Government

Ainslie is a modified constitutional republic with Joseph Shirazi (Judicial Representative) and Andrew Kenzai (Prime Minister) co-leading the state, representing the legal and political pillars within the nation. The Senate is quite constricted by the Judicial Council, which has wide spanning and extraordinary powers.

About This Dispatch

1. This dispatch assumes that you've read part of the Ainslie overview factbook, or have a basic idea of how governments run.

2. The dispatch is essentially a condensed Ainslie Studies (A subject taught in Ainslie) textbook.

3. This dispatch will refer to the Executive, the Judicary and the Legislature - they are the three 'chains of command' in most western democracies and this idea of separating is known are as the separation of powers.

4. This dispatch will refer to Federal/National, Unificatory and Electoral. Think of Federal/national as a government in charge of a nation, a unificatory level as if leaders of states got together formally and planned legislation, and think of Electoral as a state government with the power structure of a local council. This separation is known as the division of powers.

Executive

The executive is made up of the Judicial Representative, the Prime Minister and his cabinet, along with the Judicial Council as a whole. The executive directly represents the two major pillars of society: the judicial system and the political system. Thus, in order to fulfill the mandate that the Ahnslen people have placed on them, they must work together in efficient cohesion to get the job done.

Legislature

Definitions

• Parliamentary Consensus: When the government works with other parties to achieve majorities which are significantly over 50%, in order to please their constituents.
• Transitional Council: The name given to the 'higher council' under the Citystate Representation Scheme
• Citystate Representation Scheme (CRS): The CRS is a form of government in which a governor (a leader of a city state) legislates over his own state, but sends an advisor to a higher council to advise him on what the others are doing, and to seek consistency between laws in citystates
• Electoral Representation Scheme (ERS): The CRS is a form of government in which a governor (a leader of an electorate) legislates over his own state within boundaries of Senate and Electoral Council laws, but sends an representative to the Electoral Council in order for

The legislature is divided into three different sections - Federal, Unificatory and Electoral.

Federal: Led by a Prime Minister, elected directly by the people.

• The Federal Legislature is unicameral, with the Ahnslen Senate being the sole body of law making at a federal level. The Ahnslen Senate has 163 democratically elected senators, who are divided amongst the people yet are not directly accountable for them. The Senate is led by the majority party, which is whatever party gets over 50% of the vote. The minority party is the next highest party that is elected, and has a mandate to work with the majority party to achieve a parliamentary consensus.

Unificatory: Led by a group of Electoral Delegates, elected by their governors.

• The Unificatory Legislature is the oldest level of government in Ainslie, and directly follows from the pre-unification transitional council, which allowed for the creation of modern Ainslie as a whole. The Unificatory Legislature is known as Electoral Council, and is represented by electoral delegates which are chosen by the governors of their electorate. Electoral Delegates vote on legislation in the Electoral Council, which creates laws at a 'state' level, yet the laws apply to all states.

Distinguishing the Federal Legislature (Ahnslen Senate) from the Unificatory Legislature (Electoral Council)

• The Judicial Council can disband the Ahnslen Senate, except for the Executive. This is not the case in the Electoral Council.
• The Senate is democratically elected, whereas the Electoral Council is indirectly democratically elected. This is because an electorate votes for a governor, but none of their advisors.
• Federal bills can be passed by a simple majority, but Electoral bills (those from the Electoral Council) must pass with 2/3 majority (4 out of 6 electorates).

Electoral: Led by a governor which is directly elected by the people.

• The Electoral Legislature is also an old level of government in Ainslie. It resembles the citystate representation scheme which Ainslie followed before it unified. This new scheme is called the electoral representation scheme. A governor, who represents the Electorate (Electoral) employs an electoral delegate, who represents them at the Electoral Council at the Unificatory level, but passes Electoral level bills (as they only apply to the electorates which agree to follow the laws).

Judicary

National:

• Judicial Council
• The Judicial Council is a group of judges which have been promoted by the courts to this position. They are the national representatives of the courts system, and elect the Judicial Representative (one of the two heads of states in Ainslie). The Judicial Council has broad powers to keep the government accountable, and often their great power is scrutinised.
• The Judicial Council deals with all criminal issues regarding federal government politicians, the majority of severe constitutional cases, the majority of government administration cases. The Judicial Council can also hold inquiries into cases by, in most cases, the Federal and Constitutional cases which are seen as inadequate, unfair or unjust.
• The Judicial Council also examines international relationships and obligations, with the Judicial Council often involved in cases which are referred to the courts of the cooperative union.
• Federal Court
• The Federal Courts are the highest standard courts in the nations, and deal with all appeals which ascend up the hierarchy. In most circumstances, the decisions of the Federal Court are final, unless the Judicial Council takes the case (Which is relatively uncommon).
• Constitutional Court
• The Constitutional Court examines the constitution. It deals with all cases regarding the constitution, including the usage of government powers. It is the only legal mechanism which can hold the Judicial Court accountable.

