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Algosh Republic: Difference between revisions
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===Establishment of Republic=== | ===Establishment of Republic=== | ||
====Provisional government==== | ====Provisional government==== | ||
The newly formed provisional government had two primary tasks before it, namely the construction of a state apparatus ahead of independence and overseeing the convention as it worked to establish a constitution for the Algosh Republic, of which the first task took priority in the few months between the government's establishment and state independence. The NGPC emulated Urcea's [[Concilium Purpaidá]] and established a six department cabinet (State, Administration, Justice, Commerce, Environment and Energy, and Domestic Security) on 4 May [[2026]]. The cabinet ministries effectively required to be built from the ground up in the span of a week using existing personnel and assets, and accordingly each ministry was divided into four departments with two agencies beneath each department. In addition to incorporating the basic administrative apparatus of Urcea's occupation government, the NGPC also controversially nationalized many of the extant local government resources and structures within the national framework, excluding basic local services like sewage and firefighting. This move gave the NGPC a much broader role in Algosh life, endowed it with significant resources, and also began the process of creating a standardized administrative and welfare state apparatus, but also caused significant division. In the coming months, past independence, the six cabinet ministers would spend an increasing amount of time feuding with local governments and local government-appointed subordinates in order to gain control of their ministry, but by [[2028]] the public administration had stabilized to the point where some assets - but not all - were returned to local governments. | |||
The newly formed provisional government had two primary tasks before it, namely the construction of a state apparatus ahead of independence and overseeing the convention as it worked to establish a constitution for the Algosh Republic. | |||
With the matter of public administration largely settled, the government turned to ensuring a successful constitutional effort. In this respect, it was less successful. Leveraging newly acquired local assets as well as international aid, the NGPC began to import large numbers of Occidental legal scholars to serve as aids to the convention and to render technical assistance. While useful, this move alienated many traditionalists and stalled the proceedings of the convention. Many NGPC members had hoped the constitution would be agreed upon, if not ratified, by the time of independence. Instead, the intransigence of the convention's members and divisions among them would mean a draft constitution would not take shape or be ratified until more than a year after independence. During this period, the NGPC generally and Chairman Jala-meni specifically had to expend significant political capital to keep the convention on course and to leverage public opinion in favor of it completing its work. The convention-appointed members of the NGPC also proved unreliable and undermined the NGPC as often as they were useful to it, sometimes contradicting statements of other members made in public as well as giving convention leaders advanced notice of efforts to rally the public. | |||
[[File:Bandar Seri Begawan 28 July 2022 06.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The issue as to whether or not to use Hierarch Hall (photographed in 2022) as the seat of government served as a proxy for deeper cultural battles for the Algosh provisional government.]] | [[File:Bandar Seri Begawan 28 July 2022 06.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The issue as to whether or not to use Hierarch Hall (photographed in 2022) as the seat of government served as a proxy for deeper cultural battles for the Algosh provisional government.]] | ||
One of the most divisive pre-independence issues faced by the provisional government was the issue of the seat of government. The issue related to whether or not the government would be based in the Hierarch Hall - the Audonian and Occidental-inspired palace used by the Grand Hierarch of [[Algoquona]] and all previous military governments - or whether a more "suitable", civic-oriented building would be used, such as the elaborate old Varshani embassy building at that time being used by the provisional government. The issue, while seemingly insignificant, deeply divided traditionalists and reformers. Traditionalists argued that the building was a link to the past, symbol of Algosh statehood, and was a key part of the kind of nation-building the government was undertaking. Reformers argued the building was a symbol of oppression and militarism, and would send the wrong message not only to the Republic's neighbors but also its youth, signifying that militarism and a militaristic culture was still at the heart of Algosh society. The issue sidelined significant amounts of progress made on both the formation of an administration and the drafting of the constitution as it became a proxy for many of the major, deeper cultural issues dividing Algosh society, and accordingly it consumed most of the government's (and convention's) attention during June [[2026]]. As the date for independence approached, Chairman Jala-meni devised a compromise. Hierarch Hall would become the seat of government, renamed Nation Hall, and no public official would enter it until an elaborate joint [[M'acunist]]-[[Catholic Church|Catholic]] "cleansing ceremony" occurred, after which time a wave of iconoclastic violence would destroy the statuary of the former Grand Hierarchs and some (but not