That Called the Vlagh

Official Advocate Election Results 14 Elegarth 3 punkdaddy 0 simple country Elegarth has been elected as first Advocate of the West Pacific Union.

Voting is closed. I will post the official results shortly.

Voting closes in just under six hours.

If I recall correctly, it was often the case within The Meritocracy for a candidate to vote for oneself as they considered themself to be the most meritorious for the role, which is why they chose to run. Regardless, I find the entire discussion of voting methodology to be a bit pedantic and am hopeful that nations will not elect an Advocate based solely upon such a trivial matter.

Since this is the first vote for Advocate, I support the new tradition of self-voting. Elegarth.

I didn't get past this. Perhaps I will reread it later.

Please post the candidate you wish to vote for. Voting will be open until 6PM GMT on 27 May 2015. The candidates are: Elegarth simple country punkdaddy

Sorry for the short delay. RL issues. Closed. Voting will open shortly.

OP updated. Nominations close in just under 1.5 hours.

OP updated.

Can the HGA member group be renamed to Voice of TWP?

I believe, and the new Advocate can correct this if he/she interprets the Charter differently, that there is no application process as any nation in TWP wishing to take part is automatically eligible for membership. So, welcome to the Voice. Unfortunately, you can not stand for Advocate in this first election but there is no stipulation against you voting.

As the first nation to ratify the Charter, That Called the Vlagh is the longest continuous member of the Voice at present. Barring a correction from the Delegate, or the Delegate's appointment of another nation to serve as Election Administrator, I am opening nominations for the position of Advocate of the West Pacific Union. All nations that took part in the ratification vote are eligible to stand for this position. Nominations will remain open until Friday 22 May 2015 at 2PM GMT. Please post your nomination or declare your candidacy here. If you nominate another nation, please PM that nation to make them aware of the nomination so that they can either accept or decline. Since this is the first vote for Advocate and we won't have a general structure of the government until after an Advocate is in office, campaign threads should be posted within this forum. Thank you. Candidates: Elegarth simple country punkdaddy

I have closed the vote and pinned the Charter and list of Voice members in the governmental forum. Since this is an offsite government, I have not coordinated links to TWP nations within the list. If the Advocate wishes to do so, once elected, then that is their right.

Members of the Voice of the West Pacific Current as of October 3 2015 Archsium Bhang Bhang Duc Big Bad Badger Darkesia Elegarth Eli (Wickedly Evil People) Eluvatar [Need nation name] Fratellnoir Hariko Little Sealand Mediobogdum Punk Daddy simple country That Called the Vlagh TunApocalypse Yy4u Powerboat_Racer Kolmias Antahbrantahstan Malviet Jacobania OgJoker Zogradia Drachmaland Fujai Cluntobone erdoc Papercuts and Skittles Transpacifia Democratic Kolania Dalimbar (nation: Lady Anastasia) tir-na-nog-swag Untied European States oversea territories of applesauce land Reçueçn Ktilqr Nox (Occidius) Removed Members as of Oct 3, 2015 Harmoneia - TWP nation not found lemonpledge - TWP nation not found Llamas - TWP nation not found Sandalphon - Nation not in TWP The Church of Satan - Nation not in TWP Tomb - Nation not in TWP URAP - Banned Mars Inc - TWP nation not found Xecriussau TWP nation not found Stella - Nation not in TWP Naissar - TWP nation not found Lady - Nation not in TWP

With 26 votes in favor and 1 against, I declare this Charter of the West Pacific Union ratified.

