MATO

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Regional map

Members

Ého'néhevêhohtse

Government Office

Constitution

Article I: Structure of the Government

The Government of MATO draws its power from, and is subject to the oversight of, the Nations of MATO, from now on referred to as “the people”. The Executive branch consists of a Chairman, Deputy Chairman, and a Council of Ministers. The people will serve as both the Legislative and Judicial bodies.

Article II: The Office of Chairman

The office of Chairman is an elected position, and elections are held for Chairman according to the process described in Article VIII. The first duty of the Chairman upon his election is to appoint a Council of Ministers, as required by the Ministry Policy Document. The Chairman serves as both the Chief of State and Head of Government. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of MATO’s armed forces. The duties of Chairman are: leading the Region in war and in peace, determining foreign policy, appointing a Council of Ministers, updating the World Factbook Entry with the aid of the Founder or Delegate, and most importantly; upholding and defending this Constitution.

Article III: The Office of Deputy Chairman

The Deputy Chairman exists to perform the duties of the Chairman when the Chairman is absent. Under normal circumstances, the Chairman is declared to be absent after one week of unexpected inactivity. If the Chairman remains absent for three weeks, special elections to replace the absent Chairman are held. The Chairman should announce any expected absences, allowing the Deputy Chairman to smoothly assume leadership for the duration of the absence. If an emergency should arise during which the Chairman is absent or not online, and the leadership of the Chairman is required to protect MATO, the Deputy Chairman is authorized to assume temporary command for the duration of the emergency.

Article IV: The Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is appointed by the Chairman upon his election. The Chairman is obligated to fill all the positions described in the Ministry Policy Document, and may not appoint ministers beyond those listed. The Chairman may dismiss any Minister at any time. Should a Ministerial post become vacant due to resignation, dismissal, Impeachment, or absence for more than two weeks, the Chairman appoints a new Minister.

Article V: The People as the Judicial Body

In their position as the judicial body of MATO, the people are empowered to conduct Impeachments as they see fit against the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, an individual Minister or the Council of Ministers as a whole. A successful Impeachment strips the target officer of his position, and (if the position is an elected one) begins a round of elections to fill that position. The election proceeds as described in Article VIII. The ejected officer is automatically nominated. If a single Minister is removed, the Chairman may not name that Minister as his next appointment to that post. As an extension of their capacity as the judicial body, the People may censure any MATO Nation as they see fit. A censure is an official reprimand, and although it has no tangible consequences, it is a formal and strong indicator of the people’s discontent with the behavior of the recipient. These powers are carried out via the Legislative Process, described in Article VI.

Article VI: The Legislative Process

A. Any MATO Nation can propose a bill by posting it as a topic in the “Proposed Legislation” section of the Forum. The Nation that posted the bill is that bill’s Sponsor. B. The bill shall be discussed and modified as necessary to create a final draft for the proposal. All voting members may voice suggestions and objections at this time, so as to help in the modification of the bill into its final draft. There is no time limit for this part of the process. C. Once all modifications have been made, a copy of the final draft of the bill is placed by the Sponsor in a new thread located in the Final Drafts section of the Halls of Government and a call is made for two (2) co-sponsors. No modification of the bill may take place during this stage of the process. If, after one (1) week, the bill has not received the necessary co-sponsors, the bill will expire. D. If co-sponsored by two (2) voting members within that week, the bill goes to the voting stage immediately, and the Moderators shall add a poll and move the thread for voting as per Article VII.

Article VII: Voting on Legislation

Voting on legislation takes place in a Poll in the “Voting Booth” section of the forum. In every case, each Nation of MATO is granted one vote. Once a vote is cast, it may not be changed. The poll is closed after one week of voting. It is the responsibility of the Forum Manager to set up the polls correctly. Legislation is separated into four different categories: Ordinary Legislation, Censures and Expulsions, Impeachments, and Constitutional Amendments. For Ordinary Legislation, the question is “Should MATO Enact ____?” and the options are Yes and No. The bill needs a simple majority of Yes votes to pass. Passed bills are moved to the “Laws of MATO” section of the forum. Topics for bills from the other categories may be deleted one week after the Poll closes. For Censures, Impeachments, and Expulsions, the process is the same (replace “Enact” with “Censure/Impeach/Expel"). For Constitutional Amendments, the question is “Should MATO enact this Constitutional Amendment?” and the measure must receive a 2/3 majority of the votes cast to pass. Moderators are then required to change the Constitution accordingly.

