Lepulicas
The Federal Republic of Lepulicas
The Federal Republic of Lepulicas is a massive, safe nation, notable for its devotion to social welfare. Its compassionate population are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.
This country is broadly defined as socialist in nature. Whilst the people engage in trade and competition, the nature of the country's political system is such that the "default option" is one based on left-of-centre views. The country has both federal and state right-wing and capitalistic political parties, but these are minority parties (analagous with the "Liberal" or "Centre" parties in many European countries).
The largest party since the Revolution of 1899 remains the Popular Democratic Party (PDP); the ruling coalition is made up of members of the PDP, plus representatives from the Federal Liberal Party (FL) and the minority Labour Party. The largest federal opposition party is currently the Reformed Communist Party (RCP); it is joined on the opposition benches by the National Party (NP, the nation's right-wing party), the Nederlands Sprekers Partij (NSP, representing the Flemish minority in the country), the Revolutionary Workers' Party (a split from the PDP) and the Social Liberal Party (SLP, representing centerist thinking).
Political system
The Federal Republic of Lepulicas is a presidental federal democracy.
The nation has a multi-tier system of government. At the most basic level are the District Councils, the local authorities in each region.
District Councils are elected on a Proportional Representation basis, with no constituencies or wards within. District Councils are responsible for ultra-local services in each state: recycling and waste collection, street cleaning and basic utilities being forefront.
Each District Council sends one of its number to serve as District Representative in the State Government.
The Federal Republic is divided into 23 states, each with a unicameral State Government made up of representatives of the District Councils. They are, therefore, not directly elected.
State Governments are responsible for the provision of services in each state not provided by the Federal Government. These duties include the provision of education (although standards and examinations are set federally), transport services outside of those provided by the Lepulicas Railway System and for civil defence, fire, police and rescue services. Health services are managed by State Governments, although the minimum standards of care are specified at federal level. Each State Government elects a State President from amongst its members; the State President is not considered to have a mandate and is therefore the holder of something of a ceremonial role.
The Federal Government consists of the Office of the Federal President; the National Assembly; and the federal judiciary and its supreme court.
The Federal President is directly elected by the people on the basis of a national list of candidates. Voting is by individuals and on a multi-round basis; at First Election, if no candidate has over 50% of the vote, the top candidates nationally who, together, had the largest vote totalling 50.1% between them, then go forward to Second Election. At Second Election, the process is repeated until a candidate with more than 50% of the vote in that round becomes clear. That candidate is then elected Federal President.
The National Assembly is a bicameral parliament. The General Assembly consists of Members (MGAs) elected by proportional representation from multi-member constituencies throughout the nation using Single Transferrable Voting. The Federal Assembly consists of four members for each state (MFAs, popularly called Senators), elected by each state's voters using the List System. The General Assembly is the main law-making chamber; from this chamber the cabinet must be drawn.
The Federal President is, ex-officio, a member of the National Assembly in both chambers. In practice, he or she sits as a member of the General Assembly and is considered responsible to that chamber. This potentially leads to the Federal President heading a government of a different hue to his or her political views. In practice, other than at times of National Government in wartime, the President and the government have stood together - if one falls, by convention, the other falls.
The Judiciary is considered to be the third branch of the government. The District Magistrates and State Judges are appointed by the Federal Judicial Committee (FJC) and are politically neutral at all times. The Federal Judges, who deal with major crimes such as murder, rape and terrorism, and also police the electoral system, are also rigorously politically neutral and are appointed by the FJC.
The Supreme Court of Justice has the job of considering Acts of The Assemblies against the Federal Consititution. It also is the final court of appeal in the Federal Republic. The Supreme Court of Justice is elected by the judiciary, drawing its 18 members equally from the State Judges, the Federal Judges and the Federal Judges of First Appeal. By convention, members of the judiciary do not canvas for these positions when elections are due.
History
The Lepulican Islands were discovered in on 23 May 1690 by a joint British-Dutch trading party. From this stock the uninhabited islands were colonised, mostly by British settlers from Wales and Lincolnshire but with a Low Dutch minority.
The islands were never considered an offical colony of either Britain or Holland and their formal declaration of independence from both Great Powers on 23 May 1701 was quickly recognised by both kingdoms on the basis that the islands were considered resource-poor.
Upon official independence, the islands became the Kingdom of Lepulicas under the Grand Duke of Brabant. His decendents ruled the country until 1899 from the capital of New Brussels.
On Independence Day 1899, an uprising of the middle classes against the autocratic rule of the House of Brabant and the aristocratic landowners began. After the Massacre of Sankifton on the west coast, the uprising spread to the population as a whole and the former royal family fled.
After a period of anarchy, a National Assembly was formed in 1901 in the town of Coningsby in the north of the main island. The new assembly quickly restored order in the nation and started reconstruction. First elections to the National Assembly were held in 1905; the town of Coningsby was renamed Lepulicas City in 1910 and took over from New Brussels as the capital later that year.
Because of the Revolution, the political system of Lepulicas has since always been skewed to the Left compared to other similar nations, the Right being considered, with some justification, as insufficiently patriotic following their prolonged support for the former Brabant family. In recent years they have become more identified with progressive policies, but this has occurred at the same time as parties of the Right in Europe and the Americas have been responsible for the destruction of local economies, leading to one suspicion being replaced by another in the minds of most islanders.
The Republic of Lepulicas saw increasing devolution in the 1960s and 70s, leading to the Federal structure being introduced on 23 May 1975.
It is considered particularly important for Lepulicans to have their major anniversaries on 23 May due to the coincidence of this date reoccuring in their history. Many marriages take place on this date each year and expectant parents hope for their child to be born on 23/5. However, the government does not give a bursary to children born on this date; this is, perhaps, the nation's most persistant Urban Myth.
War
Lepulicas is a nation of pacifists, something for which they have been been famous for since the 18th Century.
However, a large group of volunteers fought on both fronts in the First World War, especially in the Ypres Salient, where many had ancestorial links. War memorials to this conflict are common sights in most towns, even where there are no local names engraved upon them.
In the Second World War, Lepulicas remained neutral despite the invasion of both The Netherlands and Belgium; however, upon the entry of the Soviet Union on the side of the Allies, Lepulicas sent troups and aid to Marshal Stalin and participated in the liberation of Stalingrad and the counterattack on the Eastern Front.
Nevertheless, the National Government of 1941-1946 fell out with Stalin over the tteatment of the Soviet Union's hinterland, especially Poland. The country were therefore vetoed for entry to the United Nations by Molotov, and similarly rejected for Marshall Aid by Truman.
Therefore, whilst broadly a supporter of the Western alliance against Communism (even the large Lepulican Communist party remained somewhat anti-Soviet for the lifetime of the USSR) the country was forced to become self-sufficient and make alliances outside of the two Superpowers of the time.
