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How TNP Elections Have Changed Over Time
by El Fiji Grande
Being relatively new to TNP, I was curious about the history of the region, specifically in how TNPs democracy came to be as strong and reliable as it is today. It is important never to take these values and commitments for granted. Brendog suggested I write this article to help inform both our citizens and those of other regions of the long history of elections in TNP. There are over 1250 election threads recorded in the archives of the current TNP Forum, with records going back to November 2005. Additionally, I have asked Wilkshire a former TNP Delegate to help fill me in on undocumented history prior even to that. Interestingly, I have found some of this early history on my own by perusing the UDL forums. So, while I have done my best to summarize that history here, do note that there is simply too much to read, and as a result, I may have made mistakes. Id also like to clarify that this article will focus only on the elections themselves, rather than on the history and zeitgeist surrounding those elections. As such, the historical events of 2004 will be neglected, as will the rest of TNPs rich legal and political history. This article seeks to discuss the history of what happened, though will overlook why.
In early 2004, there were no elections for Delegate, though by mid-late 2004, some Ministries were elected positions. In the words of Wilkshire: we just had a sort of unofficial system where when the delegate wanted to step down they would basically choose their successor from one of the trusted nations in the region - The Twoslit Experiment felt it was my turn next and I chose Blackshear to succeed me.
Many early elections composed of few voters and fewer candidates. Often, the choice came down to between just two or three candidates. In late 2005/early 2006, the UN was still the primary worldwide governing body of NS. It was only in March of 2008 that the UN was supplanted by the World Assembly. Thus, open positions included the UN Delegate, Vice Delegate, and Cabinet. The Cabinet looks much the same as the Ministries of TNP today, including the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Minister of Communications, Minister of Culture and Education, Minister of External Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Internal Affairs, Minister of Arts and Entertainment, Minister of Justice/Attorney General, Speaker of the Regional Assembly, and Security Council of the North Pacific (top 7 elected). Campaign threads tended to be simple and short. Who am I? What do I plan to do? Election voting was held over a one-week time frame. Private ballots were allowed by PMing The Voting Booth. At the end of this time frame, votes would be tallied and confirmed by the election commissioner. Terms appear to have lasted three months. Should any of the Ministries become vacant over the course of the term, the Prime Minister would appoint a replacement, whom would then need to be confirmed by a simple majority of registered voters. Registered voters were those with RA membership and with a UN nation within TNP at the time of the election, with exception given to active NPA members.
In mid-2006, a requirement was added by Hersfold that all candidates for Delegate and Vice Delegate must begin endotarting well in advance of the election to ensure a timely transition of power. Incumbents were instructed not to lower endorsement counts until such time as the newly elected administration has reached sufficient endo count so as to take office. Starting in November 2006, Associate Judges became elected positions.
With the new constitution in place in 2007, nearly all previous positions remained. However, the Security Council was replaced by the Council of Lower Officers (CLO), which were also elected positions. Registered voters were now simply those who were members of the Regional Assembly at the time of the election, a system that continues to this day. Chief Justice and Attorney General were now separate positions. Of note is that it was in this timeframe of 2011 that TNPs first political parties took their roots. This system remained in place until the next constitution was ratified, on August 21, 2012. This constitution is the one we still use to this day, and has only been amended 17 times since, by my count. Elections took place every two months, with general and judicial elections alternating such that term lengths were four months. Special elections were held when positions became vacant prior to the official end of term. In May 2012, the Council of Five was introduced, and served as the executive cabinet to the delegacy. By November, it was the Council of Six. Votes for the council were tallied in a complex manner using the Droop quota by Eluvatar. The Security Council has since been re-established, though these positions are no longer elected by the general public due to regional security interests.
In mid-2012, the first exploratory campaign committees were declared by candidates seeking to know if they would be supported before officially declaring a campaign. Started by McMasterdonia, several candidates in late 2012 followed this trend. In this period, debates were unofficially held on IRC channels. By 2013, campaigns began officially coordinating with each other to establish debate times, and have these debates be moderated by election commissioners. This began with Tim and COE but was followed up with debates for Speaker. Campaigns also became more creative, from Elus poetry to the marvel of efficiency of Malls thread. It was from this point forward that Mall became a supposedly joke element in nearly every election since (not to say his prior serious campaigns as JAL were any less so).
It is worth noting that half of all TNP election-related threads have been posted since March 2013, indicating that the last few years have seen a tremendous increase in election interest and activity. In 2014, threads were created (mainly by McM) with open questions for candidates for debate and to stir the pot of TNP. Some Delegate and VD candidates chose to campaign together, feeling that their teamwork and promises aligned for the benefit of the region. This began in earnest in early 2015. Campaign threads became much longer, both in the size of the initial speech, and in the number of rigorous questions candidates had to face in the vetting process. The modern era of TNP has seen campaign threads continue with this trend. Campaign banners and buttons began to play more of a role, being used by many serious and experienced candidates.
