Democracy

The Naha view our form of democracy as weird and probably quite ineffective (a joke in fact). In our democratic societies we normally vote once in every few years for a single leader/party (or a proportional representative coalition) from a limited choice, on the edict of one person = one vote (except in some of our more backward societies).

To the Naha this is simply not democracy.

They would agree with us that freedom of movement, freedom of speech and freedom of the press constitutes a fundamental part of a free society. They have these same rights.

The Professions

A Profession's executives are voted into office by members who have achieved a suitable level of qualification. Depending on the post and the Profession the period of office may be fixed or may last until they are voted out or other circumstances cause them to step down. It is the responsibility of each Profession to provide policy comparison tables between candidates when elections are being made.

Under their system suitably qualified members of a Profession can vote on the decisions made by the Profession's executives. These votes are usually advisory but in extreme circumstances may prevent certain decisions being taken. It can happen as often as once a month. A member can normally vote on several topics in one session. All sessions, by law, are held in the open and each of the Profession's executives are required to explain the reasons why their decision is best.

It is assumed that one cannot vote wisely if one does not understand the issues under consideration, so only members of a certain qualification level are able to vote on a Profession's matters. With most Professions very senior members may be allowed to publish their views, even if they are not directly involved in the issues under vote.

As a Naha citizen can belong to more than one Profession (at varying levels of qualification) then a more qualified citizen can vote in multiple Professions. However, one citizen's vote is always equal to another's once they have achieved the basic level of qualification. This basic level of qualification is verified by the Profession of Professions (under advisement) and would normally give the majority of members of a Profession a voting right.

The Commune, or 'Nahum'

At home in their 'Nahum' things can be much more complicated. Many different kinds of democratic regime are permitted. All 'Nahum' records are public (by law) and all issues must be debated regularly and openly in each commune - usually informally. Some 'Nahum' permit all children a vote (or half vote), others may have age restrictions. The leaders of the 'Nahum' and 'Nahumar' must hold sufficient qualifications (by law), or be studying to achieve those qualifications before they can stand for election. As with the Professions, the leaders (and their nominated seconds) can be voted into, or out of, office at any time.

To lead a 'Nahum' often requires both a series of business and people management qualifications as the issues tackled at the 'Nahum' level are usually financial and / or involve internal personal relationship management. It is very common for the role of leaders to be split among several members, although final responsibility always rests with a single person.