ARCHIVED: Elections in the Air

After a second term of a continuous eleven years in office, Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has brought about a series of pivotal domestic and foreign policy changes to the Company's governing styles. On top of leading the Company and the Union for all this time she's also led the Corporatist Movement for twice as long. Twenty two years as Head of the Movement she's garnered a wide spectrum of supports that have recently coined themselves as being 'Fellowsians' in honor of Ms. Fellows, the Mother of the Movement as she's been titled.

Much to the chagrin of the Fellowsians and others of the Corporatist Movement, Ms. Fellows officially announced earlier today that she would be stepping down at the end of the year and has hopes for a long and happy retirement in her family's cottage in the northern Mountains. This doesn't leave much time for the Corporatist Movement to reorganize themselves and leaves even less time for the opposition to rally. Corporate pundits assume that this was part of Ms. Fellows last act as Head of the Corporatist Movement and most likely informed her Movement months in advance.

Sadly, this brings about the end of the Company's Third Administration and the Union's Fourth Government. However, we are all looking forward to the election day off, I'm sure. Chairwoman Fellows is expected to give her final address tomorrow, during which she will announce the official date for the Election and eligibility criteria for voters. We here at ONN will keep our domestic and international viewers informed as the Election News progresses and recalling and honoring the great deeds Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has done for the Union.

This is Margaret Van signing off for the Oriolean Network News.

Chairwoman Nancy Fellows is currently attending a Conference of Nations in the Almanianian Union in the city of Galt. While exact details for the Conference are currently being held secret we expect that it is some type of diplomatic relations strengthening conference of sorts. Many of us here at ONN were quite surprised to find out that the 78 year old woman would be making this trip this morning though it just illustrates her dedication to the continued peace and prosperity of the Oriole Union in the world.

Our beloved Chairwoman is expected to return from her final diplomatic trip sometime tomorrow evening in order to give her final address as Chair of the Company. There is still no word from her or her aides on whether she'll be giving a farewell address or attending or presenting at the induction ceremonies of the next Administration; however, we would be surprised if she didn't at least attend the ceremonies.

As the reality of the coming election grows ever closer, the Movements of the Union scramble to gather the necessary support and meet the lengthy list of criteria for sponsorship and acknowledgement in the coming days.

As always, we here at ONN will be keeping our domestic and international viewers informed as the Election News progresses and recalling and honoring the great deeds Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has done for the Union. This is Margaret Van signing off for the Oriolean Network News.

We here at ONN have just received word from the Conference in the Alamanianian Union that Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has just finished her stirring presentation and will be departing the island nation within the hour. We are pleased to announce that her speech has swayed her fellow delegates for the greater good of all nations involved and most importantly, the Oriole Union.

Upon the Madame Chairwoman's return to the Union we expect that she will give her final address as Chairwoman and announce the date of the upcoming elections. This leaves only a few more hours of uncertainty for the two primary Movements to rally their forces and garner support and only a few more hours to meet the necessary criteria for Company Sponsorship this election cycle.

The closer we get to the Chairwoman's final address the more intense and the more stressful things all over the political and media world of the Company gets and we here at ONN will be keeping our domestic and international viewers informed as the Election News progresses and recalling and honoring the great deeds Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has done for the Union.

This is Margaret Van signing off for the Oriolean Network News.

Here at ONN we've just gotten confirmation that the Madame Chairwoman's airship was seen passing over the Union border and should be reaching Custodia within the next two hours. Due to her late arrival the final address has been moved to tomorrow although exact times are still being withheld by her Chief of Staff. We can however confirm that her husband, Mark Lindt-Fellows, is eagerly awaiting her return at First Union National Hanger where the Company has been for the past two days securing the terminals for the Madame Chairwoman's departure and return.

We here at ONN will be keeping our domestic and international viewers informed as the Election News progresses and recalling and honoring the great deeds Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has done for the Union. This is Margaret Van signing off for the Oriolean Network News.

This is Margaret Van for the Oriolean Network News and I am outside Company Tower where Chairwoman Nancy Fellows is moments away from delivering her final address as Chairwoman of the Company. A large group of people have been arriving and congregating in the Courtyard all day and Company Guard has been securing the area with quadruple their normal force since late last night. We've got cameras set up all around the Courtyard to get the best possible, oh wait, I'm getting word that the Chairwoman is ready to address the Union, and the region.
Chairwoman Nancy Fellows stepped up to the podium at the top of the front steps of Company Tower. She cleared her throat and tapped the mic gingerly. 'My fellow Orioleans, friends and colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it has been an honor serving you for the past eleven years and it has been equally wonderful for me to get to know those of you who I've had the joy of spending those many years with. Through the terrorist attacks, the mass exodus of The United Federation and those many years of isolationism, we have all seen more than our fair share of hard times and yet I believe we've all come out on top.' She paused for a moment as the mass of spectators erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

'Without a doubt our nation is better off now than it was when I took office for this second term and while it saddens me to have to leave office, it is something that I feel I must do.' Her voice echoed over the city's Mass Intercom System (MIS); it was so quiet other than her voice moving through the city's MIS and the nation's radios and televisions it, it seemed as if the entire world had gone mute.

Ms. Fellows cleared her throat once more. 'The Movements will have until midnight tonight to reach Company Sponsorship requirements, at which point the official list will be released to the Oriolean Network News along with the election date and any other details required. I love this Union and its people. We are a sturdy people, we are a determined people; we are Orioleans!' She ended her final address with the tenacity and vigor she usually ended with. Stepping away form the podium the crowd once more erupted with cheers for the Madame Chairwoman.
And there you have it! Chairwoman Nancy Fellows' final address as Chairwoman of the Company. Tune back in tonight for the full details of Sponsorship and regulations which will be followed by all Movements as well as the official date of the election.

