Järvalaimaa

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The Parliamentary Republic of Järvalaimaa

Järvalaimaa
Flag of Järvalaimaa
Flag
CapitalVantaa
Largest cityAkaa
Recognised national languagesFinnish, Cherokee, Muscogee
Demonym(s)Järvalian
GovernmentParliamentary Republic
• President
Aukusti Vennamo
• Prime Minister
Alarik Harjula
• Speaker of Parliament
Taija Häkkinen
Population
• 2013 census
23.7 million
GDP (nominal)2020 estimate
• Total
$743.54 billion
• Per capita
$31,373
CurrencyJärval Punta (£)
Time zoneUTC+3 (SMT
)
Date formatmm/dd/year; CE(AD)
Driving sideleft

Järvalaimaa is a medium sized nation centered around a lake, from which its namesake comes. Due to access to the ocean on the southern border and through rivers, most of its population is contained in the southern half of the nation. As a former colony of Hallia, gaining independence in 1914, Järvalaimaa is a moderately developed nation, though its GDP lags behind that of developed nations, it is well into the process of industrializing and building up a dynamic service market.

Etymology

the country's name originates from the giant lake in the Southeast, where the first natives settled and slowly laid the foundation for Järvalaimaa. However, before Hallia colonized the groups of tribes, there was no country but simply groups of tribes. The word for lake in Finnish is the basis of the name, with the end making it mean "land of the lake. This name keeps particular meaning due to the high population centers near the lake in modern day.

History

First Settlements

Geography

Administrative Divisions

Järvalaimaa is divided into 14 estates, which are used for presidential and parliamentary elections, and also used to administrate local departments such as police and emergency management.

Estate Population MPs
Vantaa 5.2 million 66
Siuntio 3.9 million 50
Suolahti 3.4 million 42
Malax 2.3 million 31
Urjala 1.5 million 19
Nakkila 1.2 million 15
Juuka 1 million 13
Pikkioe 987,000 12
Virrat 956,000 12
Eura 873,000 11
Alavus 820,000 10
Kuhmo 642,000 8
Liperi 598,000 7
Jaemsae 324,000 4

Climate

The climate is predominantly Mediterranean, with some Semi-arid areas to the northwest. As such, this climate has led for most of the population to be centered around bodies of water or rivers, with the semi-arid areas being mostly uninhabited.

Rivers and Lakes

Järvalaimaa contains a multitude of rivers and one big lake, where most of the population is located. The rivers also lead to the ocean, providing an easy way for international trade.

Government and Politics

Structure

The government of Järvalaimaa is confusingly styled both as a parliamentary democracy while also fusing elements of a presidential republic into the system. The college of electors will select the President after being elected from their own estates. The Parliament works like typical parliaments, with members being elected and then attempting to form a majority coalition who selects the Prime Minister, who then remains under scrutiny of the President.

Elections

After massive abuses of power by previous prime ministers, in 1947 the estates were assigned a certain number of electors they could allot to the college of electors, who would then choose the President. For the Presidential elections, the different candidates must win electors from the different estates, up to #, needing just over half (#) to win outright. If nobody wins in the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their electors are then freed to choose another candidate to support. This continues until a candidate has over half of the electoral vote. These elections are held once every 5 years on the first Tuesday of June. The system is widely criticized for allowing Presidents to be elected with less than 30% of the popular vote, and also for the inconsistency in the ways that estates divide up their delegates, with some opting for proportional representation, and other option for winner takes all. Further, there are usually widespread allegations of corruption after the electors of a defeated candidate switch.

For Parliamentary elections, there are 300 individual districts, with approximately 79,000 residents in each, where parliamentarians are elected by single member district plurality. However, for the other 200 seats, parliamentarians are selected through open list proportional representation, which allows party elites to keep seats and smaller national parties to win a few seats. Elections must be called for by a 2/3 vote within the parliament, or within 5 years of the last election. For each parliamentary election, the ballot will contain candidates for the resident's district and the party they wish to vote for. Both must be filled out for the ballot to count, though "None of the Above" is kept as an option on both questions.

