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Post by Mysterious Wonder on Jan 17, 2019 6:26:17 GMT -7
 This is the official consulate for Aukumnia! |
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Post by Aurelius on Jan 22, 2019 1:53:40 GMT -7
Greetings!
So, a number of events have taken place in our region, so I figured it is as good a time as any to go and present a report :P
As this is the first report, I figured it might be useful to start by describing the region in general.
Broadly, Aukumnia is a type of constitutional monarchy, roughly speaking. The region has its founder at the top, who is the head of the state. Then there's the elected First Minister, who is the head of the government. S/he along with his/her cabinet administer the region. Then there is the elected Chamber of Representatives and the Court. The region has two elections, one in the second week, and the other in the last week of a month. The former is for the CoR and the latter for the First Minister. Let me briefly explain the two institutions.
The First Minister is the head of the government. After s/he is elected, they propose a cabinet to the CoR. After it is approved, the government starts to function. The First Minister also functions as the Speaker of the CoR, and so, is tasked with proposing of bills and tallying of votes, among other things. S/he also has the ability to veto a bill. Finally, another important power is the ability to nominate Magistrates to the court, which too requires the CoR approval. There are certain other powers that the FM holds which are mentioned in the Constitution, if you guys are interested. Broadly, these are the important ones.
The CoR is the legislative branch of the region. Their primary function is to debate on various legislations and the like. Apart from them approving the cabinet and the court nominations, they also debate on international treaties and the like. They are pretty much elected on the basis of party affiliations. Basically, how the election works is, the citizens vote for a party. Based on the Propotional Representatives method, the number of seats are divided on the basis of the votes each party has. As this is the system, there is not much scope for independent candidates.
This is broadly the system in place. The founder has a number of emergency powers, but apart from that, is pretty much the nominal head of the state. Feel free to go through the constitution if you have any doubts about the power structure.
Now, onto the events that took place.
Chamber of Representatives
The Weak Roar of the Lion
The political activity in the month of January can be summed up in the rise and fall of the political party, Pridelands of the Lions, henceforth referred to as POTL. The party was founded by Floshton, also known as Lionheart, who was a influential and a veteran player who had left Aukumnia a few months back. He made his comeback with a radical new system and a new party, which shook the very political atmosphere of the region.
The POTL started out strong, with a strong roar. The moment it was founded, through behind the door negotiations, almost like a miracle, all the parties except for the Collective Freedoms Party (CFP) merged with it. The first party to do so was the Liberal Democratic Party. That was followed by the Lance's Culture and Values Party and Democratic Union Party, then the Conservative Party, and even CFP lost a few members to this quickly growing party. Within the period of a mere 2-3 days, it instantly became the largest party of the region.
As all this happened during the senate term, a majority of the senators, who were of different parties, were now part of POTL. As a result, these senators were charged on the grounds of the Party Switch Act (which stated the senators had to forfiet their seats if they wished to switch to another party). The court ruled against their favour, and as a result, the senators had to forfeit their seats. However, they gained most of their seats back in the by elections soon after. However, POTL did not yet command the majority in the Senate.
That was set to change.
In the general elections, that followed soon after, POTL managed to get 8 seats, as opposed to the 5 seats that CFP got. They had a significant majority in the senate. As a result, it was thought to be the most opportune time to push for the core radical reform that the party stood for, the Sovereign Act.
The core idea was replacing the founder with a four periodically changing rulers. The idea was engraved as the first and the core idea of the party, and so, as the party commanding such a huge majority in the senate, it was assumed that it would be rather easy to implement this experimental idea. However, much to their dismay, that was not the case.
The CFP vehemently opposed the bill. Most of their arguments revolved around how the change was counterproductive and posed more problems than solutions. The debates surrounding the bill was quite heated, with contrasting views being thrown into the table. Eventually, when the bill was brought to the voting table, it evolved into a test of party loyalty than anything else. Those of the POTL voted in favour, while CFP sought to unite against it. The voting was down to the final few senators, as everyone eagerly looked on at the 2/3rd mark. Ultimately, as POTL had an enormous majority, and two CFP members voting in favour, the bill passed.
However, that was far from the end of it.
