[Draft] Amendment to clarify elections and candidacy

This should definitely be put into effect before the next election. Speaking of which, when is that? Perhaps we can put this into effect three days after it is ratified.

 

Elections by the Legislature shall be by direct and secret vote and the victor shall be determined by a plurality of votes cast. Voting shall be carried out on a Capitalist Paradise Forum poll specific to the election. In an election by the Legislature, the candidates shall be listed by the coordinator of the election in alphabetical order on any official polling ballot. The World Assembly Delegate election is not subject to these regulations, as voting must be carried out through Endorsement.

Section 4. World Assembly Delegate Election Process

• Announcement: A nation desiring to challenge the WA Delegate shall inform both the WA Delegate and the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), via Telegram, of the need for an election. The MoFA shall announce the call for candidacy on the Regional Message Board the following Monday of the notification being sent. If at any point during an election cycle the process is halted by more than 5 days due to inaction from the MoFA, the Minister of Interior (MoI) shall assume the role of coordinator. The WA Delegate shall inform the MoFA, via Telegram, of intentions to resign. The resignation of the WA Delegate and the call for candidacy announcement by the MoFA will occur the following Monday of the notification being sent.

While I feel that this system should be done away with and replaced, this article should be revised to fit the current law until such time. I pose this question: Why can't the WAD run as the incumbent while still in office?

Section 5. Primary and General Election Process

• Announcement: The current President of the Legislature (POL) shall be informed by the WA Delegate, via Telegram, of the need for an election and will announce the call for candidacy on the Regional Message Board within 5 days of the notification. The POL may, at his/her discretion, appoint a member of the Legislature to be the coordinator of the election in their place, and may also revoke this privilege at any time. The WA Delegate shall be informed, via Telegram, of the intent to challenge the POL or Advocate/Arbiter General (AG). If the POL is challenged, a member of the Legislature must be appointed coordinator. If at any point during an election cycle the process is halted by more than 5 days due to inaction from the current coordinator, the WA Delegate shall assume the role of coordinator.

• Call for Candidacy: A window of 5 days is opened, beginning when the announcement is made. During this time, citizen players may nominate an eligible player's nation as a candidate. Candidacy is only confirmed when it is seconded by a different citizen player and finally accepted by the nominee. Players issuing or seconding nomination are ineligible for nomination. There is no limit to the number of candidates who may run for these positions. In the event that no candidates are confirmed at the end of this window, the WA Delegate shall select one nation at his/her discretion regardless of confirmed eligibility, and announce a new call for candidacy against the selected individual. Should only one candidate be confirmed at the end of this window, that candidate automatically proceeds as the victor of the general election. At any point during a primary or general election, a candidate may irrevocably forfeit their candidacy. In a general election, this action does not result in the promotion of the next possible candidate from the primary election.

 

I agree with Beijuo's changes except for the MoI one. The position is titled Minister of the Interior and so MotI is the abbreviation commonly used there.

The incumbent cannot still hold office because during the election the WAD seat should be a in state of flux as described in the article. He should not be able to hold the seat if it is supposed to be in flux.

 

Then this needs to be fixed:

Okay.

 

The WFE has a character limit. I would not be surprised if "the" was dropped there to stay within the limit....

 

Updated the draft to incorporate those changes (keeping the MotI acronym).

Unless there is anything else either of you can think of, I believe that we are ready to put this forward tomorrow.

 

How sad.

I have no more issues with it. Great work, everyone!

 

Actually...

Why must it be in a state of flux? What happens in the even that we need the executive DURING the election?

 

The Founder assumes the executive powers during the election while the MoFA serves as a temporary Delegate.

 

All because someone issued a challenge? That doesn't sound right.

 

It's the only way to handle rising and falling endorsements and a WAD that could change at every update. I would like to see this process changed in the future, but for now we do need to allow for Flux...

 

Why can't it be written so that the acting executive must write the letter in order to prepare to leave the office rather than actually leave it? What if the incumbent wins?

 

You're referring to the phrase about declaring intent to resign -- I agree that needs rephrasing. Asked Acario to look into it.

 

Announcement: A nation desiring to challenge the WA Delegate shall inform both the WA Delegate and the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in confidence, via Telegram, of the need for an election. The MoFA shall announce the call for candidacy on the Regional Message Board the following Monday of the notification being sent. In the case that the WA Delegate shall intends to resign, the MoFA shall be informed via Telegram and resignation of the WA Delegate as well as the call for candidacy announcement by the MoFA will occur the following Monday of the notification being sent. If at any point during an election cycle the process is halted by more than 5 days due to inaction from the MoFA, the Minister of the Interior (MotI) shall assume the role of coordinator.

What do you think?

 

Yeah, that's what I've been referring to the whole time.

 

How about this revision?

 

This wording is problematic because a WAD may not actually intend on resigning. It needs to fit for when the WAD may have to regardless of intent.

 

[quote="Lun Noir, post: 1090, member: 513" ]Announcement: A nation desiring to challenge the WA Delegate shall inform both the WA Delegate and the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in confidence, via Telegram, of the need for an election. In the event that the WA Delegate intends to resign, the MoFA shall be informed via Telegram. The call for candidacy shall be announced by The MoFA and, if applicable, the resignation of the WAD on the Regional Message Board the following Monday of the notification being sent. If at any point during an election cycle the process is halted by more than 5 days due to inaction from the MoFA, the Minister of the Interior (MotI) shall assume the role of coordinator.[/quote]

A slight revision to your revision. What do you think about adding the words "in confidence" to the first sentence, I think it helps the WAD and MoFA keep the anonymity of the challenger.

 

I like the "in confidence" part. However, the second sentence is still problematic because, while it doesn't say that the WAD must leave before the election is over, it says that the WAD must have intent to leave. It should say something along the lines of: "In the event that the WA Delegate's claim to delegacy is compromised..."

 

"claim to delegacy is compromised" sounds like it is permitting a coup. The WAD should not simply lose the legitimate claim of the position if someone manages to usurp the seat through endorsement. The second sentence now simply states that if the WAD is going to resign, he has to tell someone first so that the election process can be started gracefully.

If some other event causes the WAD to lose his seat (no confidence vote, CTE, whatever), the WAD is not going to be in a position to inform the MoFA of that.