Government of Faneria
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The Government of Faneria, formally The National Government of the Republic of the Fhainn, is the national-level government of Faneria. It is organized into four primary branches and eight major administrative Offices, which are analogous to top-level bureaus or departments of government in other countries.
Faneria is formally a Unitary Quaternalist Republic, and practices a complex balance of power that favors its head of state, the Director of the Republic. Outside of its internal ideology, it is considered a presidential republic. The Head of Government is the Taesteach of the Republic, who oversees the legislature, which is functionally a three-chambered body; however, its upper chamber is made up of members of government during their terms rather than being specifically elected for the position. Its Quaternalist ideology breaks the government into Executive, Legislative, Audit, and Fiscal branches, with the Audit and Fiscal branches differing from Romance Occidental legal traditions.
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Local Elections
National Government
Branches of Government
The Fhainnin Government is based on the principles of Cananachan Republicanism, which splits the functions of government into four major branches: Executive, Legislative, Audit, and Fiscal. In three-branched governments, the budget is decided by the legislature, but Republican theorists in Faneria felt this gave too much power to quickly-rotating officials without any guarantee of skill in actually managing finance; in addition, Fhainnin political tradition separates the budget from direct legislative power as a check on corruption.
Executive
The Director of the Republic is the Head of State of Faneria, and has ultimate control over general foreign policy, military operations, and some security operations. The Directorate employs broad, unilateral executive powers in a number of domains, but cannot make or repeal law or establish a budget and may be constrained by the other branches on a case-by-case basis. The Director is responsible for signing bills into law, approving a budget passed to them by the NEAC, and appoints provincial Governors. They may also nominate Auditors, but this power is typically delegated to the First Secretary, who serves a role as a stand-in at events and and designated survivor. Both the Director and First Secretary are elected by a two stage system, with four candidates elected from within the National Assembly put up for a national ranked-choice vote. Candidates for both positions are technically eligible for up to six terms, each of which are five years long; however, there is an established precedent of resignation after five terms at the most.
Legislative
The National Assembly of the Fhainnin Republic acts as the legislature of Faneria, and is a tricameral body with three houses, referred to as Councils: Peoples', Party, and State. The former two are voted for on a local majority and national proportional basis and headed by the Peoples' and Party Speakers, respectively; the State Council is composed of the Taesteach, the Speakers of the lower houses, the Secretaries of each Office, and a representative from the Audit Council. The Taesteach is the Head of Government and additionally leads the Economic Administrative Board, but cannot interfere with meetings of the lower houses outside of a Joint Session of the Assembly. In the event of a meeting of all houses of the Assembly, the Taesteach takes control of proceedings.
The Peoples' Council has one member per county within the fully-integrated Provinces of Faneria (currently 423), and each member served for up to three terms of three years. Party Councilors are based on the number of millions of registered citizens in Faneria (currently 216) and may serve for up to two terms of five years.
In a tradition taken from Coscivian culture, the Assembly is not able to be disbanded or dissolved by any legal method; when its members are not met, it is considered to be recessed according to conventional parliamentary tradition. This is still referred to as being out-of-session due to practical reasons of recording.
The specific powers of each house vary, with both lower houses able to propose legislation and motions and pass them by a simple majority. If a bill passes both lower houses, it is approved by the State Council and then signed into law by the Director of the Republic.
The Peoples' Council can, by an independent 2/3 vote, call for the impeachment of a legislator or minister; impeachment of a Taesteach or Director requires a 7/10 majority in the State Council or a 3/4 majority in both lower houses. After impeachment, the impeached official goes before the Audit Council for trial. The unique power of the Party Council is to vote on a budget by simple majority if the Director will not approve of a budget proposed by the Economic Administrative Council by December 12th of the year prior. Both houses combined can demand the Auditing of existing laws by a collective simple majority, giving the Peoples' Council a roughly 2/3 share of the total vote in such a case.
The State Council's only legislative function is as a final simple majority check for a bill before it goes to the Directorate; as the State Council has ten members, the representative from the Audit Council has tiebreaking power. However, its significant overlap in membership with the Audit and Economic Councils makes it the primary informal forum for inter-branch and ministry communication and coordination, and is often attended by the Director and non-member specialists and Bureau and Department ministers for this purpose. This effectively acts as the executive branch's cabinet.
