NationStates Jolt Archive

With the Sarzonian economic recession referred to by reporters and Sarzonian economists as the Panic of 2006 dominating the headlines, an article buried on page 8 of the Woodstock Daily Mail reported that the state of Endymion became the 17th state to petition Parliament for an addition to the Sarzonian constitution.

The proposed article reads as follows:

Section 1: In the event of a petition by one more than ten percent of all legally registered voters within the Incorporated States, any piece of legislation approved by the Parliament and signed by the President or appoved over Presidential objection shall be referred to the People of Sarzonia for a referendum on the first Tuesday of November of the calendar year in which the proposed legislation is scheduled to take effect.
Section 2: In the event a valid petition as defined in Section 1 is certified by the Lieutenant President, the proposed legislation shall not go into effect until such time as the outcome of the election is determined by a simple majority of votes received.
Section 3: This Article shall not apply to any legislation that has previously been enacted by Parliament and signed by the President or approved over Presidential objection.
Section 4: The President shall have authority to express his Objection to specific sections or clauses of portions of legislation approved by Parliament without striking the entirety of said legislation. Sections voided by Presidential objection shall be referred to Parliament as if they were full legislation.

The outcome of the poll vote will be taken into consideration when I decide whether or not to incorporate it in the Sarzonian constitution.

Offical Imperial Response

Other. You should ban all types of democratic rule and forge the Sarzo Dynasty. Join the Dictatorship World.

Signed,
Quinn Peter
Secretary of Foreign Affairs

Also, those who vote "Yes" or "No" are welcome to explain their votes.

May we suggest a democratic socialism? It works quite well when implemented correctly.

We believe this ideal of legislation to be a further step towards a more free society in Sarzonia. Any steps the Sarzonian Incorporated government takes to further it's abilities and make itself and it's people better is a step in the right direction. And we believe this to be such a step. Good luck.


- Commanding Officer of External Relations,
The Dictorial Republic of Sumer
Admiral Panchito Guanikeyu

[ A good idea, but I suggest a three-fifths demarcation, so your people don't band together to fillibuster something (a right that I, personally, hate). ]

We support this proposal, as it seems like an interesting idea. Just be careful that the President doesn't gain too much power over the legislature, and it will be fine.
-Office of the Foreign Minister, Republic of The Beltway

[OOC: Voted Other; I'm a fan of the line-item veto, while the people's veto strikes me redundant. Risks making every piece of legislation excessively complex, as 10% of the electorate on any given issue could threaten to bring about a referendum. And, depending on the issue and the parties involved, they more often than not could properly mobilize the number of signatures to get a referendum, too. That and I never much liked referendum politics. I tend to detest populism.]

OOC: As a bit of information, I'm basing the "people's veto" somewhat on the people's veto that's in the Maine constitution (I lived in Maine during my secondary school years). In Maine, the ten percent figure refers to the percentage of voters in the most recent gubernatorial election. The way I recall the issue, the "people's veto" didn't come up excessively in the state.

To me, that introduces one more check and balance into the system to keep Parliament (or Congress or the state legislature) and the President (or the Governor) from getting to be too powerful.

(OOC: It works fine for Switzerland, doesn't it? I mean, I've never been there, but my understanding (possibly out-dated?) is that 50,000 signatures is sufficient to call a referendum, there, and, as a result, two thirds of all referenda in Europe since WWII have been in Switzerland. And the Swiss nation isn't falling apart for it.)

In the Kingdom of the Geletians, there is little time for consideration of foreign news items: the people are engaged in a desperate battle to over-throw a so-called representative parliament and a government that essentially operates a temporary dictatorship that it is kind enough to expose to competition once every four or five years, competing against those who have money enough not to need the change. However, some few revolutionaries have pointed to the Sarzonian model as a possible compromise... and they have been largely ignored by the mob, which surely says something of relevance...

OOC: I'm not familiar with Switzerland's system. The only context I have is living in Maine where they do have the people's veto. Even then, I had to take a quick look at the Maine constitution to see how it is implemented before I came up with something that's suitable for RPing.

I figured if I implement this as Article XXI, it'd be interesting to have an amendment that's part of the Maryland constitution followed by one based on an article of Maine's constitution.