Government and politics in the Democratic Republic of Isla Plata
The Democratic Republic of Isla Plata is a unitary, parliamentary republic located in the Verdean Archipelago of Greater Meridon. The Platan governmental system is dominated by the Platan legislature with the Head of State subordinate to the parliament. The Parliament is unicameral body that represents the legislative authority of the Democratic Republic. Lastly there is a Republican Judiciary that serves as a check on the constitutionality of laws.
Structure
The Platan government is nominally split into three branches of national governance with a division of power between them. However, the legislature is functionally speaking far more powerful than either the executive or judiciary of Plata. The national government similarly wields almost total legislative power over more localized administrations which have largely been relegated to a bureaucratic role.
The Executive
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The executive branch is primarily embodied in the form of the Chancellor of Isla Plata, who is appointed by the Platan parliament. The Chancellor is serves as head of government, chief diplomat of the Platan Republic, and as Commander in Chief of the Platan Armed Forces. The Platan Chancellor is supported in administration of the state by high level government ministers, namely the Minister of Foreign Relations, the Minister of Economic Development, the Minister of Warfare, the Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, the Minister Public Health, and the Minister of Justice. The Ministries of government and the office of the Chancellor are located in the Government District of El Dorado. The current Chancellor is Abla Rosalva Quintana.
The Legislative
The legislative branch of Plata is embodied by the Parliament of Plata, a unicameral body consisting of 250 persons. The legislature of Plata is responsible for the passage of laws, the ratification of treaties, has power of purse, and is ultimately responsible for the appointment of a Chancellor, and other members of the executive branch, as well as their recall. The head of Parliament is the Chancellor whose primary responsibility in Parliament, aside from maintaining decorum, is casting the deciding votes in hung votes. The Platan Parliament is based at the Plaza del Congreso in the Government District of El Dorado. Individual parliamentarians are expected to maintain residences in El Dorado, payed for from their salaries which are covered as part of the national administrative budget.
Judiciary
The Judiciary is embodied by a seven member National Court which is appointed by the Platan Chancellor. The National Court has the power of judicial review of laws for their constitutionality, which they do upon passage of a new law. The National Court is also responsible for the removal of a Parliamentarian accused of committing crimes against the state from office, and serves as the court for those accused of national level crimes. The National Court operates from the Templo de Justicia in the Government District of El Dorado reviewing cases for one month of every quarter, barring national emergencies, such as a criminal proceeding, or the impeachment trial of a criminally accused Parliamentarian.
Regional and Local Administration
Plata is a unitary nation, and as a result most important matters of state are handled at the national level. Administration however is sometimes handled at a more localized level, with local councils serving to pass limited scope ordinances and to ensure the application of national laws as well as to serve as a training ground for those seeking national office. Local governments also possess local courts and law enforcement which handle day to day enforcement of the law. Even weaker are district governments, which are essentially entirely administrative apparatuses managing regional organizations to make more efficient the business of the state.
Operation of Government
Civil Rights
The People's Republic of Isla Plata maintains some civil rights, however, the Citizens have the right to life, usually, as well as the right to a speedy and fair trial, the right to know what charges are brought up on a detained citizen, right to legal consul. Further, no citizen may be forced to testify against themselves, and no citizen may be held in bondage, slavery, or servitude. All citizens are further granted de jure equality without regard for race, ethnicity, nation of origin, religious worship, sex or gender identity, sexuality, physical ability or mental aptitude. Citizens are further granted right to freedom of speech, press, expression, association, conscience, and religion. Freedom of Assembly was formerly not granted, however, Constitutional changes in the late 2000s granted that right to a limited extent. Platans do not have the constitutional right of suffrage, but there is a defacto right to vote granted by statute. Officially Plata is a Regio state, but there is little functional meaning behind this designation.
Legislation and Judiciary
The act of legislation in the People's Republic of Isla Plata falls to the Parliament of the People's Republic. Parliamentary procedure mandates a period of deliberation before the passage of each new law, with this period generally lasting 72 hours over the course of several weeks, it is not unprecedented however for deliberation periods to have truncated or extended deliberation periods. After a particular piece of legislation has been debated the Parliament votes on it. All laws require a two thirds majority to pass, though laws that fail with a simple majority may be amended and brought to the floor again without requiring the procedure for new legislation. Once a piece of legislation is passed, it is subjected to the National Court for constitutional review. If accepted the legislation is made law, if not, the legislation is struck down, and may not be brought to the parliament for passage for a period of ten years.