The real challenge for the party was the public voting. As a constitutional amendment, the next step for the bill was going to public voting. As a party having 17 members, as opposed to the 11 in CFP, the position it held was advantageous. Purely on the basis of the numbers, the party had a good chance of getting the majority, however, the public opinion was something else entirely. Though, with a small majority, the bill was defeated in the voting period. The citizens voted against the new system. And so, curtain fell on the core aspect of the party.
This in turn clouded the future of the party. As the core element of the party had been defeated through the process of public voting, the public opinion towards the party too had reduced significantly. It raised core questions on what the future held for the party, for now, the party did not have a whole lot of appeal left. Even the talks of disbanding the party is within the realm of possibilities.
The little cameo played by POTL in the history of Aukumnia sheds light on two key elements.
As mentioned before, the radical amendment proposed by POTL was a core aspect of its manifesto. Hence, in essence, that was what the party stood for. So, it can be assumed that the party members, who joined party of their own accord, would have a favourable view of the idea. Following that train of thought, the public vote should have been in the favour of POTL. However, that was not the case. The reason behind that was simple, the party had members and supporters who were not altogether aware of the manifesto.
The second key element was the experience of the region to a two party system. As every other party merged with POTL, the region had in essence turned into a two party system. While POTL claimed to be a big tent party, it was evident such a set up would not breed a healthy democracy. It only led to hostility between the two parties. Furthermore, it created an environment of voting on party lines and showcasing of party loyalty and so forth.
Both the elements are crucial for the region to further evolve as a democracy. The experience is invaluable for the region, and shows that the region is not altogether opposed to more extremist party, as the rise of POTL showed. It also shows how quickly the political environment of the region can change, as the month proved, with so much going on. It also showed how vital the multi party system is to the democracy.
And just like that, in a month, a lion stepped into a region and roared, but alas, it was a rather weak roar.
Emergence of New Parties
As mentioned earlier, all the parties of the region had merged with the POTL, leaving the region with just two parties. Soon after the fall in popularity of POTL, several citizens toyed with the idea of setting up a new party of their own. Among them was Retiva, who went ahead and set up the Democratic Vanguard Party which talked of a new and improved system of Roleplay for the region. The party is a welcome addition to the existing number of parties as it offers a completely new focus to the parties. The existing parties focus on the regional government while this one focuses on RP. Having more parties is always a good thing for the democracy in the region, and so, these new parties, albiet small, are a welcome change.
Some Important Legislations
Another important piece of legislation that passed the CoR was the Aesthetics Act. This Act changed the name of the Premier to First Minister and the Senate to Chamber of Representatives. While the Act was not drastically changing the political structure of the region or anything like that, it was a very welcome change as most representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bill. This was the second bill proposed by Floshton who, earlier, had proposed the Sovereign Act. Comparitively, this was met with much favourable responses. The Veto Act also was quite important. It recommended a new system wherein the veto can be challenged by putting to a public vote.
Cabinet
Two Premiers Resign in an Hour
A fun little incident occurred on this Saturday. Since the elections, Jefferson was the FM of the region, who functioned well and performed all his duties. Then, recently, he resigned and gave up the post to his deputy, Prozera. This move already came as a shock to the region, but the real surprise came in literally a moment later. Prozera went ahead and took his oaths and claimed to accept the role bestowed upon him. Then, within 10 minutes of him saying, he appointed a deputy, Liberties Republic, and resigned as well. In an instant, two FM's resigned in quick succession. Now, the limelight fell on LR as everyone anxiously looked on. He, fortunately, did not resign and took on the job and pledged to carry it out till the end of the term, which is in a week.
Regional Newspaper
Another new thing that's taking place is the setting up of the regional newspaper. The founder took the initiative to set it up by working closely with the Ministry of Interior. It is hoped that the newspaper would become a regular thing in the region and has been in the talks for a really long time. Currently, the pilot issue is planned to be released by the 28th. So that is something to look forward to ;).
Roleplay
The Roleplay is based on an earlier system devised in another region but some of the finer systems, such as the 'Economic Growth' system was devised domestically. The Roleplay is currently set in 1933 Earth, since a reset was called for a few weeks ago. The Roleplay shows promise, as activity is slowing picking back up again since the reset of the previous 1890 Earth Roleplay. There are numerous Roleplayers current counts showing around 20 and this promises to bring more activity in the future.