Fiscal
The National Economic Administrative Council is the budget-making body of Faneria, and is primarily concerned with accounting for the government and proposing and enforcing the budget. Budgets are approved by the Director; if the Director will not approve a budget by December 12th, approval of one of the proposed budgets goes to the Party Council of the National Assembly.
The NEAC also informally coordinates and manages state companies and government procurement programs, and can be considered an economic oversight board.
Audit
The National Audit Council is the chief government court of Faneria, composed of seven Auditors selected from practicing judges by the Director and approved by the Joint National Assembly. It is considered an 'audit' branch rather than a 'judicial' one because it does not hear criminal cases, only constitutional ones. Impeachment proceedings are considered constitutional decisions rather than criminal ones. It additionally has the power to rule on the legality of laws, is the deciding body in the impeachment of officials, and commands state security forces. It is nominally run by the Auditor-General, who manages Council meetings but does not have any additional powers.
Offices of Government
The mundane functions of the government are organized into eight major Offices, each of which oversees subordinate Bureaus that break down into Departments. Each Office has a general theme, though several smaller Bureaus are lumped into the Office of Civil Services and the Office of State Security that otherwise do not have direct correlations to the typical function of the respective agencies. Each Office is run by a Secretary, with Vice Secretaries serving with them with the exception of the National Army, which manages its own internal structure.
The Office of the Treasury runs the Central Mint and oversees tax collection, as well as state vaults, stamps and engravings, and other certification materials production and design. It reports directly to the Economic Administrative Council.
The Office of the National Army manages the armed forces of the state, as well as the commissioning of materials and equipment for said forces. It answers directly to the Directorate.
The Office of Foreign Affairs deals in immigration, emigration, customs, tariffs, foreign aid, and exploration. It is generally under the control of the Economic Administration Council, but foreign relations are under the control of the Director.
The Office of the Courts manages the justice system along with the Office of State Security. It additionally liaises with the League of Nations International Court. It responds to the Audit Council, and the Audit Council appoints a Minister of the Courts for managerial duties.
The Office of State Security handles policing, prisons, intelligence, and cybersecurity, as well as acting as an investigatory body with regards to the rest of the civilian government. It responds to the Audit Council and may take requests from the Assembly or the Director with the Audit Council's approval.
The Office of Civil Services handles welfare services, public health and education, and records services. Its function is technically overseen by the Economic Administration Council, but it is common for a sitting Director to interfere in situations deemed to be of 'immediate national interest', typically through or with the consent of the Taesteach.
The Office of Commerce is tasked with directing state companies, oversight on local zoning, registering professional licenses and various permits, regulating business, protection of workers' rights, and other economic functions. It additionally runs the country's civilian space agency in conjunction with the intelligence branches of the Office of State Security.
The Office of Culture handles celebrations, cultural events, culture-related NGOs, and the various monuments, national parks and preserves, and national libraries of the country.
Taesteachs
Taesteach, meaning 'chief' or 'leader', is an extension of old clan law and refers to positions in both the local, provincial, and the national levels of government. While a historic Taesteach would fill many roles, a modern Taesteach is primarily responsible for representing the general public in government first and foremost as a check against corruption. In addition, a Taesteach may veto executive orders within their jurisdiction and fill in for appointed officials temporarily, though they remain subject to other checks and balances. Taesteachs have much stricter requirements than other government positions in terms of legal records and are considered an ancillary part of both the Office of the Courts and the Office of State Security, and have an informal reputation for being some of the most ideologically-minded elected officials.
Subdivisions
Provinces and Territories
Provincial Government
County and Municipal Governments
As a unitary government, Faneria's various Provinces and Counties exist at the convenience of the central government, and their power stems from appointment of power by the State Government. Provincial governments consist of two primary official positions: Provincial Taesteachs, which are elected within the county, and Governors, which are voted on by the National Assembly after proposal by the Director of the Republic. Provinces are mainly responsible for organizing the numerous local County governments, which are headed by Mayors elected locally. Cities which span multiple counties are allowed to elect a Civil Taesteach, who receives authority over the Mayors of the counties in a city.
