall be communicated to the suspended member as soon as possible and through all possible means of communication. A suspended member's rights under this Constitution shall cease to apply during their suspension, including the right to participate in Party discussion forums.

c) On the first day of the next Party Convention, the Party Leadership shall publicly announce a recommendation for every suspended member whether to lift their suspension, continue their suspension until the next Convention, or to expel the member. A recommendation to lift suspension shall be effected immediately. A recommendation to continue suspension or to expel shall take effect after 5 days, unless the suspended member addresses the Convention requesting a hearing.

d) A hearing shall be held in closed session and shall be chaired by a Talossan citizen agreed to by both the suspended member and the Party leadership. The Party Leadership shall make the case for continued suspension or expulsion, and the suspended member may make a case against this decision. Debate shall then ensue, in which other party members may make their own arguments or statements, moderated by the chair of the hearing. After no fewer than five days, the chair of the hearing shall call for a vote as to whether to accept or reject the Party Leadership's recommendation. A quorum of no less than 1/2 of current membership shall be required to endorse a motion to continue suspension or to expel. If the vote fails, the member's suspension shall be immediately lifted. The outcome of the hearing shall be immediately publicly announced.

e) An expelled member shall be eligible to rejoin the Free Democrats after two General Elections following the expulsion.

Proposed Amendments to the Party Platform (majority vote):

PROPOSAL 1:
That Section B of the Party Platform be changed from:

QuoteB. CUTTING THE RED-AND-GREEN TAPE
Talossa's government and legal structure is top-heavy, unwieldy, hard to navigate and no fun. We support the repeal of all laws and abolition of all Government posts and procedures which are more trouble than they are worth to keep going. We want a smaller, consistently active Cabinet, a Ziu which offers active oversight of the Cabinet and intelligent scrutiny of laws, and a functioning Judiciary.

to:

QuoteB. A POLITICAL SYSTEM FOR EVERYONE
Free Democrats want a political system where *democracy and expertise* balance each other. We want an end to "green-and-red tape"; our politics and laws have to be simple and straightforward enough that any citizen can become a political leader or seek justice in the Corts with minimal training. In turn, the Royal Civil Service should recruit those with specialist skills to work for the Kingdom independently but under political supervision.

PROPOSAL 2:
That Section A of the Party Platform be amended by adding the following:

QuoteWe oppose any attempts to change the current provisions to replace or establish a successor to the Monarchy - that is, the standard provisions of Organic Law amendment - without a full reform and/or replacement of provisions for Talossa's Head of State.

PROPOSAL 3:
That a new Section  of the Party Platform be added:

QuoteSECTION E. FEDERALISM REFORM
We advocate for a centralized federation in which the provinces are constitutionally guaranteed their right to exist, the right to territorial integrity, and their right to sustain a population of citizens; but in which all powers of the provinces are granted by legislation of the national Ziu, rather than by the Organic Law. We also support the abolition of the Senäts, coupled with a change in how the Organic Law is amended so that ratification requires both a majority of voting citizens of Talossa at large and a majority of voting citizens in a majority of provinces.

Quote from: Bentxamì Puntmasleu on February 22, 2024, 10:48:47 PM"With the aim of preserving and further developing distinctive provincial cultures and traditions, we commit ourselves to cooperating with the citizens of all provinces toward reforming Talossa's federal structure."

The more I think about it, the more I think it's obvious that provincial mergers will never happen as long as every province gets a Senäts seat - in fact the incentive is towards *more* provinces if they can be made. But at the same time there is *no* incentive towards active provincial governments! What can be done?

Obviously the guest speeches haven't happened yet, lol. We've got two people who've put their hands up and we're waiting on them. After that I suppose we'll get to voting.

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?

If it were up to me, I would downgrade provinces to "local governments" without their own sovereignty, which only have the powers delegated to them by the Ziu. Which makes sense because Talossa is not really a federation at all, the Kingdom was created as a unitary state. I would personally want a unicameral Mixed Member Proportional Cosa as well, but that'd be too high a mountain to climb just now.

Quote from: Bentxamì Puntmasleu on February 22, 2024, 10:48:47 PMIf it isn't already too late, I propose that, somewhere in our program, we state that we are in favor of some kind of reform of the federal system. I don't think it needs to be too specific at the moment (although I, and I assume others, have specific ideas of how Talossan federalism might be reformed), just convey to the public that it is something we're interested in. Tentatively, a clause like this or something:

"With the aim of preserving and further developing distinctive provincial cultures and traditions, we commit ourselves to cooperating with the citizens of all provinces toward reforming Talossa's federal structure."