The TNP election system and campaigning methods continue to evolve to this day. The current trend of long, articulate posts and intense candidate questioning can be traced back to the roots of TNP, but really kicked off with the introduction of the most recent constitution, ratified back in 2012. TNP has one of the most enduring democratic systems in NS, and hopefully this legacy will continue far into the future.
by El Fiji Grande
Being relatively new to TNP, I was curious about the history of the region, specifically in how TNPs democracy came to be as strong and reliable as it is today. It is important never to take these values and commitments for granted. Brendog suggested I write this article to help inform both our citizens and those of other regions of the long history of elections in TNP. There are over 1250 election threads recorded in the archives of the current TNP Forum, with records going back to November 2005. Additionally, I have asked Wilkshire a former TNP Delegate to help fill me in on undocumented history prior even to that. Interestingly, I have found some of this early history on my own by perusing the UDL forums. So, while I have done my best to summarize that history here, do note that there is simply too much to read, and as a result, I may have made mistakes. Id also like to clarify that this article will focus only on the elections themselves, rather than on the history and zeitgeist surrounding those elections. As such, the historical events of 2004 will be neglected, as will the rest of TNPs rich legal and political history. This article seeks to discuss the history of what happened, though will overlook why.
In early 2004, there were no elections for Delegate, though by mid-late 2004, some Ministries were elected positions. In the words of Wilkshire: we just had a sort of unofficial system where when the delegate wanted to step down they would basically choose their successor from one of the trusted nations in the region - The Twoslit Experiment felt it was my turn next and I chose Blackshear to succeed me.
Many early elections composed of few voters and fewer candidates. Often, the choice came down to between just two or three candidates. In late 2005/early 2006, the UN was still the primary worldwide governing body of NS. It was only in March of 2008 that the UN was supplanted by the World Assembly. Thus, open positions included the UN Delegate, Vice Delegate, and Cabinet. The Cabinet looks much the same as the Ministries of TNP today, including the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Minister of Communications, Minister of Culture and Education, Minister of External Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Internal Affairs, Minister of Arts and Entertainment, Minister of Justice/Attorney General, Speaker of the Regional Assembly, and Security Council of the North Pacific (top 7 elected). Campaign threads tended to be simple and short. Who am I? What do I plan to do? Election voting was held over a one-week time frame. Private ballots were allowed by PMing The Voting Booth. At the end of this time frame, votes would be tallied and confirmed by the election commissioner. Terms appear to have lasted three months. Should any of the Ministries become vacant over the course of the term, the Prime Minister would appoint a replacement, whom would then need to be confirmed by a simple majority of registered voters. Registered voters were those with RA membership and with a UN nation within TNP at the time of the election, with exception given to active NPA members.
In mid-2006, a requirement was added by Hersfold that all candidates for Delegate and Vice Delegate must begin endotarting well in advance of the election to ensure a timely transition of power. Incumbents were instructed not to lower endorsement counts until such time as the newly elected administration has reached sufficient endo count so as to take office. Starting in November 2006, Associate Judges became elected positions.
With the new constitution in place in 2007, nearly all previous positions remained. However, the Security Council was replaced by the Council of Lower Officers (CLO), which were also elected positions. Registered voters were now simply those who were members of the Regional Assembly at the time of the election, a system that continues to this day. Chief Justice and Attorney General were now separate positions. Of note is that it was in this timeframe of 2011 that TNPs first political parties took their roots. This system remained in place until the next constitution was ratified, on August 21, 2012. This constitution is the one we still use to this day, and has only been amended 17 times since, by my count. Elections took place every two months, with general and judicial elections alternating such that term lengths were four months. Special elections were held when positions became vacant prior to the official end of term. In May 2012, the Council of Five was introduced, and served as the executive cabinet to the delegacy. By November, it was the Council of Six. Votes for the council were tallied in a complex manner using the Droop quota by Eluvatar. The Security Council has since been re-established, though these positions are no longer elected by the general public due to regional security interests.
In mid-2012, the first exploratory campaign committees were declared by candidates seeking to know if they would be supported before officially declaring a campaign. Started by McMasterdonia, several candidates in late 2012 followed this trend. In this period, debates were unofficially held on IRC channels. By 2013, campaigns began officially coordinating with each other to establish debate times, and have these debates be moderated by election commissioners. This began with Tim and COE but was followed up with debates for Speaker. Campaigns also became more creative, from Elus poetry to the marvel of efficiency of Malls thread. It was from this point forward that Mall became a supposedly joke element in nearly every election since (not to say his prior serious campaigns as JAL were any less so).
It is worth noting that half of all TNP election-related threads have been posted since March 2013, indicating that the last few years have seen a tremendous increase in election interest and activity. In 2014, threads were created (mainly by McM) with open questions for candidates for debate and to stir the pot of TNP. Some Delegate and VD candidates chose to campaign together, feeling that their teamwork and promises aligned for the benefit of the region. This began in earnest in early 2015. Campaign threads became much longer, both in the size of the initial speech, and in the number of rigorous questions candidates had to face in the vetting process. The modern era of TNP has seen campaign threads continue with this trend. Campaign banners and buttons began to play more of a role, being used by many serious and experienced candidates.
The TNP election system and campaigning methods continue to evolve to this day. The current trend of long, articulate posts and intense candidate questioning can be traced back to the roots of TNP, but really kicked off with the introduction of the most recent constitution, ratified back in 2012. TNP has one of the most enduring democratic systems in NS, and hopefully this legacy will continue far into the future.