HeLA Democracy

New Governance - The Way Forward

The present form of democracy in Heladiva is based on the old Westminster parliamentary system, introduced to the Island by the British during their colonial occupation. Since its introduction, this adversarial party-based system of democracy has on many occasions failed to deliver security, peace and prosperity to the people of our island nation.

The Westminster system divides our people along party lines and ethnic lines, debilitating our capacity to see clearly that which is in the Nation's best interest. The Westminster system has failed to uphold the sovereignty of the indigenous Hela culture, its values and traditions. Furthermore, it has failed to provide self-governance for communities at a local level. The way forward then is to embrace and institute a new form of governance that can uphold the peace, provide security and deliver prosperity to all who live on the Island.

To this end, a novel form of democracy is proposed: The Hela Democracy. It was inspired by our traditional and truly democratic Hela institution: The Gam Sabawa (The Village Council). This novel Hela democracy is arguably the world's best, and the best the world has seen. It is the best solution for upholding the sovereignty of the Hela culture at a national level and self-governance for all communities at a local level. It is the key to peace, security and prosperity, for all people who live on our Island home.

The Hela Democracy consists of five fundamental and autonomous institutions: the Community Council, the Regional Assembly, the National Assembly, the Supreme Council and the Head of State.

The People directly elect their Community Council, the Supreme Council and the Head of State. Members of the Regional Assembly and National Assembly are elected indirectly by the People and consist of elected representatives from the Community Councils.

The Community Council, the Regional Assembly and the National Assembly represent the three levels of governance and legislatures of the State. The Supreme Council forms the executive and it can be likened to the 'Cabinet' of the Parliamentary system of democracy.

Unlike the Parliamentary system, however, there is no concept of 'governing party' or 'opposition party' in the Hela System of Democracy. The Hela system is not a divisive, adversarial system and does not adhere to the belief that there can only be two sides to an argument. In fact, the Hela system embraces diverse points of view.

An important distinction of the Hela Democracy is that elected representatives of the People debate and vote on issues according to their conscience; guided by the sacred Hela values of Humanity, Wisdom and Self-sufficiency. In this way diverse points of view are embraced, discussed and debated. The views of the majority and minorities are expressed equally. In all discussions and debates, the paramount consideration is collectively: the common good, the principle of equity, Hela culture and traditions, Hela sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Heladiva.

Another important distinction of the Hela Democracy is that for each position of the governing system, potential candidates are chosen based on merit having demonstrated knowledge, skills and values against the selection criteria for that position, and then elected by the people.