Court
The court, in particular, was active during this month with two key cases being taken up.
The first case was pushed for by Schyzo, who was muted for a moment by a mod for speaking out against the party the mod was in. While initially the case was meant as a joke, it eventually evolved into a real case as both the sides argued fervently. The main argument was that the move was politically motivated, while the mod argued it was an appropriate action taken to spam messages. This, in turn, raised questions on what is defined as spam and the like, which further paved way for a whole different debate on the vague terms being used which leaves a lot of interpretations to the mods, allowing for misuse of powers and so on. Ultimately, Schyzo withdrew the case, however, called for such definitions to be clarified in the future.
The next case was another case meant light-heartedly, however, raised a few key issues. It was the call for the Founder to be impeached on the grounds of damaging international relations. While the call was baseless and the court case not taken too seriously, it raised the key important question: Can the Founder be Impeached? It was a strange thought to ponder about as the founder maintained an apex position in the region and his impeachment would raise all kinds of complications. Either way, ultimately, the court ruled in favour of the founder and the case was dismissed.
Finally, a magistrate also resigned from the court, Xylosnow. Instead, the FM appointed Jefferson as the Magistrate, who gladly accepted the same.
Foreign Affairs
Two key events took place in my own department.
Firstly, a new experimental idea was introduced in the region, a WA affairs department within the ministry. The idea was that the WA Delegate would discuss and deliberate on various resolutions proposed at the WA and encourage the participation of the citizens in the robust debates of the same. It could possibly also pave way for some citizens to step up and write resolutions themselves for WA, which in turn would be a great achievement for the region.
Apart from that, a number of things happened within the ministry as well. First and foremost, a number of inactive embassies were closed. Among them were Capitalist Paradise, Xedas, Soviet Democracy and Erodasora. After that, a number of changes were initiated in the ministry, like assigning diplomats to all the regions, maintaining of reports, and so on. This in turn made the ministry quite active for a while, and has been regarded as a welcome change to the way the ministry works.
Finally, we had two new regions who established embassies with us. One is, of course, you guys, and the other is Caer Sidi. Furthermore, a treaty was proposed to The Democratic Republic. TDR has been among the oldest allies of Aukumnia and so, it was felt a treaty would do this friendship justice. To that end, a treaty has been proposed and is currently being debated and negotiated. And yep, that's about it.
So yep. Think I didn't miss anything.
That's all for today folks!
Hope you guys have a wonderful day!
Cheers
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Post by Mysterious Wonder on Jan 26, 2019 21:03:20 GMT -7
Thank you for the update!
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Post by Aurelius on Feb 20, 2019 7:21:53 GMT -7
Greetings! A lot of fun stuff went down over the course of this month. So, let's dive right in  Chamber of Representatives
POTL Disbands. New Players Emerge. Earlier this month, Pridelands of the Lion, or POTL, disbanded, ending the reign of a short-lasting but revolutionary party. Following the dissolution of the POTL, many parties began to fill in the hole it left in Aukumnian politics. From the Democratic Vanguard Party, to the Aurelian Reformist Party, suddenly we now have many new and revolutionary competitors in the arena of politics.
While POTL was rather short-lasting, and didn’t accomplish many of the goals it set out to achieve, it did make some very important accomplishments in the realm of Aukumnian politics. One of the main goals, as stated by the Chairman and Founder of the party, Floshton,”There was a defacto two party system prior to POTL... I wanted to prove a minor party could achieve something if it put in effort by gaining seats and passing legislation. We did that and more by gaining a supermajority. Now people know.. if there is an idea to rally behind, people will join the cause... if its just plain and simple copy paste, no one will care. Which is why change was the key concept of POTL, having constant new ideas was what was gonna keep it going.”
Whether it was due to Floshton’s ambitions, or some other source, it is very clear that the politics of Aukumnia has seen a resurgence in activity and ambition. New leaders have risen across the region, from Aurelian Wonderland, the Founder of ARP, to Mount Aukum, Founder of Valtrad, each of whom have brought something new to the political arena.
These new parties are often characterised by a desire for change, as opposed to the highly status quo Collective Freedom Party. They desire a resurgence in community efforts, more ambitious integration policy, and movement away from Aukumnia's harsh predecessors. Whereas many prior parties had view points that opted towards change, few parties produced a tangible and real policy to bring what they wanted, unlike the new parties.
