Wikination:Lovian politics for starters

Welcome to our tutorial about Lovian politics. This tutorial wishes to show users around in the sometimes complex system of Lovian politics and policy-making. It provides answers to questions like: Reading through this tutorial will help any user a long way in the Lovian system of politics. A basic knowledge of the country's Congress, government, states, law and political parties can be of huge value!
 * Is Lovia a democracy and what kind of state is it?
 * Who governs Lovia?
 * Is there a court of law in this country?
 * Who writes the law and how does it work?
 * How many states are there and what powers do they have?
 * What political parties are there in Lovia, and what do they stand for?

In general
Lovia is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. This means that:
 * Lovia has a Constitution, a supreme law written and approved by the Congress, that applies to all inhabitants.
 * Lovia has a monarch, who exercizes some specific powers within the government.
 * Lovia has a parliament, called the Congress, which has great legislative power.

This country is organized as a democracy wherein all citizens have equal rights. Congress, the Prime Minister and the Governors and Deputy Governors are elected democratically by those citizens. The ruling monarch is not elected: he or she inherits the throne by lineage.

Levels and branches
Lovia used to have several levels of government, from sublocal (neighborhoods) to federal (the nation). In the 2010 State Reform (Sixth Amendment), two of these levels were abolished and the remaining levels were redesigned. The current system has two levels and three branches.

First of all, there is the federal level, which consists of:
 * the Lovian government with a Prime Minister and a number of Secretaries with their own departments; generally the executive branch also includes the ruling monarch;
 * the Congress, which has all legislative power;
 * the Supreme Court, which has all judicial power in Lovia.

Then there is the state level. This encompasses the five states of Lovia (Clymene, Kings, Oceana, Seven and Sylvania). Each of those states is governed by a Governor, who is assisted by a Deputy Governor. Both are elected in six-monthly state elections. The states have little power and mainly decide on local issues, such as urban planning, roads and waterways, parks, etc.

Federal government
The nation's federal government is led by a Prime Minister (incumbent: Yuri Medvedev). There are several federal secretaries who each have their own department. Actually, Lovian secretaries have only limited power. They do appoint chairpeople to several Lovian institutions which tend to have more actual influence in Lovia.

The ruling monarch or king is King Dimitri I of Lovia. He inherited the throne from his ancestors. King Arthur I of Lovia was the archipelago's discoverer and first leader. The monarchs share a common Belgian ancestry and tend to be progressive and non-religious. As of 2011, the monarch has little legal power in Lovia. However, he still has informal influence over the country. King Dimitri is an active player in policy-making in Congress.

Congress and law in Lovia


As a matter of fact, the Lovian Congress is the country's most powerful institution. All legal power inheres to the Congress: they are the only ones who can write or amend the laws of Lovia. They also have a lot to say when it comes to executive powers.

In the 2010 Congress, there are different parties and factions. The largest party in Congress is Walden (green, social-democratic). See the chapter on political parties for more information.

Members of the Congress (MOTCs) are elected during federal elections, which take place in January of each year. In Spring or Summer, mid-term elections can be held; in those elections, new MOTCs are elected to fill up Congress. The candidate with the highest number of votes in the January election round, becomes Lovia's Prime Minister.

In Lovia, elections are a democratic process. All citizens - except the King - can participate and have equal chances. In the most recent January elections, the Liberal Democrats (now abolished) won the most seats, but Yuri Medvedev of the Progressive Democrats (now the CPL.nm) became Premier, having won the most personal votes. In the mid-terms, Martha Van Ghent and Percival E. Galahad both garnered the largest support.

Only the ruling monarch is not elected to Congress: he is Member by Right.

The next federal elections will take place in January 2011. Candidacies open in December 2010.

Lovia has a system of organic law. There is the Constitution, the country's supreme law, and the Federal Law. The Constitution prescribes and describes the political mechanisms of the country, as well as how courts of law happen, what rights people have, etc. Only a two thirds majority in Congress can amend it. The original 2007 Constitution was written by then-Prince Dimitri, and has been amended six times over the past three years.

The Federal Law contains all other bills passed by Congress. There are laws on education, alcohol consumption, police organization, etc. A normal majority (i.e. more than half of Congress) needs to be in favor of Federal Law bills to pass them.

Supreme Court


The Supreme Court is Lovia's only court of law, to which all judicial power inheres. The Supreme Court Judge, appointed by the Secretary of Justice in agreement with the Prime Minister. The current justice is Arthur Jefferson, a jurist and independent politician.

In this court, lawsuits between private parties, government branches, states or companies are held. The Constitution describes the processes of such lawsuits.