We here at ONN will be keeping our domestic and international viewers informed as the Election News progresses and recalling and honoring the great deeds Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has done for the Union. This is Margaret Van signing off for the Oriolean Network News.

While we wait for the official release of the Sponsored Movements and the Election Date I thought it best to review the Oriolean Process for those unfamiliar with it.

Firstly, a Movement is a collection of people which petition the Board of Trustees for any given district to allow them to form. Once a Movement has permission to form in 75% of the Union's Districts they are granted a Certificate of Physicality by a Company spokesman. These Certificates must be renewed every twenty years unless the Movement has held either a Chair or majority positions with the Board of Directors for five consecutive years.

Secondly, in order for a Movement to declare a candidate for any election they must be granted Corporate Sponsorship. Traditionally, Corporate Sponsorship is only granted to two Movements; however, there have been two instances in the Union's history where three Movements are granted Sponsorship. The idea of Corporate Sponsorship allows for those two/three Movements to run a candidate but also for the winning Movement to be 100% reimbursed of all campaign and registration debts/fees at the expense of the Company.

Thirdly, the process of becoming eligible for Corporate Sponsorship is based on a series of Criteria Scores. Each Movement with a Certificate of Physicality is provided with a series of Criteria approved by the Chair and the Board of Directors. The Criteria consists of 'Number of Board of Trustee Members Supporting,' 'Number of Districts Polling Them,' 'Number of Current Company Officials Belonging To Them,' and other such things. Each criteria is valued at a certain amount of points and at the end of the deadline of those Criteria Scores the two/three winners are usually granted Corporate Sponsorship; however, the Corporate Sponsorship Committee reserves the right to grant or withhold Sponsorship to any Movement(s) for any reason(s) and are not required to disclose such reason(s).

Fourthly, the actual election process is as follows: the Chair is elected popularly by anyone holding primary citizenship within the Union, the candidate winning the office of the Chair will then appoint the top officials for the Board of Directors (those being: Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Chief Operating Officer, COO, Chief Analytical Officer, CAO, Chief Financial Officer, CFO) the remaining 23 members of the Board of Directors are elected by the shareholders of the Union. Any citizens (primary or secondary) may own shares, stocks and/or bonds; however, the number of shares held determines the weight of your vote as outlined by the Board of Directors prior to the election. Meanwhile, the President of a Board of Trustees (one per District) is elected by the major investors for that District.

Finally, the office of the Chair holds no term limit or restriction to how often they may be elected. The Chair may hold office until a) he/she chooses to step down, b) dies or c) the unlikely event that they lose the support of either 80% of the Board of Directors or 90% of the Boards of Trustees'. The Board of Directors opens up for elections upon the election of the Chair opening and the Boards of Trustees may set their own time tables and have them approved by the Chair and/or Board of Directors via majority vote.

We expect to be getting the official releases from the Chairwoman's government within the hour. Please stay tuned as we'll be the only ones to announce the names of the Movements receiving Sponsorship and the date of the Election.

We here at ONN will be keeping our domestic and international viewers informed as the Election News progresses and recalling and honoring the great deeds Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has done for the Union. This is Margaret Van signing off for the Oriolean Network News.

The official word is in! For only the third time in the history of this great nation, we have three Movements which have been granted Corporate Sponsorship! This is a miraculous event that the director of the Corporate Sponsorship Committee said was, 'certainly unexpected but a warm site to see in our vast and intricate democratic system'. With an astonishing Criteria Score of 24,061 total points the Corporatist Movement has been granted 500,000 Oriolean Chips and the first place in the Corporate Sponsorship. This founding movement was followed by the Standard Movement and the People's Movement with a nearly unheard of circumstance of being the first two Movements to ever tie their Criteria Scores. They've both achieved a score of 11,289 total points and have been granted 50,000 Oriolean Chips to split equally between them for this Election.

That means the following Movements may put forward candidates for the upcoming election, which has been officially declared to be held on January Fifth of this Two Thousand and Thirteenth Year. This leaves little time for the Movements to name a candidate and get him or her approved by the Election Board, which may take up to 48hrs to process candidate applications. I certainly hope all three Movements have already selected their candidate for Chair and have seriously prepped their resumes.

Now it is important to remember that only the Movement obtaining the Office of Chair at the end of this election will be reimbursed for their grant while the other Movements will be required to payback their grants with a .05% interest per Oriolean Chip spent. It is also important to note that the Chairwoman has opened and international phone-bank for anyone in the national or regional community with comments, questions, concerns, etc. regarding our fabulous Union or our election processes which may be reached at this number: +108 1-800-426-7932

We here at the Oriolean Network News will be keeping our domestic and international viewers informed as the Election News progresses and recalling and honoring the great deeds Chairwoman Nancy Fellows has done for the Union. This is Margaret Van signing off for the Oriolean Network News.

Elections in the Oriole Union have finally come to a close and all ballots have been tallied and a winner has been announced! The next Chairperson of the Company is Ms. Bette Grantham of the Corporatist Movement! The current Board of Directors has set this Wednesday, the ninth of January in this the two thousand thirteenth year, to serve as the date of the Induction Ceremony of the next Administration. However, we still do not know if Chairwoman Nancy Fellows will be presenting a farewell address or even attending.