Article VIII: Elections

Elections for the positions of Chairman and Deputy Chairman occur starting on the first day of every third month. At that time, a one-week period of Nominations for those two positions begins. Any MATO Nation may nominate any other MATO Nation, excluding himself. Once the nominee accepts his nomination, his position on the ballot is confirmed.

After the Nominations period, a poll for each position is set up in the “Voting Booth” section of the forum. The names of all of the nominees for each position are listed as the choices. The voting period is one week; each MATO Nation receives one vote. Votes cannot be changed after they have been cast. Should the voting end in a tie, a runoff election is held between the tied candidates. Should a tie persist, the Nation with the greater population wins the election.

Article IX: Expulsion

Nobody wants to be expelled. Expulsion is serious business. Seriously. Alas, in extreme cases it may be necessary to expel a Nation from MATO. The etiquette standards of MATO parallel the broader policies of NationStates:

“You can discuss and argue about almost anything, so long as it's vaguely relevant to politics or NationStates and doesn't fall into any of the categories below. You don't have to be politically correct, but you must maintain a minimum standard of behavior. What can't I post? Any content that is:

• obscene
• illegal
• threatening (in real life)
• malicious
• defamatory
• spam

Also prohibited is the practice of "griefing." Griefing is playing with the primary aim of annoying or upsetting other people.”

Nations may be expelled for violating the above standards, the Constitution of MATO, or any law that has been passed, if the people determine (by voting on whether to expel the perpetrator) that expulsion is a punishment proportionate to the transgression. Nations found guilty of using multiple entities to vote should be expelled immediately. Nations holding elected or appointed positions cannot be expelled. They must first be Impeached, as described in Article V. To expel a Nation from MATO, the people pass legislation demanding such, as described in Article VI. If the legislation passes, the Founder or Delegate is required to perform the expulsion.

Article X: Duties of the Founder and Delegate

As an unchangeable part of NationStates, the Founder and, with his permission, the Delegate are able to, at any time, expel any Nation from the Region and place the Region under password protection. In MATO, the Founder and Delegate may not do either of these things, except when Legislation calls for them to do so. They may update the World Factbook Entry to include announcements and best describe the Region. The Delegate must retain access to Regional Control. If the Delegate should ignore these restrictions, the people are encouraged to withdraw their endorsements, censure him, or expel him as they see fit. The Founder is somewhat immune from these methods of oversight, but he has promised to hold firm to these restrictions. Seriously.

Article XI: Regional Security

One of the core values of MATO is security. Specifically, security is the proper defense of the Region from invasion. Even though the Founder can restore the Region after an attack, the process is not one we would like to have to go through. Should an attempted invasion occur, the leaders of the Region must alert our allies and marshal the armed forces in defense of the Region. Should an ordinary Nation discover an invasion in progress, it is their responsibility to “sound the alarm” by telegramming our allies and our soldiers to inform them of it. Soldiers are required to take action to defend the Region should it be threatened.

Article XII: Bill of Rights

The government’s purpose is to govern, not to grossly interfere with the everyday life within the Nations of MATO. The Rights and Freedoms listed below are the inalienable Rights and Freedoms of every Nation of MATO. Let neither the business of the government, nor the words or actions of other Nations infringe upon them.

• Freedom of Expression (As per the NationStates standards of etiquette)
• Freedom from Censorship
• Freedom of Belief
• Freedom to Leave MATO
• The Right to a Democratic Regional Government
• The Right to Perform Yoga at any Time and in any Place
• The Right to Arm Bears (excluding pandas)
• Freedom to Obtain Cinnamon Buns
• The Right to Disrespect Wal-Mart at any time
• Freedom to Expunge Dysfunctional Halophytes