States
The Kingdom of Lovia is divided into five states (capitals between parentheses):
 * Clymene (Sofasi)
 * Kings (Newhaven)
 * Oceana (Hurbanova)
 * Seven (Kinley)
 * Sylvania (Noble City)

Each of these states is led by a Governor, who is elected in six-monthly state elections. The following domains inhere to the Governor's power:
 * Naming, organizing and maintaining urban parks, public places, streets, markets, roads (with the exclusion of highways), waterways, natural areas and environmentally significant places that are not protected by the federal government, and culturally significant monuments that are not protected by the federal government.
 * Informing the state population about the various aspects of the state, the federal government and its policies.
 * Construction and planning of neighborhoods and hamlets.
 * Bringing the people of Lovia and the different levels and branches of government closer to one another.
 * Advising the Lovian Congress on issues related to the particular state.
 * Advising federal institutions in relation to protected natural regions and culturally significant locations and monuments in the particular state.

The Deputy Governor is elected in the same state elections; he or she succeeds the Governor if that person resigns from office. The Deputy Governor does not have any formal powers by law.

The next state elections will take place in March and April 2011.

Flag


The Lovian flag is divided in two halfs, one in navy blue and one in red. In the center, there is a white pine tree. The flag is a well-known national symbol.

Language
The majority of the inhabitants of Lovia is fluent in English. The variety spoken on the archipelago is Lovian English. It is very much alike American English and uses the same spelling conventions.

There are Dutch-speaking minorities in the country. They usually descend from early Dutch and Belgian settlers, or they are more recent migrants from Libertas. Other languages spoken at home sometimes include German, Chinese, Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, Danish, etc.

In the state of Oceana, a local language named Oceana or Narasha 'Oshenna. It largely originates in Eastern European languages, such as Slovak. It is recognized as a regional language and is protected from extinction.

Political parties


Until recently, parties did not play an important role in Lovian politics. In the Federal Elections, 2010, which took place in January, parties arose as powerful political tools. In the current Congress, there are several political parties at work. For more info, see List of political parties in Lovia and 2010 Congress.

The most significant parties at the moment are:
 * ██ Walden, a progressive environmentalist party with a large support base in Lovia. The Waldeners used to be libertarians, but are now closer to social-democracy. Walden is all for simplying the political system.
 * ██ Communist Party of Lovia (neo-marxist) (CPL.nm), a ground-breakingly progressive socialist party that currently delivers the Prime Minister. Together with Walden they form a leading majority in Congress.
 * ██ Liberal Union (LU), a center party with a program that contains both classical liberal and progressive elements. Classical liberals and centrists used to be a great force in Lovia, but they are not very coherent anymore.
 * ██ Conservative Christian Party of Lovia (CCPL), a very independent conservative Christian-democratic party. The party, led by Oos Wes Ilava, supports several social programs, but is very conservative when it comes to women or homosexuals.

There are other parties, including joke parties, local parties and one-issue parties.

1. Become a citizen
There are a few steps you have to take before you can launch yourself in the exciting political scene:
 * 1) Make sure you are registered on Wikination. It's free and without obligations whatsoever. Log in any time you come around.
 * 2) Check whether you have a residence somewhere in Lovia. You can "buy" yourself a house or apartment in one of the country's cities or villages. An example of a neighborhood where you can settle: Bayside.
 * 3) Any user with a residence can become a citizen. There are two more requirements though:
 * 4) * you must have made at least 50 contributions to the website as a logged-in member;
 * 5) * you have been around for at least four days.
 * 6) If you have not vandalized, the wiki administators will ask you to fill in a citizen registry. Then you can call yourself a citizen of Lovia.

2. Join a party, or not
Being a citizen, you have many options. You can choose to join political party. You could also choose not to do so. Many politicians in Lovia have been and still are independent. Parties do have advantages, especially in elections. But don't go party hopping: Lovians don't like that too much.

3. Get elected
Then, you could become a candidate in an election. There are three types of elections:
 * State elections, in which Governors and Deputy Governors are elected. Make sure you are familiar with the state you will be running in when you start campaigning. The next state elections will take place in March/April 2011.
 * Federal elections, in which Members of the Congress are elected. They take place in January of each year. It's a great opportunity to launch yourself in national politics. The winner of the elections also becomes Prime Minister. The next elections are in January 2011. Candidacies start as early as December 2010.
 * Mid-term elections, in which additional Members of the Congress are elected. The country organizes them to make sure new politicians make a chance and also get a seat in Congress, even if they only became active after January.

If Lovians turn out to like your political style, you'll probably be elected.

Also, a Member of the Congress can be chosen to become a secretary (minister) of a department.

4. Or not
At last, you can be appointed to several offices, without having to be elected. The National Park Service or Federal Police leaders, for example, are appointed by a Federal Secretary. Secretaries usually appoint somebody with great knowledge and skill in the specific line of work.