all) of the battle scenes. Many traditionalists objected to this as destroying national heritage, but enough moderate traditionalists found space to agree. The ceremony occurred on June 28 [[2026]] just ahead of the date of formal independence. | One of the most divisive pre-independence issues faced by the provisional government was the issue of the seat of government. The issue related to whether or not the government would be based in the Hierarch Hall - the Audonian and Occidental-inspired palace used by the Grand Hierarch of [[Algoquona]] and all previous military governments - or whether a more "suitable", civic-oriented building would be used, such as the elaborate old Varshani embassy building at that time being used by the provisional government. The issue, while seemingly insignificant, deeply divided traditionalists and reformers. Traditionalists argued that the building was a link to the past, symbol of Algosh statehood, and was a key part of the kind of nation-building the government was undertaking. Reformers argued the building was a symbol of oppression and militarism, and would send the wrong message not only to the Republic's neighbors but also its youth, signifying that militarism and a militaristic culture was still at the heart of Algosh society. The issue sidelined significant amounts of progress made on both the formation of an administration and the drafting of the constitution as it became a proxy for many of the major, deeper cultural issues dividing Algosh society, and accordingly it consumed most of the government's (and convention's) attention during June [[2026]]. As the date for independence approached, Chairman Jala-meni devised a compromise. Hierarch Hall would become the seat of government, renamed Nation Hall, and no public official would enter it until an elaborate joint [[M'acunist]]-[[Catholic Church|Catholic]] "cleansing ceremony" occurred, after which time a wave of iconoclastic violence would destroy the statuary of the former Grand Hierarchs and some (but not all) of the battle scenes. Many traditionalists objected to this as destroying national heritage, but enough moderate traditionalists found space to agree. The ceremony occurred on June 28 [[2026]] just ahead of the date of formal independence. | ||
On midnight on 1 July [[2026]], the Algosh Republic became an independent state. The Urcean flag was lowered across the city and replaced with a new flag, the green banner of the Republic, which incorporated the old symbols of Algoquona while removing its martial colors of red and yellow. | On midnight on 1 July [[2026]], the Algosh Republic became an independent state. The Urcean flag was lowered across the city and replaced with a new flag, the green banner of the Republic, which incorporated the old symbols of Algoquona while removing its martial colors of red and yellow. With independence, the provisional government became the legitimate governing body of the sovereign state of the Algosh Republic. The issue of the constitution remained an outstanding one. The convention would continue to act in a relatively unruly way for the remainder of [[2026]] as sharpening partisan divides threatened its continued business. In November 2026, Chairman Jala-meni called for new elections for the constitutional convention, stating that its current composition had proven to be unable to breach impasses. This call was sharply controversial as the convention felt its prerogatives as an elected body were being jeopardized, but it nonetheless approved the new election with a bare majority while overwhelmingly voting to censure Chairman Jala-meni and the provisional government. Unlike the previous election, the 15 December constitutional convention election was accompanied by significant campaigning, including by Jala-meni who campaigned on behalf of the reform faction. Reformers won a majority of the convention in the December election and, with moderates, now formed the two-thirds necessary to ratify the constitution. With a majority in hand, the convention now sought to reunify the country by means of mutually agreeable concessions to the traditionalists now in a superminority. On 18 February [[2027]], the convention approved a draft constitution by a margin of 83 to 17. It was sent to a national referendum to be held on 1 June [[2027]] with an effective date of 1 July. As with the December election, the two major factions launched major vote-getting campaigns for or against the draft, which was ultimately approved by a 67-33 margin. It took effect as the Hierarchical Canon of 2027 on 1 July and scheduled elections to take place in 2030. | ||
After independence, the new state's provisional government immediately faced a contentious issue with regard to Varshani refugees. Among the two major political factions of the provisional era - the reformers and the traditionalists - the reformers took a harder-line anti-refugee approach while the traditionalists were in favor of refugee resettlement. Though cultural observers noted that this was somewhat counterintuitive from an Occidental point of view, the traditionalists argued that [[Zurgite Varshan]] fought and was destroyed partly on behalf of [[Algoquona]]'s independence, and thus the Algosh people had a "bond of honor" to accept Varshani people. The provisional government resisted the resettlement on the basis of the poverty of the people already living within the Republic, but [[Urcea]] sought their resettlement due to the well established aid infrastructure and general plentiful food stores now established in northern [[Cusinaut]]. The reformers ultimately lost the public debate and in August [[2027]] agreed to resettle a thousand Varshani families along the mostly wartorn eastern border with [[New Harren]]. | |||
====2030 election and nation-building==== | ====2030 election and nation-building==== | ||