The Cape: Difference between revisions

|legislature =        [[National Parliament (the Cape)|National Parliament]]

  | caption2  = The opening of the first convocation of the National Parliament, 1888.

By June of 1887, following major uprisings in Cape Town, Kiravia exited the Cape. The NRA’s provisional government was recognized provided the new state remained a Kiravian ally and allowed the continuation of Kiravian trade. The transition of statehood from Cape Colony to the [[Capetian Provisional Government]] was formalized on June 22, 1887. By 1888, Natalia’s Indigenous population was in open revolt, with most local chiefs and leaders pledging allegiance to the NRA. “Liberating the peoples of Natalia” became official policy at the first convocation of the [[National Parliament (the Cape)|National Parliament]]. The invasion of Natalia would conclude in February of 1891. On October 7, the newly formed Federacy of the Cape was declared the successor state to both Cape Colony and Natalia, with Melvyn Kalma serving as the first [[Prime Executive of the Cape|Prime Executive]].

[[File:Pomnik Polskiego Państwa Podziemnego i Armii Krajowej - 10.JPG|thumb|270px|The Houses of the [[National Stanera]].]]

The Federacy of the Cape is a {{wp|federal state|federal}} {{wp|parliamentary system|parliamentary}} {{wp|constitutional republic}}, comprised of seven provinces in a {{wp|symmetric federalism|symmetric federation}}. The Capetian political system operates under the 1951 [[Constitution of the Federacy of the Cape|Federal Constitution]], with the document’s [[Fundamental Statutes of the Constitution of the Federacy of the Cape|Fundamental Statutes]] - the articles concerning the [[Restarkism|republican]] system, fundamental {{wp|human rights|rights}}, and the {{wp|rule of law}} - held as invoiable.  

Since the 1980s, the Cape has been fundamentally structured as a {{wp|multi-party system|multi-party}} {{wp|parliamentary system|parliamentary}} {{wp|representative democracy}}. The {{wp|bicameral system|bicameral}} [[National Parliament (the Cape)|National Parliament]], comprised of the 503-member [[National Stanera]] and the 28-member [[National Auditorium]], serves as the country’s {{wp|legislature}}; and holds {{wp|Parliamentary sovereignty|primacy}} over the other branches of the federal government. Deputies to both houses are elected every four years, who in turn elect the President of the Federacy, who serves as the {{wp|head of state}} and {{wp|commander-in-chief}} of the armed forces. The member of the National Stanera who can obtain the confidence of a majority of the lower house is appointed by the President to act as the [[Prime Executive of the Cape|Prime Executive]], who serves as the {{wp|head of government}}. The [[Supreme Tribunal of the Federacy]] serves as the nation’s {{wp|supreme court|supreme}} and {{wp|constitutional court}}, with the powers to interpret laws, mediate disputes, and to ensure the {{wp|constitutionality}} of politics and legislation.

{{wp|Universal suffrage}} for all races and genders has been in place without interruption since 1924; all Capetian citizens aged 18 or above are granted the right to vote.

The {{wp|big-tent}} [[Republican Nationalist Party]] has been the {{wp|dominant-party system|dominant party}} in Capetian politics since 1951. Although it is no longer the only legal party and now competes with other parties - namely the [[Kadets (the Cape)|Constitutional Democrats]], the [[Humanists - Social Democrats]], and the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Cape)|Liberal Democratic Party]] - on a nominally equal footing, the RNP has continued to win large majorities in every election and has ruled uninterrupted since democratization. The party continues to leverage the resources it cultivated during the single-party period to remain in power, for example, through its large membership, control of the nation’s [[Association of Republican Labour|largest labour union]], and the practising of {{wp|populism}} and constant reform expressed through its quadrennial nationwide open {{wp|primary election}}s. In the past 30 years, the party has become divided between multiple [[Republican Nationalist Party|factions]]; each catering to a separate segment of the big-tent.

Since the founding of the republic, the dominant political current in Capetian politics has been [[Restarkism]] - support for Kalma’s reforms. Restarkism, enshrined as the country's constitutional guiding ideology and the RNP's ideology, supports a form of {{wp|nationalist}} {{wp|democracy}} with a {{wp|secular}} constitution and an Occidental, {{wp|liberal}} culture ({{wp|centre-right politics}}). Restarkism likewise emphasizes {{wp|statism|state}} {{wp|state interventionism|intervention}} in the economy and the provision of state services in the pursuit of national unity, equality, and {{wp|social welfare}} ({{wp|centre-left politics}}).

The [[Cape Armed Forces|armed forces]] have intervened in politics in defence of the Restarkist status-quo multiple times since Kalma's death - most recently in the [[2021 Cape coup d'état]]. Military involvement on behalf of Restarkism, or occasionally on behalf of Parliament, has become an institutionalized part of the political system; to the point where the populace is no longer uniformly averse to coups, with many welcoming the ejection of governments they perceived as unconstitutional.  

The combination of a {{wp|dominant-party system}}, a constitutional {{wp|ideology|guiding ideology}}, and the frequent participation of the armed forces in politics has led to the Cape's description as an {{wp|authoritarian democracy}}.

===Human rights===