Difference between revisions of "Movement for Democratic Unity/Constitution"

Latest revision as of 06:26, 8 November 2009

The following lists the current and updated constitution for the UK political party, Movement for Democratic Unity. It was drafted by the ex Party President, CV James on 9th December 2008, and then passed following an MDU vote on 17th December 2008 with 100% support.

On 29th December 2008, the first ammendment (§10) was passed by the party, followed by the second and third ammendments on 31st December 2008 again with 100% support.

Text in italics was in the original constitution but has since been removed by subsequent ammendments.

§1. Name

• 1.1 The party shall be called the “Movement for Democratic Unity”.
• 1.2 It can be abbreviated as the “MDU”.

§2. Core Values

• 2.1 The party shall have 3 core values.
  • 2.1.1 Liberty of the Citizen.
  • 2.1.2 Independence of the Nation.
  • 2.1.3 Protection of the Free Market.

§3. Party President

• 3.1 The party shall be led foremost by the Party President; he or she will have the final say on all issues.
• 3.2 The Party President is the figurehead of the party and shall do all within their power to promote the party in a positive light.
• 3.3 The Party President has the exclusive right to appoint positions within the party.
• 3.4 Foremost, they are responsible to the party; all decisions should be made (as much as possible) with a debate in the party forums.
• 3.5 (Removed due to §11.1) The Party President has the right to appoint a Vice Party President to delegate power, however this is not obligatory.
• 3.6 The Party President has the responsibility to report events to the party via the party forums.
• 3.7 Elections for the Party President take place according to eRepublik game mechanics.
• 3.8 Any member of the party has the right to put themselves forward for the party vote.
• 3.9 There shall be no limit on the number of terms a Party President can serve.

§4. Party Structure

• 4.1 The party shall be led foremost by the Party President.
• 4.2 There shall be a party cabinet composed of the heads of the party departments, the Party President, the Vice Party President and the Party Chairman in order to advise the Party President.
  • 4.2.1 The Party President can appoint any other party member to the party cabinet as an advisor.
• 4.3 There shall be departments within the party covering the following sections of eRepublik life, led by a department head appointed by the Party President:
  • 4.3.1 Economics, Trade and Society.
  • 4.3.2 Foreign Affairs (including War and Defence).
  • 4.3.3 Health and Education.
  • 4.3.4 Press Liaison and Membership.
• 4.4 All department heads and the vice party president are answerable to the Party President, and are not responsible for dictating party policy.
• 4.5 The departments are a forum for discussion within the party.
• 4.6 The department heads are responsible for drawing consensus from the department discussions, reporting them to the Party President, and with the Party President’s approval, to the general public.
• 4.7 The Party President has the right to re-name, re-organise, or add any department, but the departments set out in §4.3 must remain in some form.

§5. MDU Press Office

• 5.1 There shall be a MDU Press Office.
• 5.2 The Press Liaison and Membership Officer is responsible for the control of the MDU Press Office.
• 5.3 Anyone given access to the MDU Press Office is prohibited from passing on access details without the prior permission of the Party President.
• 5.4 The MDU Press Office is in control of the party newspaper; the “Voice of Democratic Unity”.
• 5.5 The “Voice of Democratic Unity” will be used to publish party press releases to the general public and promote the party.

§6. Party Forums

• 6.1 All party debates will take place on the party forums.
• 6.2 Members are encouraged but not expected to join the party forums.
• 6.3 The forums will be administrated by any member of the party except the Party President.

§7. Manifesto

• 7.1 The manifesto shall be published on the eRepublik wiki page of the MDU.
• 7.2 It shall be published in the “Voice of Democratic Unity” whenever it is updated or changed.
• 7.3 The Party Cabinet has the final say on what in included in the party manifesto.
  • 7.3.1 Preferably by a unanimous decision, but failing that, a simple 50% majority.

§8. Elections and House of Commons

• 8.1 The party shall discuss candidates for Congress Elections and appointments to the House of Commons on the Party forums.
• 8.2 The Party President has the final decision.
• 8.3 All candidates, once chosen are expected to contribute towards a congressional elections manifesto which will be used for all candidates from the party.
  • 8.3.1 Any candidate wishing to add something specific for his/her region can do so, so long as it complies with party policy.
• 8.4 The party shall discuss candidates for national Presidential Elections on the Party forums.
• 8.5 The Party President has the final decision.
• 8.6 The party may support any citizen from any political party.

§9. Party Constitution

• 9.1 (Removed due to §10.1) The party constitution must have the support of 2/3 of the party forum members, and the same amount to edit and amend.
• 9.2 There shall be a Party Chairman to ensure the party complies with the party manifesto.
  • 9.2.1 He/She shall be appointed by the party cabinet.
  • 9.2.2 The Party Chairman shall not have a set term.
  • 9.2.3 The Party Chairman can resign the post at any time or be removed by a majority vote of the party cabinet.

§10. (Ammendment I) Constitution Ammendment Procedure

• 10.1 In reference to §9 of the Party Constitution, §9.1 is now obselete.
• 10.2 To ammend the party constitution, a discussion must be held, followed by a vote on the party forums.
  • 10.2.1 The vote must run for at least 24 hours.
  • 10.2.2 For the vote to succeed, two-thirds of all voters must vote in favour of the ammendment.
• 10.3 This procedure is not required for grammatical, spelling or formatting errors, which only requires approval of the party cabinet (as per §4.2)

§11. (Ammendment II) Incapacity of the Party President

• 11.1 In reference to §3 of the Party Constitution, §3.5 is now obselete.
• 11.2 The position of Vice Party President is no longer a constitutional right or responsibility.
• 11.3 If the Party President is inactive for more than 48 hours without prior warning, they are deemed inactive.
  • 11.3.1 In this case, it is the right, but not the responsibility of the Party Chairman to declare the Party President incapacitated.
  • 11.3.2 Once this declaration has been made, the Party Chairman assumes the duties of the Party President and becomes the party's acting President
  • 11.3.3 It is then the responsibility of the Party Chairman to organise a free, democratic election on the Party forums within 72 hours of the declaration on §10.3.1 during which time candidates must make a declaration stating their intentions for the party.
  • 11.3.4 The poll must run for at least 24 hours.
  • 11.3.5 The candidate with the most votes at the end of the set vote period will be the winner and will assume the position of acting-Party President, until the next Party President elections as per §3.7.

§12. (Ammendment III) Presidential Candidate

• 12.1 In reference to §8 of the Party Constitution;
• 12.2 There shall be a set criteria for a Presidential candidate. Any candidate must:
  • 12.2.1 Have had two weeks minimum membership.
  • 12.2.2 Have held a position within the party (as per §4)
  • 12.2.3 Have seen the workings of one Presidential Election during their time on eRepublik, but not necessarily in the party.
  • 12.2.4 Be a forum member.