Government of Taijitu

Government of Taijitu
Executive
Delegate	Myroria
Citizen-Initiator	Cormac
Citizen-Diplomats	Cormac, Funkadelia
Citizen-Liaison	Al'Khem
Citizen-Sergeant	Vacant
Dean of the University of the Glorious Revolution	St Oz
Ecclesia
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The Government of Taijitu is the set of political bodies and offices responsible for governing the region of Taijitu. The government is arranged according to a tripartite presidential model, divided into separate legislative, executive and judicial branches. This scheme is complimented by a system of direct-democracy through petitions and referendums. The basic structure of this government is defined in the region's constitution, while other details are established both by both legal acts and convention.

Legislative branch

Main articles: Senate of Taijitu, Speaker of the Senate

The legislative branch takes the form of a unicameral Senate. The body consists of seven senators, who are elected at large using the single-transferable-vote method of proportional representation to seven-week, infinitely renewable terms. While in office, Senators are guaranteed access to the Senate and may only be removed from office by a referendum. For such a referendum to succeed, fewer voters must vote for the Senator in question to remain in office than was necessary to elect them.

The body's primary responsibilities are legislative and it may pass laws by a majority vote. Such laws may not be bills of attainder, retroactive or conflict with constitutionally guaranteed rights. The Senate may also propose constitutional amendments to be put to a referendum by a two-thirds majority vote. The Senate's other responsibilities involve oversight of the executive and judicial branches of government. The ministries of the Cabinet may be regulated through law and ministers removed by a majority vote, while the Delegate's removal may be put to a referendum by a two-thirds majority. Judicial appointments require the consent of a two-thirds majority, trial procedures may be regulated by law and justices may be removed from office by another two-thirds super-majority.

The Senate's business is presided over by a Speaker, elected by the Senate by a majority vote. The Speaker may be relieved of their office at any time by a similar vote. The Senate alone has the power to determine its own internal procedures, and therefore unlike other laws they may not be vetoed by the Delegate or altered by a referendum. The Speaker is empowered to exercise discretionary authority when no clear procedures exist.

Executive branch

Main articles: Delegate of Taijitu, Vice Delegate of Taijitu, Cabinet of Taijitu

The executive branch of Taijitu's government is headed by an elected Delegate, who serves as head of government by explicit constitutional mandate and head of state by tradition. Elections for the office are held every seven weeks using an instant-runoff vote. The Delegate is elected on the same ticket as a Vice Delegate of Taijitu. The vice delegate's only formal responsibility is taking over as delegate should the present one be unable to serve, but the office has traditionally also functioned as a high level assistant to the Delegate.

The Delegate administers the everyday affairs of the government, serves as commander of the armed forces and may negotiate with foreign powers. The Delegate also exercises a number of important checks on the two other branches of government. They veto Senate legislation, which may only be overturned by a two-thirds supermajority, and nominate all potential judicial appointments. The office is also unique in being the only one which plays an important role in-game. As the title suggests, the Delegate is entitled to hold the regional delegacy while serving and, within the limits established by the Constitution and tradition, wield all the powers associated with it.

The Delegate is permitted to appoint a Cabinet of ministers to assist them in administering the region. Such appointments require no legislative review and consent, but may be relieved of office by the Delegate or a majority vote of the Senate. The Senate may also by law regulate the number and nature of the Cabinet's ministries. There is presently one law in force which does so, the Ministries Act.

The Delegate may be removed from office by a referendum, which may be initiated in one of two ways. Either the Senate may impeach the Delegate by a two-thirds majority vote, or a petition may be used to request the recall of the Delegate. A referendum initiated in the first manner requires only a simple majority to pass, while one initiated in the second manner requires a two-thirds supermajority. The Vice Delegate may also be removed by a referendum, but such a referendum may only be started by a petition.

Judicial branch

Main Articles: Court of Taijitu, Chief Justice of the Court

Taijitu's sole judicial authority is the Court of Taijitu. The body has the power to try all criminal and civil cases occurring within Taijitu. It may also exercise judicial review over the actions of the other two branches of government if a suit against a law or government is brought. The exercise of these powers may be regulated by law, but no such statuettes are currently in force. Beyond trying cases, the Court's only other responsibility is administering elections and referendums. Under the Senate and Court Membership Act the body currently consists of a single justice, two less than the constitutionally defined default of three members.

Justices of the Court are nominated by the Delegate. Once nominated, any candidate must be reviewed by the Senate and receive their subsequent approval to become a member of the Court. The nature of judicial reviews is a matter the Senate's internal procedures whileapproval requires a two-thirds supermajority. Once appointed, justices are entitled to serve indefinitely until they either resign or are removed from office. Justices may only be removed from office by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate.

The Court's business is presided over by a single Chief Justice. Any other justices of the Court are meanwhile considered associate justices. Whether a particular justice is Chief Justice or an associate justice is decided by which office they are nominated as. While it is theoretically possible for a serving associate justice to be renominated to serve as Chief Justice, this has to date never happened.

Elections and referendums

All citizens in Taijitu are entitled to exercise power over the government by voting in both elections and referendums. Elections are held at fixed intervals while a referendum may be called at any time by several different methods and purposes. The most recent elections were concluded on July 25, 2011 while the most recent referendum ended on August 12 of the same year.

There are two types of elections in Taijitu, those for the Delegate and those for the Senate. Both are held every seven weeks and occur simultaneously. The Delegate is elected using an instant runoff vote, while the Senate is elected at large using the closely related single transferable vote. The only qualification necessary to stand as a candidate in any election is citizenship. The Constitution of Taijitu has no provisions for the role of political parties in elections, and historically all candidates ran as independents. While many still do, there are now two political parties which actively competed in recent elections, the Progressive Party and the People's Nationalist Liberation Front. The former presently controls both the office of Delegate and the majority of the Senate's membership.