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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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Human Time Line 3110 Fourth Age
The Governmental Structure of the UFP
The fundamental component of the Government of the United Federation of Planets (UFP) is democracy. It comes from the Ancient Greek society of planet Earth meaning "Citizens Govern". Although this is not necessarily a political concept developed only by Humans, it has been the Humans that have championed the democratic philosophies across known space, something akin to a religious crusade. Importantly, since the establishment of the UFP, democracy has taken firm root & has never failed. Although it is far from perfect, the other political structures on offer are far worse. In the UFP, it is the citizens who govern. There are three governmental levels in all. This complicated governmental structure can at times be counterproductive, but essentially it preserves the federal structure of the UFP. It also is the first step of ensuring that no one government can control for themselves the entire political power base of the Federation. It is seen as a necessary step to ensure that the virtues of democratic government remain, & that it is the citizens who control their various governments & not the reverse. Furthermore, members of the military, or any other governmental organisation, can not be concurrently members of Congress or hold the Office of President. Having said that, it is the federal government that runs the Federation on behalf of the citizens. Although planetary & regional governments have some say, at the end of the day the Federal government ensures that the citizens enjoy a fulfilling, peaceful & prosperous life. It achieves this through its structure of a President, a Congress, & an independent Judiciary. The duties & rights of politicians, & for that matter citizens, are outlined
in the Constitution. The Constitution is the ultimate in the law & is the final
arbitrator on all governmental matters. Attached to the Constitution is the Bill
Of Rights. This amendment ensures that the civil rights of all UFP citizens are
protected against any dubious or illegal governmental or societal interference.
The Constitution can only be altered through a referendum process, wherein the
majority of the citizens in a majority of member planets passes the referendum
question(s). Office of the President of the United Federation of Planets. The President of the UFP is the most powerful citizen in the Federation. The President conducts the affairs of government for fellow citizens. Although Congress can intervene & place pressure on policy decisions, the President does not necessarily answer to Congress. The President answers to the citizens. The President does need to be careful, however, for Congress can impeach the President for illegal actions & thus replace the President with someone else - usually the Vice - President. The President is elected once every five years, in a direct election by fellow citizens, for a limit of two terms. Any UFP citizen can run for office. Most candidates, however, have had some form of political experience prior to running a campaign. Many are also a member of a political party which, when endorsed, ensures a large number of votes. These political parties will also coordinate with the candidate’s campaign organisation in order to get that candidate’s policy platform viewed & understood by the voters in their region. Needless to say, it is the voters that make a President. The successful candidate requires a 50% + 1 majority of the vote. However, there is no run off process in a second election if no one candidate succeeds in the initial election. Rather an elaborate preferential voting system is used were voters list their preferences for President. These preferences continue to be countered until a candidate wins with the largest overall final number. The President is assisted in his duties by the Cabinet. These Cabinet members
run the various Ministries that conduct the business of each department. Cabinet
members are also members of Congress. This ensures that the President cannot
hand out political office to anyone. Only elected representatives of the public
are thus involved in government. It goes without saying that if the public are
not satisfied by a Cabinet member, their own local electorate can sack him in
the next election, regardless what the President may desire. The Congress of The United Federation of Planets This is were the rough & tumble business of politics & government takes place. Elected representatives from around the Federation meet in the Congress building, whenever a sitting is in process, at the UPF capital Parliament-Upon-Epsilon. Here they debate the issues of the day that may be anything from local through to inter-galactic concerns. There is no restriction on specie or sex. There are, however, codes of conduct that all members are strictly adhered to. Thus members can be suspended from their respective House if their behaviour is considered inappropriate. In governmental terms, nothing can get done in the Federation without the approval of both Houses of Congress. Even though the President may have a large amount of discretionary power, at the end of the day, if Congress says no then no it is. All legislation, regardless of who presented it & how important it may appear, must pass a majority of votes in both Houses. The Congress is divided into two Houses. The Lower House, or House of Representative, has members elected for a five year term. The second of the two Houses is known as the Senate. Senate members enjoy a ten year term. Half of the Senate members are up for election every five years. In both Houses, the citizens elect the politicians using the same preferential method as for the President. The House of Representatives has its members elected on a population base. The House’s numbers thus vary according to the current population of the UFP. Although specie is not supposed to matter, it more often than not occurs that the number of representatives reflect the specie population of the district they represent. Districts, however, are not defined by specie, but by population numbers & geographical location. Having said that, it is not surprising that Humans make up by far the greater number of Representatives in the House. The Senate, unlike the House, is smaller in members numbers & a lot more
constant. There are 12 Senators per member planet. These are elected from the
overall population from each member planet as a whole & not from a local
district. Population size, thus, does not influence the numbers of Senators
elected per member planet. Hence, the large Human population, that elects up to
40% of the House, no longer applies in the Senate. Thus, the power base enjoyed
in the House by the Human members is curtailed by the truly multi-specie nature
of the Senate. Here, legislation passed by the House, that could be biased
towards Human interests, can be scrutinised & altered or rejected accordingly.