Electoral:

• Electoral Court:
• The electoral courts are split into two sections depending on severity. These two types of courts are within one building and are both regarded as part of the 'Electoral Courts'. The Electoral Courts deal with any civil cases involving damages exceeding 40,000 and cases from mid-level assault to murder and manslaughter. Often federal offences (treason, terrorism) are sent to the Federal Courts or on occasion the Judicial Council.
• Local Court:
• The local courts deal with minor cases, or the beginning of larger cases. They are the lowest form of the courts, and often deal with appeals regarding traffic offences.

Subdivisions

Definitions

• Bureaucracy: A system of government in which the most important decisions are made by state officials, and not elected representatives.
• Ainslie is divided into six electorates: Wesland (WS), Norlands (NL), Dallama (DA), Lower Verd (LV), Manning (MN) and Burnett (BR). It is not exactly known the reason why Ahnslen subdivisions are called ‘Electorates’ but the most likely deduction is that they are called this to symbolically prioritise the citizens (the electors) over bureaucracy or any other trait in the system. As per the naming, it is not entirely known why the boundaries of the electorates are what they are. Once again, the most popular reasoning is that these electorates are where the farthest reaches of control for the city states of Ainslie are. It is common knowledge however that the electorates are based off the city states that were once in power before 1867 and that the capitals of the electorates resemble the city states which were once in power.

Politics

Definitions

• Bureaucracy: A system of government in which the most important decisions are made by state officials, and not elected representatives.
• 
  
• Who can vote?
  • Citizens with full Ahnslen Citizenship, above the age of 21.
  • Citizens with full Ahnslen Citizenship, above the age of 15, who pass a political knowledge test (PKT).
  • CU Citizens who have lived in Ainslie for over one year.
• Parties
• ACEGAD - Ahnslen Centrists for Economic Growth and Development
• Parliamentary Leader: Andrew Kenzai
• Chairperson: Noah Redecki
• Ideology: Centre Right - Economically Right, Socially Liberal
• Overview
• The ACEGAD party prioritises the economy and a budget surplus. They are often regarded as the major 'conservative option' in Ainslie, although they are not conservative by nature. However, the conservative vs progressive makeup of political parties does not apply in Ainslie. It is often regarded that the conservatives lost when Whindism won, thrusting ACEGAD as the primary right wing option. ACEGAD is often referred to as a 'business party', as parallels are often drawn between the socially liberal, economically conservative nature of businesses and ACEGAD. The Judicial Council watches business involvement in ACEGAD and ensures there is no unfair involvement.
• ACEGAD will often support welfare, education and healthcare if the budget operates at a surplus. ACEGAD since the early 2000s has been the dominant party in Ahnslen politics. ACEGAD is an active symbolic ambassador of the idea of the parliamentary consensus approach, and has an agreement with the LLST party to cooperate together. ACEGAD and LLST both recognise that economic growth depends on innovation, science and technology. Due to this, the Minister for Innovation, Science and the Arts is in fact an LLST representative, although ACEGAD has a parliamentary majority. ACEGAD and LLST together create a future thinking party which prioritises sustainability. ACEGAD currently operates four electorates: Wesland (after a recent election following a LLST scandal), Dallama (a stronghold for the party), Burnett and Manning.
• APC - Ainslie People's Congress
• Parliamentary Leader: Tyson Runere
• Chairperson: Michael Hawkin
• Ideology: Mid Left - Economically Centrist, Socially Liberal
• Overview
• The Ahnslen People's Congress (APC) party prioritises healthcare, better working conditions and welfare. The APC, although rarely able to form government, can be credited with creating the current welfare system due to ACEGAD's philosophy of parliamentary consensus. The APC however is in crisis, as it desperately attempts to differentiate itself from the ACEGAD-LLST informal coalition which has dominated most of 21st Century politics in Ainslie. APC can be likened to a unionist party in policy, although due to the Judicial Council, it is not involved in unions whatsoever. APC operates two electorates: Norlands (a stronghold for the party) and Lower Verd (which is quickly becoming a challenge due to the Indenats).
• LLST - Liberal Leftist Science and Technology Party
• Parliamentary Leader: Nathan Renbank
• Chairperson: Gavin Whitbank
• Ideology: Far Left - Economically Left, Socially Liberal
• Overview
• The LLST party prioritises science and technological advancement, and is a reluctant believer in the idea of parliamentary consensus (Due to the benefits it gets from them). LLST is the classic innovation and modernist scientific party, with equality and fairness at the forefront of their social policy.
• Indenats - Independent Nationalists Party
• Parliamentary Leader: Lawrence Jackson
• Chairperson: George Fenzaire
• Ideology: Mid Right- Economically Right, Socially Conservative
• Overview
• The Independent Nationalists is a party on the verge of being too nationalist for the 'health of the nation' according to Joseph Shirazi. The Indenats are a nationalist, conservative, protectionist and economically right party led by the outspoken leader of the party - Lawrence Jackson. Jackson is the lifeblood of the party, and is mainly responsible for its existence becoming common political knowledge in Ainslie.

The Unified Electorates of Ainslie

Edited: 22 hours ago

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