Reformation in the Republic of Sonindia
From the desk of Befreitland In the hope of creating a fairer and more involved republic for all, I hereby propose the following reform, ranked in no particular order:
1. Open Parliament: In order to keep citizen participation active and to make sure the Parliamentarians represent their interests, the Discord server must be open for all. The Elitist Cabal, or a similar channel reserved for private discussion among the leaders, must be audited by either an elected auditor, the Supreme Court, or both.
2. Term Limits: As Punya kingdom pointed out, Sonindia has something of a "ruling elite" and we need to get some greater variety. I propose that no nation should be able to hold any office for more than six months consecutively in any one position, and no nation may hold the positions of Prime Minister, Head of Parliament, WA Delegate, or Electoral Commissioner more than two full terms in total. Exceptions can be made in case of large-scale inactivity and disinterest in pursuing office by other citizens
3. Foreign Affairs-Oriented Delegacy: Sonindia should or modify the role of the World Assembly Delegate in order to create a larger focus on foreign affairs. In order to both maintain and improve our image abroad, it is best that we have an active and focused diplomat in the government.
4. Ranked-Choice Voting: In order to give more incentive for citizens to vote for their favorite candidate rather than to tactically vote and give a better voice to the people of Sonindia, we should switch from a first-past-the-post voting system to a ranked choice system.
5. Sonindia Website: We should create an official website for Sonindia to host the Trident, advertise the regional Patreon, and in time potentially even host a small store and things like competitions.
6. Decentralization and Separation of Powers: In these turbulent times, we have learned that absolute power corrupts absolutely; we should seek to ensure that this kind of power never gets into the hands of one individual ever again. All acts passed by Parliament should be allowed a referendum by the citizens to veto an unjust law by a simple majority of all votes cast. Ministers should be elected, rather than appointed and should be independent and equal entities rather than subordinates to the Prime Minister. Citizens should be able to demand a recall vote with the backing of four other citizens of any official at any time. The SAAF should remain independent of the Prime Minister, with an elected Commander. The Intelligence agency should be further separate, with strict limits on what it can be used for, especially in regard to internal affairs. The Supreme Court should be able to declare any Executive Order or Law unconstitutional. Power must be distributed lower, not higher.
7. Neutral Server Ownership: In order to prevent the mismanagement and corruption of server ownership, servers should be put under the control of a neutral party, likely the Supreme Court President as Younggunners suggested. This allows them to audit every server and ensure nothing shady occurs and disallows the Prime Minister to monopolize their power. Additionally, each Sonindian server's audit log must be open to all citizens as another check on this power.
8. True Republicanism: Sonindia is a proud republic, and it should remain that way--no monarchs, no masters. At its best, the idea of a monarch simply create a popularity contest that gives more popularity to individuals with no need for policy or action. At its worst, a monarch can create a sense of elitism and potentially even gain political power, elected or not.
9. Anonymous Whistleblower Protection: Any citizen should have the right to submit documents, evidence, and complaints of officially classified information if it is deemed to be illegal or harmful to the citizens of Sonindia. This information should be able to be submitted to either the Supreme Court, or an anonymous dropbox to be reviewed by a publicly elected Watchdogs council. All whistleblowers must have the right to anonymity and protection from government retaliation if their claims are deemed to be legitimate and the actions of the government harmful or illegal.
10. Monthly Budget: An idea suggested by Tuscatora, the Sonindian Parliament, Minister of Commerce, and Prime Minister should create a monthly budget to ensure that our Patreon dollars are being spent fairly.
11. Preservation and Investigation Act: Another idea by Tuscatora, we must enact a law forbidding government officials or anyone with admin/channel management permissions to delete channels or non-spam messages without explicit permission from an Oversight Commission, composed of the Supreme Court justices, the Prime Minister, the Head of Parliament, the WA Delegate, and an elected Oversight Commissioner. Any decision to delete a channel must receive a unanimous vote in favor by the council. Any channel or messages deleted without permission from the Commission is liable to lose their position and permanently lose admin privileges. Additionally, all non-classified channels, whether currently in use or not, should be open to the Ministry of Culture to record important historical events and moments.
12. Supreme Court Questioning: Another idea by Younggunners, this would allow the Supreme Court to call forward any individual to be called for a public questioning period with a unanimous vote in favor by the justices. This would not be a trial, but an open hearing to allow citizens to further understand the ongoings of the region. Individuals may choose to answer a specific question by claiming that information is confidential or classified. If the individual makes this claim, they must then divulge this information privately to the Court to prove their claims are valid.
