[Embassy] The Union of Democratic States

Switching up the typical news report convention here, I ([nation=Kanglia]) was elected Chairperson this past month. For me, it was my return to NS politics and my return to the UDS’ political body. Two long years away from NationStates saw me change a ton as a person, but my beliefs on the best things for this region have continued to stay the same. I’m disappointed that there was no one running against me, for elections are always much more fun when you have an adversary, but losing 5 whole votes to RON of all people (UDS has seen Re-Open Nominations turn into a deity of its own) only motivates me to prove to myself and to every person with an eye on the UDS that I still have “it” inside of me. Since my election was announced on June 5th, the General Assembly has seen steady activity at a rate higher than before, and I’m proud of that. I think that a good part of this activity is thanks to the GA Guild that I campaigned on and created as a means for all citizens to come together to better understand and create new legislation for the region. But with three months to go in my term, I know that this fight isn’t finished yet. And that fight, that’s what excites me the most.

Third Senate Election Sees Two Newcomers and Some Familiar Faces Elected
by Dome Artan

At the tail end of May, the third Senate Elections were opened by Chancellor [nation=Khevo]. While not as hotly contested as the second Senate Elections in March the ballot was shaping up to be a full one with early announcements of intent by [nation=Democratic Republic of Kohland] and the [nation=The Eastern Straight]. However, when the candidacy forms were due the field was much less competitive than it had seemed to be. Neither of the aforementioned early announcers had submitted official candidacies and three incumbent Senators had decided not to seek re-election ([nation=The Eagle-Bearer], [nation=Comlogical] and [nation=Dome Artan]).

Instead, the five-person Senate election was going to be contested by only six candidates, the lowest of any of the three held so far. Incumbents [nation=The Noble Thatcherites] and [nation=Glaciosia] were joined by former President [nation=North Plegia] and three newcomers [nation=Prorescia], [nation=Grand Gondor] and [nation=Davinmark]. Campaigning for the election was limited, to be expected when only one candidate will not be elected. However some candidates took this to the extreme and posted no campaign material whatsoever, all of this compared to the hour long voice chat debate of the last election. The only campaign material of consequence was published by North Plegia, notable because it reiterated their commitment to another new constitution (a position which cost them the presidency four months ago).

The Election results were announced by Chancellor Khevo on May 31st. The Union uses a preferential voting system where voters rank candidates from one to, in this case, seven (six candidates plus RON), the candidates with the lowest average score are elected as they are the most preferred. The Noble Thatcherites and Glaciosia, despite posting no campaign material, won big with both being over 2 points clear of the other candidates. The three other positions were filled by Prorescia, North Plegia and Grand Gondor. The strategy of no campaign material, which worked for the incumbent Senators, decidedly did not work for Davinmark who placed last, even behind RON.

The next Senate elections will be particularly interesting as The Noble Thatcherites and Glaciosia, Senate stalwarts since the Constitutional overhaul will be forced out of office due to term limits by that point, leaving the composition of that Senate wide open. As for this Senate, it has already handled the important business of tabling a Criminal Code Act along with a large Constitutional Amendment package.

Recently Elected Senator Grand Gondor Vanishes from UDS
by Dome Artan

As mentioned in the previous article [nation]Grand Gondor[/nation] had won election to the UDS Senate despite their relative inexperience, having joined NS as part of the Drew Rush. During their time as Senator they seemed to struggle with understanding what that meant, continuing to vote on UDS General Assembly (the lower house of the legislative branch) motions. However after the most recent instance of this on June 21st, Grand Gondor suddenly left the UDS discord where their activity had been dropping dramatically.

While Discord involvement is not necessary for participation in government the signs were nonetheless not good for their continued involvement in the region. Directly following this development Grand Gondor resigned the WA, once again not necessary by any means for participation in the region but they had been one of the region’s NationStates | Dispatch | Fourth Edition Endobacon Awards, consistently staying up to date on new WA nations. The combination of these two withdrawals from regional life leaves the region pessimistic about the chances of a return for the new Senator.

It has been nine days now of unannounced activity for the Senator, after ten they will lose their position and a snap election will be held.

USDAF Update
by Kanglia

It was a slightly slow month for the UDSAF, with our time in Iran still being the main focus for the first two weeks, updating has yet to return to it’s previous pace. However, with the month closing, Kanglia has returned to the updates. UDSAF personnel was present for only four updates at the time of this writing.

[spoiler]Participating UDSAF Members (assisted in Libcord):
• [nation=Khevo]
• [nation=Comlogical]
• [nation=Kanglia]
• [nation=Glaciosia]
• [nation=Thatcher Whitehal]
• [nation=Asdersland]

Defenses: 25

Detags: 16

Liberations: 1
https://www.nationstates.net/region=the_transgender_region
[/spoiler]

Phoenix_Coalition · February 6, 2021, 4:38pm

January Embassy Update
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

UDS joins the Partnership of Sovereignty
by British Isles And Commonwealth Realms

Partnership of Sovereignty is a treaty signed firstly by The South Pacific, The Rejected Realms and 10000 Islands. The Partnership is rooted in the principles of self-determination, positive community, and respect for institutions. The Union became a signatory of the treaty in late January, when the Senate, in its closing days, voted to ratify the treaty. By joining this group of defenders and liberators, UDS has once again explicitly stated its aim for a liberal, free, and fair community in the NationStates.

