Gandara

The Commonwealth of Gandara is a Commonwealth of Peoples member state located in Ambara. Gandara has some of the most pristine rainforests on the continent and the greatest biodiversity of any Commonwealth member state. It is bordered by Abt on the north, Pantocratorian Ambara on the west, Sahor on the south and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

The population of Gandara is largely of European descent with Adoki and African-Ambarans being the two largest minority groups, especially in the urban center.

Owain ap Cunedda, as the King of Gandara, is the Chief of State. He is represented by a non-partisan Governor-General. However, as the King "reigns but does not rule" she has little actual political authority. Political power is held by the democratically elected Gandaran Parliament under the leadership of the Prime Minister who heads the Cabinet.

History

What is now Gandara was originally a part of Sahor. Before the Second Ambaran War, the entire area was uninhabited and not officially claimed by any nation. Immediately following the war, Marlund insurgents and members of the Sons of the Reformation began to use camps in the unclaimed area as bases from which to launch attacks on the new democratic Marlund Government. In response, the Resurgent Dream began military operations in Sahor designed to destroy the insurgency's base of operations.

In late 2005, settlers from Taraskovya founded a colony in the northern part of what was then considered Sahor and proceeded to declare themselves a sovereign state. This caused some measure of concern to the established states in Ambara. Pantocratorian Ambara pressured the Resurgent Dream to assume responsibility for unclaimed territory in Ambara. The Resurgent Dream agreed to do so and entered into negotiations with Abt. In the negotiations, the Resurgent Dream agreed to not only recognize Abt but to act as a guarantor of her sovereignty so long as Abt agreed to remain within her present borders and provide assistance in destroying the Sons of the Reformation and the rest of the Marlund insurgency. The Resurgent Dream then claimed the rest of Sahor as Danaan territory but did not organize it into new principalities, instead being content to maintain it as an alienable rather than integral part of Danaan territory under the complete authority of the central government.

Despite original Danaan plans to temporarily hold the land in trust and eventually sell it to friendly foreign powers, population pressures and the spirit of adventure normally associated with an unsettled land led Danaans to begin settling in the area. The status of these communities was a subject of controversy. Because they weren't part of any principality, their citizens lacked representation in Danaan Parliament. However, the Resurgent Dream remained unwilling to create new principalities in Sahor.

With the formation of the Commonwealth of Peoples, the Resurgent Dream determined to grant its Sahor settlements independence within the Commonwealth. The territory of Danaan Sahor was divided into Gandara, Sahor and Jagiella. Self-government for Gandara was established in the Constitution of Gandara Act passed by the Danaan Parliament and confirmed as the first act of the new Gandaran Parliament. The Act established a constitutional monarchy in Gandara with Owain ap Cunedda as King. The Act provided for royal sucession by permanently bonding the title of the King of Gandara to the title of High King of the Resurgent Dream.

Government

Gandara is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Under the Constitution, the Head of the Commonwealth is also the King of Gandara and is represented as head of state by the Governor-General. However, the last Governor-General, Elizabeth Crane, was assassinated by members of the Sons of the Reformation and a new Governor-General has not yet been appointed. In the meantime, the Head of the Commonwealth has been personally performing the functions of the head of state in Gandara and thus spending a great deal of his time there.

The Gandaran Parliament has only one chamber, the House of Representatives. The House has roughly 110 seats although so-called overhang seats are possible under the electoral system. Gandaran parliaments serve for three years or until the Governor-General dissolves Parliament either on the advice of the Premier or as the result of a vote of no confidence after which no party or coalition was able to secure the confidence of the House within a reasonable period of time. The Parliament is elected by a system of mixed member proportional representation.

The Governor-General of Gandara, acting on behalf of the Crown, has the power to appoint and dismiss the Premier and to dissolve Parliament. By convention, she may only appoint the leader of the party or coalition with a parliamentary majority as Premier, may only dissolve Parliament on the advice of the Premier or in response to the inability of any party to form a government capable of securing the confidence of the House and may only dismiss a Premier in response to a vote of no confidence. The Governor-General also chairs meetings of the Executive Council which includes all government ministers. The Cabinet is the working executive, chaired by the Premier and responsible to Parliament.

The current Premier is Beatrice Doyle, the leader of the Green Party. A coalition between the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party is in opposition, led by Liberal leader Emma Young. Democratic Concordance, led by Judy Tabard, is a crossbench party which abstains on matters of confidence and votes for or against the government depending upon the merits of the matter and politicial considerations.

The highest court in Gandara is the Supreme Court of Gandara. However, even the decisions of the SCG can be appealed to the Confederal court system if the appeal is based upon some issue of Confederal law.