Espoona

Espoona, also known as the Democratic Republic of Espoona, is a flourishing micronation based on the values of human rights, equality and morality. The current president is Ben Hatly, the national currency is Espoons and the national animal is the sparrow, which flies through the nation's famously clear skies. The country is very technologically advanced, thanks to the publically-owned national technology company Solaris. The government's official Twitter can be found here.

Democratic Republic of Espoona
Flag National Seal
Motto: "Strength Through Freedom"
Capital and largest city	Espoona City
Religion	Science
Demonym(s)	Espoonian
Government	Democratic Republic
• President	Ben Hatly
• Chief Advisor	Tom Clayton For cabinet ministers, see Politics
Currency	(Espoons) (100 Espoons = £1) (ESP)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	left

History

Espoona-Baskinstine Hostilities

On the 22nd September 2021 at 7:56 PM GMT, A micronation named Baskinstine attempted to declare war on Espoona. Their reason for doing so was that Espoona did not believe in religion. The Espoonian Government and President Ben Hatly strongly declined the option for war, and attempted to find a peaceful resolution. But on the same day, at 11:52 PM GMT, the Espoonian Government reveled that they were ceasing recognition of Baskinstine and attempting to contact its political allies for support on this matter. After a tense couple of days, on September 24 at 2:53 AM GMT, The Republic of Litzenburg announced that "conflict carried out by the aggression of Baskinstine will cease by 23:30 EST tonight. Failure to cease this aggression will be met by Review of IDA and the Litzenburg counsel". Baskinstine has since ceased all attacks on Espoona, they remain strong enemies however.

The Espoonian Government and President Ben Hatly have publicly praised the micronational community for their swift actions, preventing Baskinstine from having an ever-tightening grip on Espoona-Basktinstine conflict.

More info on the matter can be found here.

2021 Presidential Election Fraud

In November 2021, incumbent Ben Hatly announced his campaign to get re-elected as president of Espoona. His opponents were Judie Hawkins of the Green Party of Espoona, Lewis Pollock of the Liberal Party of Espoona and John Scab of the Conservative Party of Espoona.

The existing President lead the polls in the very beginning of the voting process, with 70% of the voting public choosing Hatly as their vote. However, as the time went on, John Scab gained masses of votes seemingly out of nowhere, even surpassing Hatly at one point. The Espoonian Government investigated this matter, and found that a single voting member was voting multiple times for Scab and was attempting to abuse the system. They ceased soon after it was announced that Scab may be disqualified from the race if this continued, but the lasting impact of the election shocked Espoonian voters to their core. The government has announced that they are investigating other ways to vote for future events, and are looking into eliminating the risk of this incident happening again.

The final standings of the voting poll

Politics

Espoona's government is classed as a Socialist Republic. The cabinet is as follows:

• President = Ben Hatly
• Chief Advisor = Tom Clayton
• Chief Diplomat = Tom Clayton

The list of presidents:

• 2020-present (Ben Hatly)

Political Parties

Party color	Political Party Name	Ideology
	Socialist Party of Espoona	Socialism
	Republican Party of Espoona	Conservatism
	Green Party of Espoona	Eco-Socialism
	Liberal Party of Espoona	Liberalism

Foreign Relations

Espoona is currently a member of the The International Micronational Association and the MDU Alliance.

Economy

The national currency of Espoona is Espoons. The coins/notes are as follows:

• 1 Espoon (Coin)
• 5 Espoons (Coin)
• 10 Espoons (Coin)
• 20 Espoons (Coin)
• 50 Espoons (Coin)
• 100 Espoons (Coin/Note)
• 200 Espoons (Note)
• 500 Espoons (Note)
• 1000 Espoons (Note)
• 2000 Espoons (Note)
• 5000 Espoons (Note)

Language

The national language of Espoona is English and has been since its founding.

Safety

Espoona has had a long history of keeping its citizens safe. The government operates the Espoona Police Force and the ESS to keep Espoonians safe from any harm that may come their way.

Culture

Cuisine

Espoona has many national foodstuffs, including:

• Sanuco is a sweet juice drink, made by Gerelan available in 13 different flavours:

Sanuco Flavours

1. Apple
2. Orange
3. Lemon
4. Lime
5. Summer Fruits
6. Berry Blast
7. Ibarac (Apple And Almond)
8. Kiwi
9. Grape
10. Tropical
11. Watermelon
12. Cherry
13. Dragonfruit

All the Sanuco flavours are available as a lite version with no sugar, with the sugar being replaced with natural plant based sweeteners.

• Ibarac are apple and almond cookies made with flour, butter, eggs, sugar, apple and almonds, usually served with Koodoo (caramel jam) for dipping.

• Fluxies are citrus flavour sweets coated in sour sugar. A non-sour version, Blandies, are also available. The product is made by Gerelan.

• Kelpie are gyosa/dumplings stuffed with scallops and freshly-caught salmon. It it is made with flour, water, salt, sugar, scallops and salmon.

• Strix is a hot dip made out of tomato sauce, tabasco and chili. The dip is made by Gerelan.

• Strix Snax are maize starch snack sticks coated in Strix, similar to Twiglets. The snack is made by Gerelan.

• Strix Dragon Cake is a hot cake made using Strix. The cake is also made by Gerelan.

Media

Radio

Espoona has one radio station:

• ESP Radio 1 (Pop, Electronic, Modern)

Newspaper

Espoona has one newspaper, The Espoona Times.

Public Holidays

• 1st January (New Year's Day)
• February 6 - March 9 (Pancake Day)
• 27 March - 28th April (Easter)
• 30th September (National Day)
• 24th December (Christmas Eve)
• 25th December (Christmas Day)
• 26th December (Boxing Day)
• 31st December (New Year's Eve)