Free Democratic Party
Free Democratic Party
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Free Democratic Party (FDP) was a centre-right, libertarian party in the United Kingdom.
The party was founded on September 16, 2009, by Arthur Wellesley and was joined by many older players. The recruitment of new players began immediately and within weeks the party was the sixth largest party in the United Kingdom with over 100 members. It has worked with the United Kingdom Reform Party to elect candidates in the last two parliamentary elections and endorsed GLaDOS in the most recent election for prime minister. Arthur Wellesley has served as the president of the FDP since its founding. It had 72 members last time a census was done on the party (6 April 2010), and it had 2/40 congress seats at the time. It has since been renamed to the T'Yorkshire Unity Party.
Policies
The FDP as a party adheres to the principles of classical liberalism: a belief in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of property and a government which is as extensive and necessary but as limited as possible. As its name suggests, the party believes that government should both be democratic and afford individuals the freedom to live as they see fit. These ideals are tempered by a strong sense of pragmatism, and the party does accept that sometimes government intervention is necessary and justified.
Economic
In line with its belief in limited government, the FDP believes that a free market economy will overall more efficiently produce and distribute goods and services and improve individual wealth and well-being than one controlled by the government. The FDP is therefore opposed to policies such as government welfare schemes and the nationalisation of any industry. The FDP also believes that taxation should be kept as low as possible.
Party structure
The FDP is run under the provisions of a party constitution. This document, in addition to stating the founding principles of the party, defines qualifications for membership, key offices within the party and how candidates for elections are chosen. The constitution may be temporarily deviated from through the adoption of emergency resolutions, but any permanent changes require a super-majority of support from the party's membership.
Party president
The party president is the highest ranking officer within the party and responsible for directing party initiatives and appointing all lower ranking offices defined by the party's constitution. While the party president is formally elected in the game on the 15th of every month, they are actually chosen before then by an out of the game vote of the party's membership, in which a runoff is held between the top two candidates if no candidate receives a clear majority. The winner of this election is then formally put forward in the game. The last known president of the FDP was Arthur Wellesley.
Party whip
The party president is assisted by a party whip appointed by them. The whip is charged with a wide range of duties vital to the party's functioning. These include the discipline of party members who violate the constitution or resolutions adopted by a vote of the party, organising candidates for elections and organising the recruitment of new members to the party. The office of party whip was lastly occupied by Aelar Vardamir Anari Eneibari.
Constitution
The Constitution of the Free Democratic Party is the fundamental document of the Free Democratic Party. It defines the party's principles, key internal offices, methods of choosing candidates for elections and how the document itself may be altered. It has so far not been changed since it was first introduced.
PREAMBLE
The Free Democratic Party is a party committed to efficient government, effective government, and energetic government. We operate along the lines of a state that is as large and involved as is necessary, but as small and disinterested as possible. We believe in personal freedoms, both social and economic, and we believe in the importance of market reliance in questions of economic stability and growth. We believe in the rights of national self-determination, and the rights of a people to decide the path they wish their government to pursue through a free and fair democratic process. These are our bedrock political principles. Party policy will be derived from these basic beliefs, and the FDP will challenge all governmental policy that runs counter to them.
Article I: Party Membership
Section 1
The Free Democratic Party accepts any and all individuals who wish to join. Party membership shall follow the typical in-game procedures for membership. However, all party business will be conducted on the UK forums (forums.erepublik.co.uk), and individuals interested in FDP membership shall request admittance through the standard processes thereof.
Section 2
Individuals may be dismissed from party ranks through the proper procedure. The procedure shall be as follows: an FDP member shall propose disciplinary action against the offending member and present the case against them to the Party President. The Party President, if he or she feels the matter to be serious enough to merit further action, shall inform the offending member of the charges against them and bring forward a public discussion on the matter. A party vote shall be held for forty-eight (48) hours, requiring a 66% majority of present voters to dismiss. If a majority is reached, the member will be dismissed from the user group and the ejection shall be made publically known. If a majority is not reached, it will be the job of the Party President to ensure reconciliation.
Article II: Party Structure
Section 1
The structure of the party shall be largely defined based upon need by the Party President. However, there shall be several permanent positions. The Party Vice President shall be a permanent job without a function that will automatically fall to the member with the highest experience in the party. They will be required to be an active and involved FDP member. This is to ensure the continuance of leadership in the unlikely event of the resignation, banning, etc. of a current Party President.
Section 2
The Party President shall be required to hold a Shadow Cabinet when the FDP is not in government. This will be composed of individuals within the party skilled in Economics, Foreign Affairs, Domestic Affairs, and Military Planning that will assist the Party President and any potential Prime Minister with policy formation. The Shadow Cabinet shall be appointed by the Party President, and the Prime Ministerial candidate can request changes to the Shadow Cabinet during the campaign.
Section 3
The Party President shall appoint a Party Whip to aid in matters of party discipline, electioneering, candidate recruitment, development, guidance, and recruitment.
Article III: Elections
Section 1
On the 6th of every month -- the day after the CP elections -- all prospective Party President candidates must have announced their intention to run. By the 9th of every month, those candidates must have posted their manifestos. On the 11th, the Party President shall start a 48 hour vote between all candidates. Unless a clear majority for a single candidate emerges, the Party President shall then launch a 24 hour vote between the top two candidates. The process should conclude by the 14th of the month. All losing candidates will be asked to withdraw their candidacy at this time except for the candidate who has won the forum vote, and this decision shall be made publically known through the public relations apparatus. Any losing candidates who do not withdraw their in-game candidacy shall be subject to party discipline as defined in Article I, Section 2. Should there be a tied vote, runoff elections will be held until there is a victor, or until the in-game vote occurs and the two candidates will be decided by that mechanism.
Section 2
On the 16th of every month -- the day after the PP election -- all prospective Prime Minister candidates must have announced their intention to run. By the 19th of every month, those candidates must have posted their manifestos. On the 21st, the Party President shall start a 48 hour vote between all candidates. Unless the top candidate has a supermajority of 66%+, the Party President shall launch a 24 hour runoff vote between the top two candidates. The process should conclude by the 26th of each month. The Party President shall, on the 26th, propose the candidate in-game, and the campaign shall then be begun. Should there be a tied vote the Party President shall negotiate with the top candidates and negotiate a winner.
Section 3
On the 20th of every month, all candidates for the General Election must have registered their intention to run with the Party Whip. This must include a peer reviewed manifesto. The Party Whip will make recommendations to all candidates regarding constituency and has the authority to request a candidate to defer his campaign to another candidate, move his campaign to another region, or to stand down. The Party President has the authority to override the Party Whip in these circumstances, but is strongly encouraged to place confidence in the Whip.
Article IV: Constitutional Changes
Section 1
Any FDP member in good standing may recommend a change to the Party Constitution. The member may post the idea on our forums and, if the Party President feels there is sufficient support for the measure, he will begin a formal seven day long debate thread on the matter. At the end of the seven day debate, there will be a forty-eight hour vote. The measure must reach a 66% supermajority to pass, and the change will then be made to the Constitution.
Section 2
In times of crisis, political instability, etc., the Party President may request an Emergency Resolution to be adopted by the Free Democratic Party which may change procedures from the proper Constitutional guidelines. To do this, he must have at least five members in good standing sponsor the act. If he has five co-sponsors, he may proceed for up to seven days under the temporary guidelines. At the end of this period, he must either revert to the old process or follow the procedure laid out in Article IV, Section 1 to amend the Constitution.
