Valruzia

[Aethan]

Valruzia approves new Constitution following approval by the Chamber and popular referendum

Amendments will enter into force for the 5720 elections

May 5717

---

Check how Valruzia's political system now works HERE

The people of Valruzia have spoken, and they have done so in support of the Constitutional reform proposed by the Constitutional Convention elected in 5715. With this reform, huge changes are made in the Legislative and Executive powers of the nation, along with minor changes in the Judiciary and more protections towards minorities. Here you can find a full detail of the reform that has just been approved and will entry into force following the 5720 elections:

Part I: Freedoms and liberties of the citizens
Along with the already protected same-sex marriage and abortion, the new constitutional reform grants the secularity of the State, preventing any religion from being transformed into "State religion" while granting "freedom of individual religiosity". The wording is specifically targeted as to allowing the State to prosecute or condemn religious institutions while grating the individual rights of religious citizens.

Part II: Head of State and Government, the Chancellor-President
Following the approval of the reform, Valruzia will no longer have a separate Head of State and Government. Instead, the figure of Chancellor-President is born, merging both positions and becoming a directly elected figure.

Article 56. The Chancellor-President is the Head of State and Head of Government of the Republic of Valruzia. They embody the unity of the Valruzian state, direct domestic and foreign policy, exercise executive power in its fullness, and hold the supreme representation of Valruzia in international relations. They shall only exercise the powers expressly conferred upon them by the Constitution and the laws.

Article 57. Election and term of office.
The Chancellor-President is elected by universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage, in a separate election from that of the Sejm.
The term of office lasts five years, counted from the date of inauguration. There is no limit on the number of terms a single person may serve.
The candidate who obtains an absolute majority in the first round is elected. If no candidate achieves this, a second round shall be held within two weeks between the two most voted candidates, with the candidate obtaining the greater number of votes being elected.
The President of Valruzia is elected through a multi-level indirect-direct process in five consecutive stages:

Neighbourhood Assemblies
Municipal Elections – All neighbourhood candidates within a municipality compete in a citywide vote, in which citizens select their preferred municipal candidate.
District Elections – The elected municipal candidates proceed to the district level (powiat), where citizens vote again to determine the district winners.
Regional Selection – The district winners within each Voivodeship compete in a regional vote. If no candidate obtains more than 50% of valid votes, a runoff is held between the top two contenders to decide the official Voivodeship candidate.
National Election – The five Voivodeship candidates advance to the national stage, where the President of Valruzia is chosen by popular vote. As in the regional stage, if no candidate secures an outright majority, a second round between the two leading candidates is held one month later.

Article 58. Eligibility requirements.
To be eligible as Chancellor-President the following requirements must be met: holding exclusively Valruzian citizenship; having resided on national territory for at least ten of the previous fifteen years; and speaking Valruzian and Luthorian fluently.

Article 59. Powers and functions.
The Chancellor-President shall exercise the following powers:

Directing the general policy of the State and coordinating the functions of the members of the Government.
Appointing and dismissing Ministers and other members of the Government.
Presiding over the Council of Ministers.
Assenting to and promulgating laws passed by the Sejm, and ordering their official publication.
Signing international treaties, subject to prior parliamentary ratification where so required by the Constitution.
Appointing ambassadors and senior civil servants, in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Exercising supreme command of the Armed Forces of Valruzia, whose effective operational direction shall rest with the Government.
Granting civil and military honours and distinctions, in accordance with the laws.
Exercising the right of pardon, in accordance with the law, which may not be granted in their own favour nor in favour of members of their Government for offences committed in the exercise of their functions.

Article 60. Countersignature.
Acts of the Chancellor-President relating to the ratification of international treaties, the declaration of the states of emergency provided for in Article 116, and proposals for constitutional reform shall require the countersignature of the Marshall of the Sejm. Without such countersignature, such acts shall be null and void.
Internal administrative acts of the Chancellor-President and acts of ordinary government management are exempt from the countersignature requirement.

Article 61. Motion of no confidence.
The Sejm may withdraw confidence from the Chancellor-President by means of a motion of no confidence approved by a majority of two-thirds of its members in office.
The motion of no confidence must be constructive: it must name an alternative candidate, who shall automatically be invested as Chancellor-President should the motion succeed.
No more than one motion of no confidence may be tabled within the same parliamentary session, nor during the operation of any of the states of emergency provided for in Article 116.

Article 62. Dissolution of the Sejm.
The Chancellor-President may dissolve the Sejm and call early elections, subject to the following cumulative conditions:
a) Dissolution may not take place during the first year or the last year of the Chancellor-President's term of office.
b) This power may only be exercised once per presidential term.
c) It may not be exercised if the Sejm has passed a motion of confidence by absolute majority within the preceding six months.
d) It may not be exercised during the operation of any of the states of emergency provided for in Article 116, nor while a motion of no confidence is being processed.
Prior to dissolution, the Chancellor-President shall consult the Parliament of the Regions. Such consultation shall not be binding.
The dissolution decree shall fix the date of elections, which must be held no sooner than thirty and no later than sixty days thereafter. The resulting Sejm will only then serve for the remainder of the term.