Law Enforcement
Platan law enforcement is conducted at the local and national level. The the local level, there are the Civil Protection Squads are by far the most common form of law enforcement, and that which is operated at the local level, usually being temporary volunteers to the service rather than professionals. Civil Protection Squads handle street level enforcement, traffic enforcement, the investigation of minor crimes, and the imprisoning of minor offenders. Civil Protection Squads may have some limited crisis intervention capacity, but are strictly forbidden from counter-terrorism and are limited in how they can pursue high crimes. Civil Protection usually operates centrally located princincts in most municipalities, though rural locales may have precincts representing most townships There are currently 219,428 persons serving in Civil Protection, which receives aggregate funding to the tune of $729,715,337 NSD.
In contrast to the volunteer, localized Civil Protection Squads, at the national level law enforcement is carried out by the Civil Security Bureau, which is responsible for high intensity operations, riot control, and counter-terrorism, and the Crime Investigation Bureau which is responsible for investigating major crimes. Both of these branches are professionalized, and operate permanent barracks and offices in major cities particularly the national and regional capital, and further both have a role in suppression of dissidents, though this role has been limited in recent years due to legal changes made under Verdean pressure. There are currently 73,142 personnel working in Civil Security and the Crime Investigation Bureau, not counting higher level governmental overseers, and the agencies operate on a national budget of $729,715,338 between the two.
Politics
Elections
General elections occur in a period once every three years with most recent election having occurred in DI 219 with all citizens over the age of 18 having the right to participate in the election. Before each general election, each party wishing to take part must present a list of persons willing to serve in the parliament or in high level government positions that consists of at least three hundred persons to the Parliament; and must present these lists to the Crime Investigation Bureau for criminal background check. Lists that are presented represent political bodies that may stand for the parliamentary election. Upon election day, votes are cast nationally with districts being electorally irrelevant, and each third of one percent of the general population receives a set in parliament. After seats are assigned (by using the party lists), parties may attempt to form a ruling coalition. The largest party may elect to form a majority government, or may attempt to rule as a minority government. After a parliament is seated and governments are formed, the parliament then appoints a Chancellor from their own ranks (with changes in seating resulting in replacements from the party lists). Nominally, Plata is a multiparty republic, however, the Revolutionary Vanguard has largely ruled Plata as a One Party State since the independence of the nation, though outside pressure has resulted in greater representation of minority parties.
Parties
See Also: List of political parties in Plata
Major Parties
Major parties are those that operate in the government, or those that are not in the ruling coalition but maintain at least 30 seats in parliament. There are currently only two Major parties in Plata, with both of them in the ruling coalition. The parliament of DI 213-216 was the only parliament where a major party (The Liberals) served outside the coalition.
| Party Name | Coalition | Party Leader | Seats in Parliament | Ideology | Political Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguardist Vanguardia |
in coalition | Alba Rosalva Quintana (Chancellor) | 186 / 250
|
Vanguardism, Pan-Verdeanism, Internationalism | Left | |
| Revisionists Revistas |
in coalition | Dolores Cardenas Esparza | 56 / 250
|
Ortegan Socialism, Urbanism, Collectivism, Democratic Socialism, Pan-Verdeanism | Left |
Minor Parties
Minor parties are those approved to run in parliamentary elections, but are outside the ruling coalition and lacking thirty seats in parliament. There are currently two minor parties both of which are opposition parties to the Revolutionary Vanguard.
| Party Name | Coalition | Party Leader | Seats in Parliament | Ideology | Political Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberals Liberales |
in opposition | Lorenzo Héctor del Cisneros | 6 / 250
|
Social Democracy, Welfare State, Social liberalism | Centre | |
| The Silver Hand Plates |
in opposition | Manuel Luís García | 2 / 250
|
Left Wing Nationalism Ultranationalism | Centre-left |