Regions of Gylias

Regions of Gylias
Also known as: Régions gyliennes
Category	Federal region
Location	Gylias
Number	20
Populations	166.547 (Makarces) – 2.456.347 (Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk)
Areas	17.001 km² (Sváen) – 141.776 km² (Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk)
Government	Regional council and governor
Subdivisions	Municipalities

Gylias is a federal republic made up of 20 regions (French: régions). They were established as geographic entities by the Constitution of Gylias in 1961, and regional governments were established in 1970.

Regions are constituted as federations of municipalities, and form the intermediate level between local and federal government. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, regions exist mainly for coordination and management purposes, and only exercise the responsibilities delegated to them by communal assemblies and municipalities.

Their borders, largely unchanged since establishment, are broadly based on cultural and ethnolinguistic distribution. Regions thus have a distinctive role in Gylian society, possessing regional identities which coexist within a federal framework.

History

Regions were established by the Constitution of Gylias, adopted in 1961. The heritage of the Free Territories left Gylias with a strong focus on direct democracy and local governance. As a result, regions were initially more geographic than administrative entities.

The arrangement of having only two tiers of government caused a growing perception that there was a risk of imbalance between local and federal government. The Darnan Cyras government passed legislation to set up regional governments soon after its re-election. The first regional elections were held in 1970.

The Law on Legislature Sizes of 1989 capped the size of all legislatures to prevent them from growing and usurping the prerogative of direct democracy.

Terminology

During the popular drafting of the Constitution, "regions" was chosen as the term for its perceived neutrality and simplicity. "Provinces" was rejected for its perceived imperialist overtones, and "states" due to the anarchist influence. Other terms were avoided due to perceived centralising connotations or simply did not find mass acceptance.

Responsibilities

Regions handle matters at the local matter which require greater amounts of coordination and planning than municipalities can provide.

In addition to coordination and management responsibilities, they have an executive function, carrying out the implementation of policies made at the municipal or federal level. Their governments collaborate with municipal and federal governments in delivering public services and social security, and convene regional advisory councils to exercise cooperative democracy.

Their responsibilities include:

• Regional healthcare and educational organisation
• Transport planning and regional infrastructure
• Environmental and conservation policies
• Regional development and planning
• Overseeing the deposit-refund systems
• Agricultural policy and land management

Regions finance themselves through regional taxes (including currency transaction taxes, financial transfer taxes, and Pigovian taxes) and regional currencies. In addition, they request funds from municipalities to cover regional projects, and receive equalisation payments at the federal level.

Government

Each region elects an assembly, known as the regional council (conseil régional), as well as a separate governor (gouverneur). Regional government members, heading specific departments, are known as prefects.

As with all other legislatures, councils are popular legislatures.

Council sizes vary based on region population. The smallest, Makarces, elects 60 members. The largest, Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk, elects 200 members.

Regional elections feature strong representation for regionalist parties.

Culture

With English and French used as federal official languages, regions and municipalities play an important role in officially recognising and accommodating all other languages spoken in Gylias.

Regional boundaries broadly follow cultural and ethnic boundaries, thus giving regions a notable role in local identities. Elena is notable as one of the few regions with a non-Gylic plurality, having a Hellene plurality.

Regions adopt flags and symbols to reflect their identity, which are given equal prominence to the federal flag and seal in official contexts.

Regional flags draw from various sources of symbolism: Tandar's flag alludes to the Southern missions and Tanan Wall; Salxar to its role as the origin of the Free Territories; Elena's nine stripes represent the syllables of the motto Eleftheria e thanatos (Hellene reformed: Ελευθεʀία έ θάɴατος; "freedom or death").

List

SL

MK

GC

GE

AR

AŢ

TA

KA

MŞ

SV

EL

AS

EN

NE

TO

ḐR

AÐ

HE

NA

NID

Flag	Region	Abbr.	Capital	Area (km²)	Population
	Salxar	SL	Şet	77,390	202.425
	Makarces	MK	Jaţe	52,925	185.145
	Gacar	GC	Razyn	58,362	199.956
	Gerşyr	GE	Mytin	61,453	207.362
	Arxaþ	AR	Xakalen	105,906	878.820
	Alţira	AŢ	Senik	83,733	920.786
	Tandar	TA	Sænor	96,738	802.293
	Kausania	KA	Dáuzas	104,466	1.555.215
	Mişeyáke	MŞ	Zaul	112,408	2.653.739
	Sváen	SV	Lænas	17,001	1.160.239
	Elena	EL	Argyrokastron	65,344	1.826.760
	Arsad	AS	Keraþ	108,304	713.424
	Envadra	EN	Mayt	113,781	962.752
	Nezyál	NE	Kyman	65,451	1.486.094
	Tomes	TO	Iásas	132,662	1.974.876
	Ḑarna	ḐR	Deðras	87,464	1.550.277
	Aðuna	AÐ	Tavis	92,421	1.579.901
	Herlan	HE	Arnak	70,941	1.752.702
	Nauras	NA	Nyretak	59,801	1.370.070
	Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk	NID	Eyþer	141,776	2.703.111
Data from the 2020 census conducted by the Bureau of Statistics and Accounting.