Historically, three parties dominated the scene. They were the original founding parties, known as the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), Conservative Party (CP), and the Collective Freedom Party (CFP). Only one of these parties remains, the rest consumed by POTL. By disrupting these old and inactive parties, POTL gave way for something new. Rather than politics that was set up by the State itself, it gave rise to new parties devised, created, and managed by the Common Citizens and their ideals. These new parties, as stated prior, have more tangible and real policy, rather than abstract view points without any applicable basis.
But as these parties rise, an old party fades into seeming obscurity. The CFP, while maintaining the highest membership, has seen a massive decline in activity and prominence within the region. The newest parties, ARP and DVP, both dominate the Legislature and, as has historically been the case, all parties, outside of CFP, are heavily opposed to CFP and its ideals. This leading to CFP being heavily targeted and blocked from achieving many of its goals. The increasing level of controversy surrounding CFP's Chairman, Jeb, has also heavily contributed to this decline.
However, there is still a chance for CFP to make a rise once more.
Under the right leadership, the CFP may become a prominent and dominant party, once again. What kills a party most often is stagnation, empty words, and a lack of tangible policy; So many believe that with a revision of CFP's ideals and a movement in a direction more similar to the parties of new, CFP may be able to salvage what it lost.
So as the region drifts towards a more pluralistic form of politics, and as the parties and politicians of old give way to the ideas of new, the people of Aukumnia look towards a bright future.
Quick Summary of the Bills
A number of important legislations passed, and failed the Chamber. Among them, a key one was the Supreme Chancellor bill proposed by the First Minister, who renamed the title from First Minister to Supreme Chancellor, and gave the First Minister a number of powers as the Speaker of the Chamber. This increased roles were seen as necessary as the FM currently had little responsibilities, and this served the role of expanding those roles to a large extent. The bill was proposed as a constitutional amendment, and passed by a margin of a single vote, and later on had a close public vote. Nonetheless, it passed and has been enforced.
Another important legislation, that managed to fail was the Founder renaming bill. An opinion poll was held in the region which asked the citizens what name would they prefer instead of Founder, and a majority voted in favour of Divine. To that end, a bill was proposed in the Chamber, however, it failed. It was perhaps the first time a number of parties explicitly went against public opinion citing that they were chosen to represent the people, and so, they have the right to take a decision based on their own principles. While the bill was not that consequential, it does set an important precedent in the region.
Court
Founder Impeached. Pardoned. Abdicated.
On the occasion of having crossed 6 months since being founded, a crucial event took place in the region. Within the span of a single day, the founder, Xadrya, was impeached, later pardoned by the new founder, who promptly abdicated, making Xadrya the founder again, so immediately declared his intent on abdicating, which brought us back to square one. The event is of crucial importance to the region, as it sets a precedent, with regards to legal cases. Hence, it is all the more important to break it down.
It all started with a trial.
Ar, through Prozera, charged Xadrya, the Founder, with abuse of power on two grounds, for not conducting elections as dictated by the law, and for dissolving the chamber unconstitutionally. The basic argument arose from the discovery that earlier legislation stated that elections must be held on the 2nd Saturday of every month, which was not followed due to his own negligence. So, on discovery of this, he promptly dissolved the chamber and was about to set the elections in motion. However, Ar had other plans.
Xadrya, in the court, argued on the lines of lack of intent for personal gain, and instead pled that it was mostly due to negligence than anything else. Furthermore, for the dissolution, he claimed it was constitutional as the dissolving of the chamber before elections is the law. He claimed it was not using of emergency powers, but very well within the norms. The debate between the two sides were comprehensive, albeit not too intense or conflictual in nature. The two parties posed their stance well and let the court decide on it.
So, now the ball was in their court. The court took over three days before announcing the final result. The reason for that was inactivity by Magistrate Jefferson, who had been forced to go away due to personal issues. The court, in a historic judgement, while termed the dissolution as redundant, it termed the negligence as guilty of impeachment and called for the same. However, interestingly, the court tried to make a distinction between the Founder and the CAE, which is not present in the constitution.