Of course, I would not object to proposals to reword that or make it more specific.

I honestly think we need some specific ideas. The biggest problem with Talossan federalism is that while - on one hand - provincial governments only exist intermittently and rarely do anything, on the other hand, the Senäts has a veto over any changes; and that previous attempts to merge provinces have failed because it means someone loses a Senäts seat. So in summary, provinces are not functioning as units of government; but operate as "electorates for Senators" and Senators are very jealous of that. So, the question is: is it possible to reform federalism in any meaningful way (reducing the number of Provinces, increasing or decreasing their independent powers, depowering or changing the franchise for the Senäts) that persuades at least 6 Senators (see OrgLaw XII:1)

Can I just ask: do your preferred reforms go in the direction of a more centralised (the Kingdom has more power) constitution, or a more decentralised (provinces have more power) system?

Yes hello, please to be Clarking this

Remember that RZ6 is an OrgLaw amendment and will need to go to referendum

Okay, we seem to have good consensus on some Constitution and Platform amendments. We have nominations for both President and Secretary. I would like to get to voting after the guest speech section, which will be this weekend. Anyone else want to speak / propose something / nominate someone?

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on February 17, 2024, 04:55:34 PMOkay, how about this: replace existing Plank B of our program:

QuoteB. CUTTING THE RED-AND-GREEN TAPE
Talossa's government and legal structure is top-heavy, unwieldy, hard to navigate and no fun. We support the repeal of all laws and abolition of all Government posts and procedures which are more trouble than they are worth to keep going. We want a smaller, consistently active Cabinet, a Ziu which offers active oversight of the Cabinet and intelligent scrutiny of laws, and a functioning Judiciary.

With this:

QuoteB. A POLITICAL SYSTEM FOR EVERYONE
Free Democrats want a political system where *democracy and expertise* balance each other. We want an end to "green-and-red tape"; our politics and laws have to be simple and straightforward enough that any citizen can become a political leader or seek justice in the Corts with minimal training. In turn, the Royal Civil Service should recruit those with specialist skills to work for the Kingdom independently but under political supervision.

I'd like some feedback on this

I kind of want to go through this to explain the process as I envisage:

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN on February 18, 2024, 12:20:47 AMXIII.
a) The Party Leadership, upon petition of at least 1/2 of party members or at its own initiative by majority vote, shall suspend members for:
i) stated violations of this Constitution;
ii) publicly voting for or joining another nationally registered party;
iii) bringing the party into disrepute in a stated way.

b) A suspension decision, the justification for it, and the provisions for lifting this suspension (as contained in the rest of this section) shall be communicated to the suspended member as soon as possible and through all possible means of communication. A suspended member's rights under this Constitution shall cease to apply during their suspension, including the right to participate in Party discussion forums.

c) On the first day of the next Party Convention, the Party Leadership shall publicly announce a recommendation for every suspended member whether to lift their suspension, continue their suspension until the next Convention, or to expel the member. A recommendation to lift suspension shall be effected immediately. A recommendation to continue suspension or to expel shall take effect after 5 days, unless the suspended member addresses the Convention requesting a hearing.

d) A hearing shall be held in closed session and shall be chaired by a Talossan citizen agreed to by both the suspended member and the Party leadership. The Party Leadership shall make the case for continued suspension or expulsion, and the suspended member may make a case against this decision. Debate shall then ensue, in which other party members may make their own arguments or statements, moderated by the chair of the hearing. After no fewer than five days, the chair of the hearing shall call for a vote as to whether to accept or reject the Party Leadership's recommendation. A quorum of no less than 1/2 of current membership shall be required to endorse a motion to continue suspension or to expel. If the vote fails, the member's suspension shall be immediately lifted. The outcome of the hearing shall be immediately publicly announced.

e) An expelled member shall be eligible to rejoin the Free Democrats after two General Elections following the expulsion.

Basically, if the Party Leadership suspends someone (or is required to by petition of the membership) that suspension will last at least until the next Convention, i.e. the leadership won't be able to end it early. I think this is necessary to stop "wheeling and dealing", i.e a Leadership telling a suspended member "your suspension will be lifted if you toe the line". If a suspension happens it can't be a casual thing, it must have consequences, and its outcome should only be decided by a membership vote. Conversely, a suspension can't last beyond the next Convention (or turned into an expulsion) without that membership vote. So I'm trying to make sure the Leadership can hand out suspensions when necessary but to minimise the control they have over the process in favour of the membership as a whole deciding.