Article 63. Vacancy and incapacity.
In the event of a permanent vacancy in the office — by death, resignation, removal through a motion of no confidence, or declared permanent incapacity — the Marshall of the Sejm shall assume the office on an interim basis until new elections are held, which must be called within a maximum period of sixty days.
In the event of temporary incapacity, the Marshall of the Sejm shall exercise the functions of the Chancellor-President for the duration of such incapacity, and may not exercise the power to dissolve the Sejm during the interim period.
The interim Chancellor-President may not stand as a candidate in the elections called to fill the permanent vacancy.

Article 64. Criminal liability.
The Chancellor-President may not be criminally prosecuted during the exercise of their term of office for acts unrelated to it. For acts performed in the exercise of their functions, they shall be answerable before the Constitutional Court, upon an indictment approved by a two-thirds majority of the Sejm. Under no circumstances may they grant pardon to themselves or to members of their Government for offences committed in the exercise of their duties.

Part III: Parliament
The amendments to Part III include establishing a bicameral legislature in Valruzia, with the Sejm acting as the lower Chamber and the Parliament of the Regions as its upper Chamber. Its members shall be elected every 5 years, and retaining the ban on full early elections to be called.

While the method of election for the Sejm remains unchanged – national circumscription –, the Parliament of Regions changes its method of election, with a new map drawn to elect part of its composition. With a number of 350 representatives, its division will now be as follows:

• 120 members elected from the newly drawn districts (black), 2 from each one. Elected every 5 years, intercalated with the dates of legislative elections.
  
  
  
  New electoral districts drawn for the election of the 120 members of the Parliament of the Regions
  
  
• 80 members elected for the Labor Bloc (red): 25 from Industrial and Manufacturing unions; 20 from Service and Trade unions; 20 from Public sector and Civil service unions; and 15 from Salaried agricultural workers.
  
• 50 members elected for the Agricultural and Cooperative Bloc (green): 20 from Peasant federations and rural communities; 18 from Production and Consumer cooperatives; and 12 from Mutual societies and Housing associations.
  
• 55 members elected for the Professional Bloc (blue): 12 from Medical, nursing and Healthcare associations; 10 from Engineering and architecture associations; 8 from Lawyer and legal associations; 10 from College and and academic teaching associations; 8 from Cultural workers, journalists and artists; and 7 from professional associations of Economists and managers.
  
• 45 members elected for the Civic and Community Bloc (pink): 12 from Student and youth organizations; 15 from Neighborhood and social action associations; 10 from Women's and diversity organizations; and 8 from NGOs and third sector.
  

The mandate of this 230 members will be a fixed six-year term, renewable once, but the member can be replaced following a revocation by the organization that appointed the delegate with a qualified internal majority, thus ensuring the chamber's stability, but also ensuring that the delegates remain accountable to their base. These 230 seats would be renewed by thirds every two years to avoid disruptive total renewals, and also to prevent the entire chamber from being "captured" suddenly by a movement or government at a given moment. All 350 members of the Parliament of the Regions, regardless of their method of election or appointment, shall sit and deliberate as a single unified chamber, with no formal distinction of bloc or origin in legislative proceedings.

The functions of the Parliament of the Regions are also clearly established in the Constitution, and divided into four different categories:

• Full co-legislative power (absolute veto, must agree): For issues such as Constitutional amendments, laws directly affecting voivodeship autonomy or borders, laws regulating issues such as labor rights, union recognition or collective bargaining or the annual budget (as it affects regional transfers)
  
• Suspensive veto (can delay, Sejm overrides with renewed vote): For issues such as social legislation (pensions, healthcare, education funding), economic regulation affecting cooperatives or professional bodies, electoral law reforms or treaties with significant economic or territorial implications. In all these issues, a negative vote in the Parliament of the Regions would send the bill back to the Sejm, which could then still pass it with an absolute majority.
  
• Consultative only (opinion issued, Sejm not bound to follow): For issues regarding foreign policy and defense, ordinary budget legislation, criminal law or emergency powers to be granted.
  
• No role whatsoever: For issues such as votes of confidence and nomination for the Chancellor-President or their government, declaration of states of emergency or ratification of military deployments
  

The Constitutional reform was approved by the voters in all five Voivodeships, with the strongest performance in Kampania (attributed mostly to the huge devolution powers of the reform and its progressist nature) whilst Chynberg saw the lowest amount of support, still over 50%. 62% of Valruzian voters voted in favor of the Constitutional reform, with only 38% voting against it.

Results of the referendum by Voivodeship and at national level

Now, one big question remains: what is going to happen with current President Gawel Sandów and current Chancellor Zenon Golas? According to the reform, both of them stay in their position until the 5720 elections, which will then serve to elect a brand new Chancellor-President. If voters in Kampania support his candidacy, President Sandów will not be required to go through the same round of elections and would instead become the immediate candidate for the new position representing Kampania.