Legislature

Järvalaimaa has a unicameral legislature, consisting of a 500 seat Parliament, which is home to several larger parties with a swath of smaller, regional parties that will combine forces and coalition build for the majority. The Parliament extended initially as an offshoot of Hallia, but after independence quickly adapted its own set of rules and customs. Currently, the majority coalition is made up of x, y, and zed large parties, with the x y and zed regional parties involved as well. There is a 54-46 ratio of males to females, and many speculate that within a decade the Parliament could be majority female.

Executive

The Executive branch is technically headed by the President, who acts as head of state, but as the head of government, the Prime Minister does most work in the executive branch. The President simply oversees the Prime Minister and is granted veto power for a bill, which can be overridden by a simple passage of the bill once more. In modern times, Presidents have sent back an edited version of the bill, though more often than not the edits are simply ignored.

The Prime Minister heads the government, meaning that they are also in charge of the bureaucracy. They will appoint several different cabinet members, called ministers, who will head a department and work with the Prime Minister to set policy for it. There are multiple non-ministerial departments which cannot be interfered with by the Prime Minister, and are headed by appointees from the President.

Cabinet posts and departments

  • Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Minister of Internal Affairs
  • Minister of Justice
  • Minister of Defense
  • Minister of Finance (treasury)
  • Minister of Education and Culture
  • Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
  • Minister of Transportation and Communication
  • Minister of Economic Affairs
  • Minister of Health and Social Affairs
  • Minister of the Environment
  • Minister of Estates
  • Minister of Trade
  • Minister of Development
  • Minister of the Cabinet Office

Non-ministerial Departments

  • Antitrust Authority
  • Food Standards Agency
  • Land Registry
  • Revenue and Customs
  • Federal Reserve of Järvalaimaa
  • The Supreme Court
  • National Archives
  • Järvalaimaa Statistics Authority
  • Budgetary Authority
  • The Electoral Commission
  • Järvalaimaa Intelligence Community

Estate Politics

Each of the 14 estates is run by a commission, in which 11 elected commissioners assist national executive agencies in executing the law within their estate, and also run local services, despite those services being funded and created at a national level. The commissioners are elected through ranked choice ballot, and elected once every 3 years on the first Tuesday of June. Most people don't care about the commissioner elections, seeing as they have little to no direct consequence on their quality of life, so turnout for these elections averages 13%. Once elected, the commissioners will select a head commissioner, whose only additional duties are to chair meetings. Commissioner elections are largely ignored by national parties, and are mainly seen as an easy path to a Parliamentary seat.

Demographics

Ethnic Groups

Religion

After Hallia brought over Chantrism, it quickly became the dominant religion within Järvalaimaa. However, because of the similarities between early native spiritualism and Chantrism, the two were able to merge somewhat into Järvalian Chantrism, which is practiced by the majority of the religious population. Following that is native spiritualism, followed by the still practiced pure Hallian Chantrism. There is a very small Christian minority, however, due to earlier discrimination against them, they still remain in lower social classes.

Education

Education is mandatory in Järvalaimaa until a student enters secondary school, where they are given the choice to either learn a trade or continue their traditional education path. Most schools are publicly owned and administered by the Minister of Education and Culture, however, there is a growing movement of privately owned schools which are supervised by the ministry. Education plans and curriculum are nationalized and universal under the national education programme introduced by the current government, and even private schools must follow the standards and some requirements laid out in the programme. Once students leave their primary school and enter secondary school, if they remain in the academic route they will be given a classical education, with the ability to choose an emphasis in subjects such as philosophy or politics. Those taking the technical route will choose a career and attend the technical school for that.

Some students may choose to attend post-secondary education, with many staying within the country to study, but close to 10% choosing to attend more prestigious universities. However, those choosing to remain and study at one of the 270 universities in Järvalaimaa will receive a 33% discount on their tuition, with poorer students having the ability to waive almost their entire tuition. Those wishing to attend a post-secondary institution must take the PST (post secondary test) in the December of their last year in secondary school.

Military

The military of Järvalaimaa suffers from a chronic lack of funding, despite boasting around 50,000 active personnel with 30,000 in reserves. However, these numbers are boosted from a division's worth of allied commonwealth troops also stationed in military bases throughout.

Personnel

Arms of Service

See also