Administrative divisions of Surrow

Counties and districts of Surrow
Category	Unitary state
Number	5 counties 2 districts
Populations	268 (Kikik County) – 134,316 (Southland County)
Areas	390 km2 (Kikik County) – 9,080 km2 (Stoney County)

The administrative divisions of Surrow are composed of five counties, established from the beginning of Rythenean colonisation of Surrow from the early sixteenth century onto the modern day, and two districts (historically known as improvement districts until 2015), established in 1953 to solidify Surrowese control over Great Island, particularly over the indigenous Itchalnu population, and promote greater efficiencies over the old Northland County that had existed prior to that point in time.

Per the Surrowese Constitution, counties and districts have different roles assigned to them, with counties having more powers and having more self-governance than the districts, although reforms under Wyatt Martel's Presidency have given the districts more powers over their own affairs than had been the case prior to the mid-2010s.

Counties

Counties (Chequan: assi, Itchalnu: naasainiqut) are the oldest form of administrative division on the Surrowese archipelago, with Southland County, first created in 1563, initially covering all of Holcot Island. However, as settlers permanently settled on the various harbours and reeds of the archipelago, the county model expanded with the settlers, until by 1869, five counties covered the archipelago, with the establishment of Kikik County on Kikik Island.

This number remained until 1953, when the three improvement districts were carved out of Northland County, reducing the number of counties to four. This number remained until 1975, when the Central Improvement District became Stoney County, due to its high population, leading to the current eleven counties of Surrow, on Holcot Island (with nine counties), Kikik Island (with Kikik County), and Great Island (with Stoney County).

Governance

Surrowese counties are governed by a county council, commonly referred to as a council (Chequan: nekaussei, Itchalnu: katimajiit), with a minimum of five members, but councils can have as many members as they want, with Southland County having 17 members on its council, with all council members being directly elected by all legal electors living in each county every four years. Each county is headed by a commissioner (Chequan: utshimau, Itchalnu: kamisina). Commissioners are elected by the county council, and serve a four year term: depending on county, commissioners have no term limits, as is the case in Kikik County, but most counties have a two-term limit, with only Southland County having a one term limit.

Per the Surrowese constitution, counties are responsible for maintaining infrastructure, such as roads, piers, and bridges; trial courts; providing fire departments and policing (although all counties have contracted policing to the Surrowese Constabulary); registration of land; day-to-day operations of schools, and providing medical services. Furthermore, the constitution permits the Surrowese government to delegate any of its powers to the counties.

List of current counties

Name	Seat	Population (2021)	Area	Founded	Commissioner	First elected
Disappointment County	Apitumiss	1,314	2,022.73	March 3, 1784	Rhys Bondar	June 24, 2006
Kikik County	Lombelon Bay	268	390.21	June 11, 1869	Edna Banks	June 30, 1994
Southland County	Holcot Inlet	122,628	1,511.90	May 2, 1563	Kendra Stirner	June 21, 2018
Stoney County	Tulaktarvik	31,146	9,079.49	April 1, 1975	Jerry Shields	April 1, 2019
Tuckamore County	Tern Harbour	15,105	2,765.82	July 7, 1759	Oliver Redder	June 24, 2022

List of former counties

County	County seat	Area	Founded	Dissolved
Northland County	Lombelon Bay (1607-1869) Port Lochlan (1869-1953)	21,498.11	May 2, 1563 (de-jure) April 30, 1607 (de-facto)	April 1, 1953
Westland County	Gisborne Reed	TBD	March 3, 1784	June 19, 1848

Districts

Districts (Itchalnu: aviktuqsimajut), formerly known as improvement districts until 2015, were established in 1953 under Ted Fisher's government, as the Surrowese government found Northland County on Great Island to be "too large to govern properly," with the consequence that, particularly in the interior of Great Island and in the far northern regions, the Itchalnu "were resistant to government authority," and continued to govern themselves. Thus, as part of the Northern Integration Scheme, three districts were formed out of Northland County: the Northern Improvement District, the Central Improvement District, and the Southern Improvement District, with the provisos being to strengthen Surrowese control over the island, and to integrate the Itchalnu into the "Surrowese body politic."

In 1975, due to substantial population growth as Tulaktarvik became a major city, primarily due to the Tulaktarvik palladium mine, the Central Improvement District was promoted to county status, leaving only two improvement districts. This remained the case until Wyatt Martel's presidency, when in 2015, the improvement districts were renamed, with the Northern Improvement District becoming the Ukiuqtaqtuq District, and the Southern Improvement District becoming the Iqittiniq District. Furthermore, the districts were given more power than they previously had.

Governance

Unlike the counties, districts are governed by a five member commission (Itchalnu: katimajiit), headed by a high commissioner (Itchalnu: quttiktumi kamisina). Until 2015, the commission was entirely appointed by the Surrowese government, with people not being able to elect members of the commission. Since 2015, four members of the commission are elected by the inhabitants of the district, while the government continues to appoint one person, who ex officio serves as the high commissioner at the President's pleasure, with an average length of five years.

Because of its origin and intention to assimilate the Itchalnu into Surrowese society, districts have different responsibilities than counties, with the national government being directly responsible for infrastructure maintenance, emergency services, and medical facilities, while districts, in addition to being responsible for day-to-day operations of schools and trial courts, are responsible for designating settlements as either "unsustainable settlements" (i.e. no new people can move into the settlement, and the government refuses to provide more than emergency services to the settlement), or as "sustainable settlements" (i.e. people can move to the settlement, and the government provides full services to the settlement), with the commission's decision being final, with no appeal.

List of current districts

Name	Seat	Population (2021)	Area	Founded	High Commissioner	Appointed
Iqittiniq District	Port Lochlan	662	6,079.95	April 1, 1953	Robert Amaruralak	April 1, 2018
Ukiuqtaqtuq District	Arvittiavak	427	6,338.67	April 1, 1953	Mary Iluraktuk	April 1, 2018

List of former districts

Name	Seat	Area	Founded	Abolished
Central Improvement District	Tulaktarvik	9,079.49	April 1, 1953	April 1, 1975