By my authority as Grand Presiding Officer, I hereby call to order the eighth session of the Phoenix Parliament.
Members may post their proposals and/or agendae for the meeting and may discuss them. When discussion dies down a member may motion for voting to start.
-The Hon. Malorie Allen of The Principality of Sil Dorsett
The GPO podium was an unusual place for Malorie, having been mixed in with the rest of the Parliament for the past year. But, she made it a point to not let the unusual scenery rattle her. She stepped up to the podium, stood up straight, and spoke up in a way to let the congregation know that she was in control and she meant business.
"Before we get started, I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who participated in the past election, both candidates and electors. It is your continued participation that strengthens the democratic bonds of our Union, and I especially thank Autumn of the Equestrian Commonwealth for providing me with a challenge that I knew would be difficult to overcome. I hope that in the next election, more candidates participate to make the contest even more interesting.
"Speaking of elections, one of the things I noticed was that the timeline for the election, including the candidacy period, campaigning and the voting period itself isn't strictly defined in our constitution, which I feel is an oversight to be corrected. I therefore propose the following amendment to the constitution to set fixed dates.
"Article 2 of the constitution shall be amended to read as follows:
Article 2:
:
When passing a resolution, a majority must be reached in order for the resolution to become law.
Parliament may set basic trade regulations, and may organize events between the member states. Parliament shall also be presided over by a Grand Presiding Officer, elected every six months. The Grand Presiding Officer, or GPO, may serve two consecutive terms maximum, after which they cannot run for a third consecutive term.
The GPO shall have the power to call meetings, introduce discussion topics, and shall keep debates and discussion civil by any means necessary, within reason. The sitting GPO shall also act as the election commissioner for GPO elections.
Any member state that wishes to stand in the election may submit one of their Phoenix Parliament MPs as a candidate for their nation. While this Constitution shall not mandate that this candidate be a nation's lead representative, it is highly encouraged. Each nation shall vote for GPO during a session of Parliament, and nations cannot vote for their own candidates.
A period of candidacy declarations for the position of Grand Presiding Officer will begin on the 1st of February and August, lasting for three days. The election shall begin on the 5th of February and August, lasting for five days. Each nation shall vote for a GPO during this period, and nations cannot vote for their own candidates.
Should the election tie, a runoff election will be held with the most voted for candidates, as designated by the commissioner of the election based on votes (as mentioned before), as the only candidates. The runoff election will begin on the 11th of February and August, and will last for three days. The home nations of those candidates are prohibited from voting. In the runoff election, the candidate with the most votes wins.
The winner of the election shall take office as the new GPO on the 15th of February and August.
Should a nation wish to call a session of Parliament, they must contact the GPO. The GPO should then announce who requested the session be called and why at the start of the session.
Weighed down by a bit of baggage thrown at her by Sil Dorsett's regency council, specifically Princess Claidie, the meeting quickly took a more serious tone, as Malorie was practically forced to bring up old wounds.
"On a more serious note, we have an issue that we must deal with immediately, and looking back at my notes I probably should have scrapped the election adjustments in favor of this matter being brought up exclusively. Oh well, I suppose.
"The First People Empire of Cogoria recently released a propaganda video of their military, and in it, they were performing military drills attacking positions marked with
our flag. They also engaged in extremely dangerous stunts near a Dorsettian frigate patrolling the Phoenix Strait far away from Cogorian waters.
"It is clear that despite our ejection of Scallendovia, they continue to blame the Phoenix Union for the escalation of and foreign intervention in their civil war, and they blame us for the destruction of Oktobergrad as a result of Scallendovia's attacks. Other than ejecting Scallendovia, we have done nothing to absolve ourselves of responsibility for this disaster. We have not offered aid, we have not offered an apology. We chose to ignore it. 'Not our problem' we said to the Cogorians. No wonder they're pissed at us, honestly. Personally, I think we need to set aside our egos and our pride and reach out. The safety of our citizens must come first, and we cannot allow this threat to be held over their heads.
"I, therefore, propose the following: The Phoenix Union drafts until final approval a resolution of condemnation against Scallendovia's bombing of the Oktobergrad reactor, and a resolution of apology, where we apologize for the actions of what was one of our members at the time war was declared. And...
I, myself, will deliver this apology in person, on Cogorian land if permitted. I will meet with their government to try and resolve this dilemma.
"And so I open the floor to debate," Malorie said in a dark tone, a near-threatening voice admonishing her fellow representatives. She demanded action. It remained to be seen whether she would get it.