UDS Elections
by Josephto

The Union has had a series of upcoming elections for January. The last week of January, as well as the first week of February, consisted of the regularly scheduled Senate elections. The Union’s Constitution states that the Senate shall be made up of five senators, but only three citizens declared their candidacy. The candidates were Deputy Speaker Isles, Senator Sacento, and former Chief Justice We The People. All three were elected, and a by-election will be held in the near future to determine the final two senators. Following the Senate elections is the Chairperson of the Assembly and Speaker of the Senate. Isles was elected Speaker, while the election for Chair is ongoing. The currently declared candidates for Chair are incumbent Zeneste, Zion, Davinmark, Foreign Affairs Minister Phoenix and World Assembly Delegate Asdersland.

At the end of February is the scheduled Presidential election. Incumbent President Druing has stated his intention not to run for re-election. It is highly speculated the Minister of Foreign Affairs and former President Phoenix Coalition will announce his candidacy for President. Who steps up to challenge him remains to be seen. Other speculated candidates are Vice President Glaciosia, and possibly Attorney General Zukhavia.

UDS holds Daily Trivia Nights
by British Isles And Commonwealth Realms

In a fortunate turn of events, UDS has started holding daily trivia nights for its citizens and visitors. For every trivia night, a topic is selected beforehand. Then, one person asks the questions and keeps score. We have had 5 such trivia nights, with topics, like Second World War, Capitals, Geography etc.

UDSAF Update
By Kade

The union of democratic states armed forces assisted with operation choppy waters this month, helping to shut down the attempted largest raid in nation states history by multiple raider organizations. We also participated in our regularly scheduled updates with other defender organizations, and one of our members served as the point!

UDSAF is also excited to welcome to new members into the ranks this month. We look forward to developing their capabilities and joining us on the battlefield later this month.

UDSAF Monthly Report
January 2021

[spoiler]
Participating UDSAF Members:
Kade
Isles
Zen
Josephto
We The People

Defences: 3

Detags: 3

Liberations: 0
[/spoiler]

EUKBICR · April 22, 2021, 7:29pm

UDS monthly update for March

https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=38553188#p38553188

EUKBICR · June 16, 2021, 5:09am

May Embassy Update
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

— Begin quote from ____

Union Passes New Constitution
by British Isles And Commonwealth Realms

In May, the region replaced its past Constitution with a new one, written by Die Kronprinzessin with contributions and amendments by other Unionists, and brought a multitude of changes to the Union.

Firstly, the abolition of the General Assembly means that the region now possesses a unicameral legislature. The General Assembly was the lower chamber of the Legislature and had contained the citizenry of the Union. The upper house - the Senate - is now the only legislative chamber, with the number of Senators determined proportionately from the average voter count in the previous three elections. In the first term since the Constitution passed, the Senate contained five seats, which will increase to six in the August Senate Elections.

The Office of the Chancellery was also closed and its election-running duties were transferred to the newly created Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission consists of a Chief Commissioner (a presidential nominee confirmed by the Senate), the Chief Justice, and a Deputy Chief Commissioner appointed by the other two.

In a bid to keep the Judiciary and the Executive separate, the new constitution removed the President’s power to nominate Supreme Court Justices, instead giving that duty to an elected Chief Justice who then must be confirmed by the Senate. Judicial elections are only held when a Chief Justice fails reconfirmation.

There were further small changes, including the abolition of term limits and the inclusion of recall elections. The new constitution, dubbed ‘Kronstitution’ in honor of its author, is a result of months of deliberation and discussion.

June Senate Elections
by Asdersland

The most recent Senate election, conducted at the beginning of June, was a tremendous success punctuated by a large turnout of 28 voters, as well as 10 candidates standing for election. Josephto, Kingdom of Sacento, British Isles and Commonwealth Realms, Xandorian Plexora, and Glaciosia were the candidates elected - Xandorian Plexora a newcomer to the region. The next regular elections are those for President, which will be conducted at the beginning of July.

Unionists Receive Special Honors
by Kingdom of Sacento & Zeneste

Two Unionists recently received special recognition for their work in the Union.

After spending four years in the Union, serving many roles including but not limited to, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Chancellor, OOC Administrator, President, and Speaker, Phoenix Coalition has decided to take a hiatus from the UDS as a citizen and relinquished all IC positions while continuing work as an Admin in hopes of exploring pastures new. Phoenix was subsequently awarded Honorary Citizenship by the Senate by a unanimous vote. The decision was widely supported among the citizenry considering the exemplary service of Phoenix during his tenure in the region, and we wish him all the best moving forward.

