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Ostentian Democrat Party Constitution
Topic Started: Aug 27 2008, 06:15 PM (223 Views)
Commoncold0
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This is the official constitution of the Ostentian Democrat Party. It sets out the principles which ODP policy should be based on, the division of powers between the party leader and the party chairman, and the rules and regulations regarding leadership and chairmanship elections.

1.The Party. The Ostentian Democrat Party was founded as and remains an independent political party. As such, the party may not be dissolved or merged into another political party.

2.Core Values. The core values of the Ostentian Democrat Party are the principles by which the party was founded, and party policy should conform to these principles. They are listed below:
a.Health: All citizens should be given access to healthcare in their time of need. State provision of healthcare is vital to a civilised society.
b.Education: Basic education should be available to all, and higher education should be made as accessible as possible. A good education system is the key to a strong economy and a free society.
c.The Economy: For the sake of economic stability, government spending must be kept under control. Low rates of taxation and borrowing are the key to succesful government finance.
d.Law & Order: It is important to have an effective police force, but crime cannot only be tackled in this way. The causes of crime must also be dealt with.
e.Transport: The main priority of public transport is to deliver the services that the people want and require, and policy should reflect this.
f.Social Affairs: It is not the role of the government to control society. It is important that efforts are made to tackle social problems, but large social engineering schemes are not the answer.
g.The Environment: The government should work to ensure that areas of natural beauty are protected and that areas with a poor environment are revitalised.
h.Foreign Affairs: Foreign policy should reflect the needs of Ostentia, but should also be moralistic. Offensive wars cannot be justified.

3.The Party Leader. The party leader is the head of the party and the final authority on matters of policy. In general elections, the party leader is the official ODP candidate unless for any reason he or she chooses to nominate another. The party leader also has the right to veto any expulsions made by the party chairman for reasons except those listed in the constitution. In the event of the position of the party chairman being vacant, or if the party chairman is for any reason unable to carry out their duties, then the party leader will become acting chairman until the position is filled or the chairman is able to carry out their duties again. The party leader may not stand for the position of party chairman.

4.The Party Chairman. The party chairman is in charge of the organisational aspect of the party. The party chairman has the power to approve or reject all applications to join the party, and cannot be overruled in this respect. The party chairman also has the power to expel members from the party for the following reasons: standing against the party leader in a general election, joining another party (except the Oredian Democrat Party), occupying a government position against the wishes of the party leader or voting against an ODP or ODP coalition government in a confidence motion. The party chairman may also expel members for reasons other than this, but the party leader may veto the expulsion. The party chairman cannot expel the party leader. In the event of the position of the party leader being vacant, or if the party leader is for any reason unable to carry out their duties, then the party chairman will become acting leader until the position is filled or the leader is able to carry out their duties again. The party chairman may not stand for the position of party leader.

5.Party Elections When There Is A Vacancy. When the position of either party leader of party chairman is vacant, an election for the position will take place.
a.Announcing The Contest. If the contest is for the leadership, then the chairman will announce that an election is due to take place and invite party MPs to stand for the position. If the election is for the chairmanship, then the leader carries out this duty. There must be a period of at least 24 hours in which MPs are allowed to announce their intention to stand. After this period, if only one MP has chosen to stand, then they are declared elected to the postiton unopposed. If there are multiple candidates, then a ballot among MPs will take place.
b.First Ballot. In the first ballot, each party MP will be allowed to vote for one candidate. This will be a secret ballot held over a period of 24 hours. MPs will send their ballot papers to the Speaker of the House of Commons, who will then pass on the final result to the party chairman if it is a leadership election, or to the party leader if it is a chairmanship election. If, once the result is announced, a candidate has recieved a majority of votes, then that candidate will be declared elected. If the contest was between two candidates and the result is a tie, then a deciding vote will be cast by the party chairman if it is a leadership election or by the party leader if it is a chairmanship election. If the contest was between three or more candidates, then all but the two best performing candidates will be eliminated. In the event of ties making it unclear who the two best performing candidates are, then a deciding vote (or votes) will be cast in the same manner as described above. The two remaining candidates will then go on to the second ballot.
c.Second Ballot. The second ballot will take place in the same way as the first ballot. Once the result is announced, the candidate with the most votes is declared elected. In the event of a tie, then a deciding vote will be cast as described above.

6.Party Elections When There Is No Vacancy. When there is no vacancy for a party position, challenges for the position may take place, but additional regulations and procedures will apply.
a.Restrictions On Challenges. A challenge cannot take place for a position if the current holder of that position has been elected in the current parliamentary term. In addition, a leadership challenge cannot take place if parliament is not in session. Also, a challenger must resign from any frontbench positions they hold before standing against an incumbent leader. The last two restrictions do not apply to chairmanship challenges.
b.Announcing The Contest. A contest is triggered by a challenger declaring their intention to contest either the leadership or the chairmanship. If the challenge is in line with the restrictions described above, then an official announcement of the contest will be made. If the contest is for the leadership, then the chairman will announce that an election is due to take place and invite party MPs to stand for the position. If the election is for the chairmanship, then the leader carries out this duty. There must be a period of at least 24 hours in which MPs, including the incumbent, are allowed to announce their intention to stand. If the incumbent chooses not to stand, then the contest proceeds as if there was a vacancy. If the incumbent does stand, then the first ballot is held as detailed below.
c.First Ballot. In the first ballot, each party MP will be allowed to vote for one candidate. This will be a secret ballot held over a period of 24 hours. MPs will send their ballot papers to the Speaker of the House of Commons, who will then pass on the final result to the party chairman if it is a leadership election, or to the party leader if it is a chairmanship election. If, once the result is announced, a candidate has recieved a two thirds majority of votes, then that candidate will be declared elected. If no candidate has achieved this, then sign ups will be opened again for 24 hours, allowing new candidates to stand. The contest will then continue as if there was no vacancy, starting from section 5b. In addition, if the incumbent failed to achieve 50% of the vote then the incumbent will be eliminated from the contest and prevented from standing in the second ballot.

7.The Oredian Democrat Party. The Oredian Democrat Party is the sister party of the Ostentian Democrat Party. It will not field candidates against the Ostentian Democrat Party in general elections, and the Ostentian Democrat Party will not field candidates against it in regional and local elections. Dual membership is allowed.

8.This Constitution. This constitution can only be ammended by the party leader. All ammendments must be approved by at least two thirds of party MPs.
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miniyoda008
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This seriously tempts me to consider the Boo Party better than you. At least the Boo Party constitution is simple - Boo is right.
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Commoncold0
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miniyoda008
Aug 27 2008, 10:42 PM
This seriously tempts me to consider the Boo Party better than you. At least the Boo Party constitution is simple - Boo is right.

The vast majority of the constitution is irrelevant for the vast majority of the time.
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HRH King Zog II
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Commoncold0
Aug 27 2008, 11:06 PM
miniyoda008
Aug 27 2008, 10:42 PM
This seriously tempts me to consider the Boo Party better than you. At least the Boo Party constitution is simple - Boo is right.

The vast majority of the constitution is irrelevant for the vast majority of the time.

Like Boo.
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eriatarka1
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It's only complicated because we have chosen to encompass all eventual/likely circumstances. If you remember, the official Birthday Party manifesto ran to 4 sides of A4 originally ...

And HRH - that's perfect :).
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eriatarka1
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miniyoda008
Aug 27 2008, 10:42 PM
This seriously tempts me to consider the Boo Party better than you. At least the Boo Party constitution is simple - Boo is right.

I prefer complicated and correct to simple and wrong.
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