Communist Party of Verde

The political landscape of Greater DCU, along with every other aspect of life, is dominated by the Communist Party, the structure of which can be broadly divided into three bodies - the Populace, the Assembly and the Politburo - stacked in a pyramid organisation. There are a myriad other councils, executives and committees woven into this basic structure but these are the major decision making groupings.

The Populace

The Populace consists of, as the name suggests, the majority of Greater DCU's population and the grassroots Party offices. Every member of the population is either a Party Member or a Party Applicant - on birth every child receives a provisional membership to the Party and becomes an Applicant. On their 18th birthday they are accepted into the Party proper with all the rights and responsibilities that entails. Immigrants are considered Applicants for three years before being admitted into the Party. Among the duties of each Member is to vote for the Party Assembly during elections held at least every 5 years.

The Assembly

The Assembly is the national meeting of the Party's elected officials and the primary decision making body of the Union. Consisting of 200 dedicated Party Officials, each one elected by and representing a constituency, the Assembly's role is to make and pass legislation and to elect some of its members to the Politburo. However the political ideology of the Party (One People, One Party, One State) ensures that, unlike most equivalent foreign bodies, Assembly members are forbidden from forming official political "parties" or groupings. Despite this a number of loose Assembly factions do exist, each one representing the broad ideological leaning of its members. However bloc voting is rare and Assembly politics tend to be far more fluid and personal than in most foreign parliaments. The three main factions are currently the Social Union (presently in the ascendancy), the Conservative Communists and the Free Enterprise Alliance.

The Politburo

The Political Bureau, simply known as the Politburo, of the Communist Party is the highest decision making body in Greater DCU. The term Politburo refers to both the civil service that ensures the smooth running of the Party and the government elected by the Assembly but this piece will refer to the latter when mentioning the Politburo. Comprised of and voted on by Assembly members it has the duty of deciding on and proposing Party policy. Headed by the General Secretary of the Party it contains a series of portfolios including, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Industry Trade and Enterprise, and the Chief of Staff (a military officer who must be approved by the Assembly). All legalisation proposed by the Politburo must be approved by the Assembly and vise versa.