Interpreting the announcement, the Founder, Xadrya declared Floshton, another prominent member of the region, as his successor. Floshton on succeeding him pardoned Xadrya, as his first act, and promptly abdicated, and declared Xadrya as his own successor. So, in a swift move, the position came back to him with no repercussions. Or so everyone thought.
Xadrya personally felt doing such a thing would set a poor precedent and instead decided to abdicate and let Floshton succeed him as the Founder. Instead, as a result, he was nominated by the First Minister to be the next Minister of Interior, and was approved by the Chamber shortly after.
The incident is crucial for the region from a legal perspective for two reasons. While legally, the founder can be impeached, it had never been done so. Hence, this affirms the region's commitment to the laws, by impeaching the founder with the proper proceedings. It affirms the supremacy of laws above all else. However, it also sheds light on a key loophole through which the founder can sneak back into power.
Such instances are key for the region to evolve further as it provides a new scenario for the region to cope with, and evolve, during the process. Currently, the region is under the rule of Floshton. It is to be seen how his rule will turn out.
Executive
New First Minister and Roleplay
I hadn't mentioned the results of the FM elections in the last update, so here we go this time around
Retiva of the DVP won the elections, beating Jeb of the CFP, Floshton of the (now disbanded) POTL, and Xylosnow who was independent. After being sworn in, he instantly set to work by recommending a number of ideas to his cabinet, and understanding the basic functioning of each of the departments. He constantly prioritised revitalisation of RP however, it doesn't seem to be that easy of a task. Recently, after Gil Lothir, the current MoRP took a break, his deputy, Jeb, has begun work on a new map RP alongwith his RP council. At the same time, Retiva himself is working on a new character roleplay. Whether these ideas will actually work is yet to be seen.
Regional Newspaper
Finally, after a long while, our regional newspaper is finally functional. We had two issues so far. \o/
Issue I
Issue II
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
World Assembly Delegate Resigns
Our previous delegate, Xylosnow, resigned in a rather explosive manner, after he, in one fell swoop, closed all embassies the region had, closed all polls, and resigned from WA. While the embassy closure was swiftly cancelled by me, and the damage minimized, the poll with a rather active participation was lost forever. The delegate claimed he did it mostly for his requests of being replaced was constantly being ignored, meanwhile, others claimed it was purely for attention. Xylosnow was promptly kicked from the region for a temporary time and elections for a new WAD held.
Floshton won the elections for the WAD and was announced as such, and given control over the WA affairs department. Simultaneously, Xylosnow returned to the region and was promptly charged with a case barring him from holding public office. The case is still ongoing in the Court.
The Divine Legion Revived
Recently, an opinion poll was held asking if the citizens were interested in being involved in a military. The overwhelmingly positive response was met with such a department being promptly set up. However, the department is far from functional, with guides and specifications being worked on. Nonetheless, once they are over, it is sure to be a rather interesting arena being open to the citizens to freely participate in. The department was placed under the jurisdiction of the MoFA and is expected to set off in a couple of weeks.
And that's all for today folks!
Hope you guys have a wonderful day!
Cheers! \o/
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Post by Mysterious Wonder on Feb 23, 2019 13:12:32 GMT -7
Thanks for an update!!
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Post by Aurelius on Apr 4, 2019 22:08:43 GMT -7
So, I am experimenting with a new thing. From now on, we'll be making a monthly update dispatch and sending it over to all the regions. This looks better in a dispatch, I promise Either way, figured this will be more consistent than posting reports randomly and stuff. So here it goes \[T]/
Founder - XadryaSupreme Chancellor/Speaker of the Chamber - The Eternal ImperialisVice Chancellor - RepubliusMinister of Foreign Affairs - Aurelian WonderlandMinister of Interior Affairs - Roberta ManaMinister of Justice - WyerdMinister of Roleplay - Gil LodihrChief Magistrate - Xencovia
Latest Issue of the Aukumnia Times - Issue IIMajor Occurences- Retiva, the two time Supreme Chancellor resigns.