Oh, while I'm at it, change e) to read as follows:

Quotee) An expelled member shall be eligible to rejoin the Free Democrats after two General Elections following the expulsion. A member whose suspension is lifted at a Convention may not be suspended again for the same cause.

(This to stop a suspension expiring at a Convention and the party leadership just yelling HUTSCH-TÚ and reimposing it immediately.)

Sound good?

Quote from: Ian Plätschisch on February 18, 2024, 08:45:14 AM

Quote from: Bentxamì Puntmasleu on February 16, 2024, 03:38:51 PM"We stand against attempts by the King, Privy Council, or government, to expand the powers of the royal authority, or to fortify the position of the monarchy."

Not the biggest fan of this since I can't guarantee there would never be a time I could support more royal power on some issue. Also, what exactly does "fortifying the position of the Monarchy" mean? I certainly don't want it to get weaker.

Coming from the most monarchist party member so feel free to ignore.

As possibly the *least* monarchist party member, lol, the issue with this is that it's hypothetical. Neither the King, the Sabor nor the Government are currently trying to expand the powers of the monarchy. So this is kind of empty and voters might be excused for wondering what we're worried about. In contrast, I really strongly want us to adopt this for obvious reasons:

QuoteWe oppose any attempts to change the current provisions to replace or establish a successor to the Monarchy - that is, the standard provisions of Organic Law amendment - without a full reform and/or replacement of provisions for Talossa's Head of State.

Scuse me, but is this an actual legislative proposal? I'm confused by the "we support" stuff

All right, here are my suggested rewrites for @Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir's constitutional amendments. I have rephrased her second suggestion as a rewrite to Section XIII of the Constitution, to which it properly pertains.

So, my suggestion is that Section IV be changed to read:

Quote"IV.
a, Membership shall be open to all Talossan citizens who agree to abide by this Constitution, endorse the Party Policy, and are not currently members of another nationally registered party. However, the rights of any party member in good standing to seek changes to the Constitution or Policy in accordance with this Constitution shall never be infringed.

b. A prospective member must provide such contact information to the Party Secretary as the Party Secretary may ask for. The Party Secretary shall keep this information confidential, to be shared only with the Party Leadership, and used only for party business.

c. The Secretary of the Party shall be entitled, no more than once a year, to conduct a Census of all party members to make sure they still see themselves as Party members and that their contact details are up to date. A Party member who does not reply to this census within 30 days shall be deemed to have offered their resignation, which shall be accepted at the discretion of the Party Leadership.

And Section XIII:

QuoteXIII.
a) The Party Leadership, upon petition of at least 1/2 of party members or at its own initiative by majority vote, shall suspend members for:
i) stated violations of this Constitution;
ii) publicly voting for or joining another nationally registered party;
iii) bringing the party into disrepute in a stated way.

b) A suspension decision, the justification for it, and the provisions for lifting this suspension (as contained in the rest of this section) shall be communicated to the suspended member as soon as possible and through all possible means of communication. A suspended member's rights under this Constitution shall cease to apply during their suspension, including the right to participate in Party discussion forums.

c) On the first day of the next Party Convention, the Party Leadership shall publicly announce a recommendation for every suspended member whether to lift their suspension, continue their suspension until the next Convention, or to expel the member. A recommendation to lift suspension shall be effected immediately. A recommendation to continue suspension or to expel shall take effect after 5 days, unless the suspended member addresses the Convention requesting a hearing.

d) A hearing shall be held in closed session and shall be chaired by a Talossan citizen agreed to by both the suspended member and the Party leadership. The Party Leadership shall make the case for continued suspension or expulsion, and the suspended member may make a case against this decision. Debate shall then ensue, in which other party members may make their own arguments or statements, moderated by the chair of the hearing. After no fewer than five days, the chair of the hearing shall call for a vote as to whether to accept or reject the Party Leadership's recommendation. A quorum of no less than 1/2 of current membership shall be required to endorse a motion to continue suspension or to expel. If the vote fails, the member's suspension shall be immediately lifted. The outcome of the hearing shall be immediately publicly announced.

e) An expelled member shall be eligible to rejoin the Free Democrats after two General Elections following the expulsion.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on February 17, 2024, 05:00:13 PM@Miestră Schivă, UrN It may be too late but I would be interested in making a speech to the convention as a guest. I was reviewing the party's proboards site but was unable to see any activity so I assume most of it is happening here.

Thank you. This request will be considered by the party leadership. As you say, it may be too late and if it is accepted it will have to come after the guest speech we already have scheduled.