[Liberal Congress] 2015 Amendments to the Party Constitution

[Munditenens Tresplet]

My Fellow Liberals, it's time to propose amendments to our party Constitution! We know that sewing, knitting, and tea drinking are encouraged among us Liberals--it says so in Article X--but perhaps quilting is encouraged as well? If you think we should change it, or perhaps there is another change or addition you'd like to make, post your amendments as a reply to this thread and they will be voted on during this convention when elections begin after February 2nd. (If your proposal comes after this deadline, it will be voted on outside the convention in a separately called vote.)

For your convenience, here is the current version of our Constitution (also found on TalossaWiki):

The Constitution of the Liberal Congress

I. El Congréßeu Liberál (the Liberal Congress) is an active political party in Talossa whose purpose is to fight for and defend the liberties of it citizens and provinces.

II. The official slogan of the party shall be ‘livertà pirméis!’ (liberty first!)

III. The Liberal Congress and its internal policy making decisions will be open and chosen democratically by its membership by simple majority vote; a constitutional amendment will require a 2/3 majority. Once a vote has been called, members have 3 days to cast their vote.

IV. The official logo of the Congress shall be as below:


V. The party shall elect from its membership the following officers:
1. A President, who will serve as the party leader of the Liberal Congress and shall be responsible for the distribution of seats in the Cosa or provincial legislatures (unless a provincial branch leader has been elected for that province).
2. A Secretary, who will be responsible for conducting elections in the party in addition to preparing important party documents for publishing, and providing the parliamentary party with any assistance it might need.
3. Provincial Branch Chairs, who will serve as leaders of the party in their respective provinces.

VI. All members of the party shall be eligible to both vote in elections to and stand for the above offices. Fourteen days’ notice should be given prior to these elections being held on the forum used for conducting party business, and nominations should open when this notice is given.

VII. The party election process, senatorial endorsements and MC party lists should be conducted in a Convention held at the earliest convenience in January. In the event of a general election being called in the month of January, the Convention should occur in December. If a by-election is called for whatever reason, endorsements may be made outside of the Convention.

VIII. Membership shall be open to all Talossan citizens.

IX. In the event that a member is acting in a way that is damaging to the reputation of the Liberal Congress, a petition representing at least half of the party membership may be presented to the party leader asking for the member's removal. The party leader shall schedule closed removal proceedings and notify the member in question, along with a copy of the petition, no less than ten days before such proceedings are to begin. During the proceedings, the member shall be afforded an opportunity to present his defense, and other members may also make their own arguments for or against the removal. On the fifth day of the proceedings, the party leader shall call a closed vote to be held on the removal. If two-thirds (2/3) of the membership vote in to remove, the member shall immediately be removed, and the party leader shall publicly announce the removal. A removed member shall be eligible to rejoin the Liberal Congress after two General Elections following the removal.

X. Activities such as sewing, knitting and tea drinking are encouraged among members.

For your listening pleasure as you draft your proposals, click here because Barry just can't smile without you.

Once again, the deadline for getting in amendment proposals to be voted on during this convention is February 2nd, and as always, liberty first!

[C. Carlüs Xheraltescù]

I propose that the following is added to our constitution:

The Liberal Congress adheres to the notion of 'constitutional agnosticism' which can be understood as a commitment to bridging the gap between the existing debate versus monarchism and republicanism. As such, members shall always be free from adherence to a party line that favours either side of the debate.

[Munditenens Tresplet]

I hereby submit the following three proposals for consideration:

Proposal Two:

Amend section V which currently reads:

V. The party shall elect from its membership the following officers:
1. A President, who will serve as the party leader of the Liberal Congress and shall be responsible for the distribution of seats in the Cosa or provincial legislatures (unless a provincial branch leader has been elected for that province).
2. A Secretary, who will be responsible for conducting elections in the party in addition to preparing important party documents for publishing, and providing the parliamentary party with any assistance it might need.
3. Provincial Branch Chairs, who will serve as leaders of the party in their respective provinces.

to read as follows:

V. The party shall elect from its membership the following officers:
i. A President, who will serve as the party leader of the Liberal Congress and shall be responsible for the distribution of seats in the Cosa.
ii. A Secretary, who will be responsible for conducting elections in the party in addition to preparing important party documents for publishing, and providing the parliamentary party with any assistance it might need.
iii. Provincial Branch Chairs, who will serve as leaders of the party in their respective provinces and be responsible for the distribution of seats in the legislature of the province from which they are elected.

Insert a new section following section V to read as follows:

VI. Provincial Branch Chairs shall only be elected from the membership of the province for which they are seeking office. The President shall serve as the de facto Provincial Branch Chair in the event of a vacancy.

All subsequent sections shall be renumbered accordingly.

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Proposal Three:

Insert a new section following section VI to read as follows:

VII. Members are free to organize themselves into caucuses within the party. Caucuses shall annually make available to the Secretary a point of contact, purpose statement, and organizing document. The Secretary shall keep a list of all registered caucuses.

All subsequent sections shall be renumbered accordingly.

---------------

Proposal Four:

Amend section VII which currently reads:

VII. The party election process, senatorial endorsements and MC party lists should be conducted in a Convention held at the earliest convenience in January. In the event of a general election being called in the month of January, the Convention should occur in December. If a by-election is called for whatever reason, endorsements may be made outside of the Convention.

to read as follows:

VII. Election of party officers, endorsement of Senäts candidates, and approval of MC party lists shall be conducted annually in a Convention held at the earliest convenience during Winter, defined as December through March. If a by-election is called for whatever reason, endorsements may be made outside of the Convention. Exceptional Conventions may be called by a petition of two-thirds (2/3) of the party membership.

[C. Carlüs Xheraltescù]

Deadline met. I'd like to ask members to cast their votes either for or against the above submissions!

[Françal Ian Lux]

I'm voting for all of them

[C. Carlüs Xheraltescù]

Per for Proposals 1, 2, 3 and 4!

[Munditenens Tresplet]

Për on them all.

[Éovart Andrinescù]

No objections here. Për to all.

[Iason Bitxichë Taiwos]

Për on all.

[Eiric La Carità]

Per on all four.

[Txosuè Éiric Rôibeardescù]

Per
contra
per
per

[C. Carlüs Xheraltescù]

Feb 6, 2015 12:00:48 GMT -6 Txosuè Éiric Rôibeardescù said:

Per
contra
per
per

The amendment you voted down ensures that our internal party democracy matches our commitment to the positive liberties for provinces outside the party. That is, Branch Chairs are to be chosen by Provincial members, not by the party - majority of which won't be from that province.

[Txosuè Éiric Rôibeardescù]

I didn't want to follow the flock for once

[C. Carlüs Xheraltescù]

That's nice, I was just wondering why you feel this way. Divergent opinions are great but they're only ever useful if such disagreement enlightens us and enriches our marketplace of ideas.

[C. Carlüs Xheraltescù]

These amendments are PASSED.