Josephto was the Union’s final Chairperson, and he served the position diligently up until the Union’s most recent change in constitutions. Over the past few months, Josephto has become synonymous with the General Assembly as both a member and eventually as Chairperson. When the General Assembly was abolished under the new constitution, Joe was honored with the title of Chairperson Emeritus for his extensive work in the chamber.

Ministry of Justice Introduces Union Bar Exam
by Glaciosia

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice Glaciosia announced the long-awaited Union Bar Exam and Union Attorney program. The test consists of a multiple-choice and written portion, examining applicants’ knowledge of the constitution, criminal code, and judicial procedure. So far, 7 applicants have sought to become Union Attorneys, able to represent others in court and demonstrate their legal prowess.

— End quote

EUKBICR · July 19, 2021, 6:25pm

June Embassy Update
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

New Administration
by British Isles And Commonwealth Realms

With the end of President Nuevo San Miguel’s term in office approaching, the recently established Electoral Commission opened nominations for the office of the President of the Union of Democratic States.

This would be the first presidential elections to be conducted under the new constitution, abd the winner would be the first president who would we’ll all the powers given to them by this constitution. There were only two candidates; former chief justice Kron with Zuk as her vice president and former defence minister Kang with Phoenix as his vice president. Kron’s manifesto focused on efficiency, activity and information. She is the first presidential candidate in recent history to declare their cabinet in their manifesto. One major point of her campaign was the splitting of the Ministry of Culture into Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Roleplay, the minster of the latter ministry and the Minister of defence would be nominated by the roleplayers and soldiers respectively. Kang promised positive growth in domestic and international matters, and culture. The promised game nights and reaching out to new incoming nations through telegrams.

The two candidates met for a skirmish in a debate where the citizenry ask them questions through our intermediary Glac. The final battle took place on the electoral field and Kron emerged victorious. Our long-suffering chief justice and the architect of the present constitution had won the top seat of power in the Union and began working immediately. She nominated her cabinet choices to the Speaker of the Senate and were duly confirmed. Phoenix as the Minister of the Censes, Sacento as the Minister of Culture, Zuk as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General and Isles as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The soldiers of the UDSAF chose Kang as the Minister of Defence and role players chose Nuevo San Miguel as the Minister of Role-play. Both were duly confirmed. All the cabinet positions were now filled. The Kronministration has settled in.

Ministry of Role-Play Created
by British Isles And Commonwealth Realms

One of the campaign promises of President Kron was to split the Ministry of Culture into; Ministry of Culture with the responsibility of a game night etc., and Ministry of Role-Play which as the name suggests will be responsible for role-play. President Kron also asked to the UDS role-playing community for their preference for the minister. The chosen Nuevo San Miguel as the first Minister of Role-Play

World Assembly Delegate Transition
by British Isles And Commonwealth Realms

Asdersland had been serving as the World Assembly Delegate of the Union of Democratic States. His resignation meant a transition for the UDS. President Kron nominated Kade (the glorious hypetrain) for the position as per the Constitution. Upon confirmation by the Senate the campaign began at once. Telegrams were sent, announcements were, well, announced, and UDSAF was called home to aid in the transition. In 10 days, Kade was appointed as the World Assembly Delegate of the Union of Democratic States.

Change of Electoral Commission Staff
by British Isles And Commonwealth Realms

With Asdersland resigning as UDS’s first Chief Electoral Commissioner, President Kron using the powers pursuant to Article V, Section 2, Clause a, of the Constitution of the Union of Democratic States nominated Deputy Chief Electoral Commissioner as the new Chief. After the Senate’s confirmation, Kade (the glorious hypetrain) took office and appointed Phoenix (phoenix_coalition) as the Deputy Chief Election Commissioner.

New Chief Justice and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Union of Democratic States
by British Isles And Commonwealth Realms

Upon Kron’s resignation from the office of the Chief Justice, the electoral commission opened nominations for the now vacated office. In the running were Khevo, an associate justice; Glaciocia, the Attorney General and Druing, a former president. Khevo won with the majority of votes. As per Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the Union of Democratic States, Khevo was confirmed as the Chief Justice of the Union of Democratic States and appointed Nuevo San Miguel as associate justice to the seat he vacated.

Senate By-Election
by Joesphto

Following the resignation of Senator XanPlex, the Union was left with an open Senate seat. Three candidates ran for the position. They were Mr. Casually Cruel (moe), During, and North Plegia, as well as the additional Re-Open Nominations. The election was held using the Average Placement voting system. Of the 20 votes cast, 19 were counted, with one being disqualified. Moe was elected on the first ballot with 11 votes. North Plegia placed second with 4 votes, and with Druing and RON tying for third with 2 votes each. Upon publication of the election report by the Union Electoral Commision, Moe was named a Senator of the Union of Democratic States.

https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=38833149#p38833149