[/a], resigned recently, and also disbanded his party recently. He resigned due to personal reasons. His largely successful party DVP was also disbanded, as the members scattered around. Following him, Aurelian Wonderland, his vice chancellor became the SC. [li]New embassies established with Kingdom of Great Britain and Red Wolf Alliance.[/li] RWA has been a long time ally of TDR, which has been an ally of Aukumnia, and so, RWA proposed embassies which could eventually lead to a three way alliance. So, the embassies were established with them. Similarly, a request was sent to KoGB for the establishing of embassies, which was followed by a discussion between the officials. Once a consensus was met, the embassies were established, with hopes for closer ties in the future. [li]Region recovers from a spell of inactivity[/li] At the start of March, the region seemed to have plunged into a phase of inactivity, from which recovery seemed all but impossible, at the time. So, the founder had declared that the region would close soon, however, with the timely intervention of The Eternal Imperials, the danger was averted and a committee set up to decide the path ahead. Ultimately, the region has now recovered, with activity coming back and all the bodies being functional once again. [li]Chamber Elections conclude. CFP forms the majority.[/li] The 11 seat chamber was formed with CFP having 4 seats, followed by DVP (now dissolved) with 3, then Valtrad with 2 and ARP with 1, and one independent. CFP seems to have benefitted the most from the new electoral system, as they have a number of indidivual personalities, as compared to the other parties. [li]Supreme Chancellor elections end. The Eternal Imperials wins one sidedly.[/li] Of all the candidates, he won with the most votes, having an enormous lead over others. He ran on the grounds of making real changes in the region and improving the region's standing abroad, an idea that has resonated with many. After winning the elections, he was sworn in and he proposed his cabinet. [li]Conventia fatally damaged by Wyerd[/li] The region of Conventia, which is the last remaining entity promoting conventist ideology, which is denounced by Aukumnia, was recently hit with a fatal attack by Wyerd who ejected a number of nations, changed their appearance and so forth, when it was noticed that he was registered as a Regional Officer in the region. [/ul]
And that's all! Hope you guys have a wonderful day! Cheers! |
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Post by Aurelius on May 24, 2019 3:32:29 GMT -7
Founder - XadryaSupreme Chancellor - RetivaSpeaker of the Chamber - Aurelian WonderlandMinister of Foreign Affairs - Aurelian WonderlandMinister of Interior Affairs - Greater Serbia and South AfricaMinister of Justice - WyerdMinister of Roleplay - EspanureChief Magistrate - Xencovia
Latest Issue of the Aukumnia Times - Issue VMajor Occurences- A new party, The Imperial Front, emerges and dominates the Chamber
- Legal loopholes emerge as a number of cases filed in the Court
- An intense SC race concludes as Equilaria, the Imperial Front candidate, emerges victorious
- Major legislations passed
- New Western Atlantic closes as new successors emerge
Just a little sidenote that we are experimenting with a little something called as the Writer's Library. Do check it out if you're interested
And that's all! Hope you guys have a wonderful day! Cheers! |
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Post by Aurelius on Jun 4, 2019 8:20:44 GMT -7
Founder - XadryaSupreme Chancellor - ProzeraSpeaker of the Chamber - Aurelian WonderlandMinister of Foreign Affairs - Aurelian WonderlandMinister of Recruitment - Kenche GleMinister of Justice - WyerdMinister of Culture - EspanureChief Magistrate - Xencovia
Latest Issue of the Aukumnia Times - Issue VMajor Occurences- Chamber elections conclude with TIF and AFP battling for dominance
- Aukumnia Deleted by the Founder
- An intense SC race concludes as Equilaria, the Imperial Front candidate, emerges victorious
- Retiva's Term
- A Redefined SC
- Key Legislations
[/div] [li]New Policies[/li] The new SC utilizing the mechanics started his term by abolishing the ministries and redefining the institutions. He has furthermore laid out clear targets for the ministries which he expects would help in the cabinet being more target oriented and effective. However, he is not the only one adopting a new policy. The Chamber is also focusing on more legislations to democratise the region. Meanwhile, the parties are also defining themselves through changes within and outside. As a whole, the deletion served as a quick wake up call, as the institutions are being more proactive and innovative with their application, as the immediate task of rebuilding lies ahead. [/ul]
The Writer's Library still exists. Do check it out if you're interested And that's all! Hope you guys have a wonderful day! Cheers! |
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Holly United
Minister of Foreign Affairs 
WA Delegate
Posts: 32
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Post by Holly United on Jun 5, 2019 21:18:00 GMT -7
Thanks for the update!(:
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