Charter of the Union of the West Pacific Preamble The Union of the West Pacific will endeavor to meet the needs of the West Pacifican community in a way that is unique to the polity and culture of this region. We, the residents who have assembled to ratify this Charter, will make no apology for maintaining a unique community. We will make no apology for thinking outside the box. We will make no apology for respecting the realities of Feeders and Sinkers in NationStates or the dynamics between Delegates and regional communities inherent to those realities. We will instead seek to provide a community government that is vibrantly active and open to participation by any resident of the West Pacific who wishes to participate, guided by reality rather than by ideological dogma. It is with this purpose in mind that we, the assembled residents, ratify this Charter and establish the Union of the West Pacific. 1. Relationship Between the Union and the Delegate (1) The Union will recognize the absolute authority of the Delegate over the West Pacific as the reality of NationStates mechanics. (2) The Union will recognize as legitimate any Delegate elected by the endorsements of the World Assembly nations of the West Pacific. (3) The Union will recognize the right of the Delegate to exercise any power granted to the Delegate by NationStates mechanics. (4) The Union will recognize the right of World Assembly nations of the West Pacific to elect a new Delegate at any time. (5) The Union will recognize its own autonomy from the Delegate as an autonomous off-site community government of the West Pacific. (6) The Union will cooperate with the Delegate whenever such cooperation is desirable or necessary for the welfare of the overall regional community of the West Pacific. 2. Voice of the Union (1) The Voice of the Union will be the supreme governing authority of the Union of the West Pacific. (2) The Voice will be comprised of all residents of the West Pacific who wish to participate in the Voice. Each resident will have only one vote in the Voice regardless of how many nations they have residing in the West Pacific. (3) The Voice may, by two-thirds majority vote, admit non-residents to its membership provided the non-residents in question are prevented from residing in the West Pacific. (4) The Voice will have only the powers enumerated by this Charter and may not assume additional powers except by amending this Charter. (5) The Voice will have the power to enact, amend, and repeal its own procedural rules. (6) The Voice will have the power to enact, amend, and repeal non-binding resolutions expressing the sense of the Voice in regard to all matters. (7) The Voice will, with the approval of the Delegate, have the power to enact, amend, and repeal treaties. (8) The Voice will have the power to confirm and rescind Union participation in treaties proposed by the Delegate. (9) The Voice will, by two-thirds majority vote and with the approval of the Delegate, have the power to declare war and to repeal war declarations. (10) The Voice will, by two-thirds majority vote, have the power to confirm and rescind Union participation in war declarations proposed by the Delegate. (11) The Voice will, by two-thirds majority vote, have the power to amend this Charter or to repeal this Charter in its entirety in favor of a constitutional convention. (12) Except where otherwise explicitly mandated by this Charter, all votes of the Voice will be determined by simple majority vote. The result of any vote will be determined by taking into account only members of the Voice who have voted and discounting abstentions cast in the vote. 3. Government of the Union (1) The government of the Union will be administered by the Advocate, who will be elected by and preside over the Voice. (2) Elections for Advocate will consist of a three day period for declarations of candidacy followed by a five day period for voting. (3) Any member of the Voice who has held continuous membership in the Voice for one month or more will be eligible for candidacy for Advocate. (4) Any resident who participated in the constitutional convention to enact this Charter will be eligible for the first election for Advocate immediately following enactment of this Charter. (5) In the event that the office of Advocate is vacant during an election for Advocate, the Delegate may administer the election, may appoint an election administrator, or the member of the Voice with the longest continuous membership and who is available to serve will administer the election. (6) In the event that no candidate receives a simple majority on the first election ballot, a run-off election will be conducted between the two highest voted candidates, starting no sooner than 24 hours and no later than 72 hours after the previous election has closed. This election will also last for a five day voting period. (7) In the event that an election results in a tie between only two candidates, the incumbent will be re-elected or, if the incumbent is not a candidate, the candidate who first declared candidacy will be elected. (8) The Advocate will serve terms of four months, with a limit of two consecutive terms. (9) The Advocate may appoint officials to assist in government and may dismiss such officials. (10) The Voice may, by two-thirds majority vote, dismiss the Advocate from office. (11) The Voice may dismiss any official appointed by the Advocate from office. 4. Justice in the Union (1) The Voice will vote on whether to hear any complaint for unacceptable conduct filed against a member of the Voice by another member. (2) If the Voice votes to hear the complaint, the matter will be referred to a public hearing by three Arbiters elected by the Voice prior to the hearing. (3) Elections for Arbiter will follow the same procedure as elections for Advocate. Arbiters may determine hearing procedures. Arbiters will serve and their hearing procedures will be binding only for the duration of the hearing for which they are elected. (4) During all hearings, the complainant may present their case against the defendant and the defendant may present a defense. (5) At the conclusion of a hearing, Arbiters will find the defendant guilty or not guilty of unacceptable conduct. (6) If a defendant is found guilty, they will be removed from the Voice for a period of time sentenced by the Arbiters. (7) A defendant may appeal to the Voice within fourteen days of a guilty verdict imposed by the Arbiters. (8) The Voice will vote on all appeals and may, by two-thirds majority vote, overturn a guilty verdict and its accompanying sentence. All appeal votes will be final and will not be conducted more than once. (9) The Voice may, by two-thirds majority vote, commute a sentence imposed by the Arbiters at any time following imposition of the sentence. (10) The Voice will have no jurisdiction to impose justice on residents, or any other persons, who are not members of the Voice. (11) The Voice will not infringe upon the right of forum administration to resolve out-of-character offenses at their discretion. (12) The Voice will not infringe upon the right of the Delegate to resolve game-side offenses at their discretion. 5. Military of the Union (1) The military force of the Union will execute the policies determined by the Advocate and officials appointed by the Advocate to assist in military command. (2) The military force of the Union will maintain a division for home defense that will operate under the command of the Delegate and officials appointed by the Delegate to assist in command of the home defense division. (3) The Voice will have the power to adopt and amend an official name for the military force of the Union. (4) The Voice will have the power to override and bring to an immediate end any deployment of the military force of the Union. (5) No participant in the military force of the Union will be compelled to participate in any military operation against their conscience or prudent judgment. (6) The existence of an official military force of the Union will not prohibit other residents of the West Pacific from creating alternative military forces with the consent of the Delegate.

Thank you.

Excellent. Thank you. For the other admins, can my permissions be corrected back to access to the Echo Chamber. I lost them at some point during the transition to my mod powers on the RP section of the board. Thanks.

Can the name of 'the Holy Grand Assembly of the West' be changed to 'Voice of the West Pacific Union' tomorrow sometime in order to incorporate our new offsite government? Thanks.

Reminder: Today and the first part of tomorrow are the last chances to vote on the ratification of the Union Charter.

Reminder: Today and the first part of tomorrow are the last chances to vote on the ratification of the Union Charter.

I don't mind playing stuffy.

I have to agree with this. While certain aspects of TNP have traditionally been considered a laughingstock in some corners, I have found the community there to be quite resilient in the face of adversity and they tend to incorporate a lot of influential people from various aspects of NS. Also, it has one of the most active offsite governmental systems in the GCRs (possibly the game). I believe in their last elections they had 90 nations take part in the voting and their military routinely gets 30+ nations into action.

Maybe the wrong people were in charge of the operation?