Political Parties In the early days of the Federation, political parties were haphazard & numerous. Hundreds of them were represented in Congress & many political observers often wondered how anything got done. Over the years, however, coalitions have developed from like minded parties. Some of these parties have united in a common party, while others remain in a loose coalition. A few parties have also grown by opening offices on other planets. Others, though, have remained independent & only have, at best, a handful of members in Congress. All the political parties, regardless of name & policies, can be categorised into four groups along the political spectrum - this being: Far Left, Centre Left, Centre Right, & Far Right. Although no particular party usually holds extremist views, passions can get carried away. If, however, a party advocates extreme racist &/or violent ideals they are banned. The UFP government & Constitution will not tolerate any of that anti-social attitude & behaviour. The main Far Left party is The Greens. They mainly stand for environmental issues & have a large following. The party has also, on occasion, contributed successfully on a number of important issues over the centuries. The planetary National Parks on Utopia & Akin were established thanks to The Greens. Other achievements have also been noted, especially the Saturn & Saturn Prime Ring Trains. They have members from all UFP species. Most of their elected representatives are in the Senate, but a few are also in the House of Representatives. There are two Centre Left parties that often support each other in government. The first is mostly a Human & Vargary party called the Planetary Labour Party. It represents the "worker class" populations of all UFP member planets, but it has only made an impression on Humans & Vargary. The other Centre Left party is the Liberal Democracy Party. It is more of an "intellectual" party that gains as much support as does the Labour Party. It, however, enjoys multi-specie support which the Labour Party lacks. Nonetheless, both share many similar polices & often form loose coalition governments. Of all the governments formed over the centuries, this Centre Left group has formed two-thirds. Both parties have a large number of elected representatives in both Houses of Congress. There are two Centre Right parties that have formed the remaining UFP governments over the centuries. The first is the Conservative Coalition that is mostly representative of a mix of Lyonies, Drey & Humans. Their main policies are mostly that of caution in most issues & events. The other party is the Federal Alliance. It represents all species of the UFP, but many are Blurgiss, Wazzen, Quotos, Hippa, Nolange & Jaffona. They share many similar policies as the Conservatives & are thus often in a loose coalition with them. It is important to note that neither party supports any racial/racist based policies. Their concerns are over too much social welfare, big government & economic freedom. Both parties have a large number of elected representatives in both Houses of Congress. The main Far Right party is the People’s Party. Many political observers over
the years has question this name for a party that is rather exclusive. Although
they claim not to be racist, they come rather close. They were against the
Avakous & Honshu integration with the UFP. Likewise they do not want any open
contact with the Zargah. Similarly, they advocate that the Federation should
have nothing to with the Nazzernich. Their one saving grace is that they are a
multi-specie party with members from across the Federation. Their policies seem
hypocritical, but they view them as pragmatic politics. Basically they want the
UFP to close its borders to everyone & keep to themselves. They only have a few
elected Senators. The Federal Judiciary of the United Planets. The Judiciary embodies the rule of law. It is to these citizens that the entire Federation looks to when matters of civil, criminal, or Constitutional legal questions must be decided. Judges must be impartial. Their job is to seek the "Truth". Although several judgments each year fall short of this ideal, no judge has ever been dismissed from office, nor has there ever been the requirement to do so. All the judges take their role extremely seriously as they have been entrusted with an extremely important civic duty. The Judiciary branch of government is also possibly the most independent. Unlike that other two branches, its members are not directly elected but appointed. The President selects a number of qualified persons & these are either accepted or rejected by the Senate. The House of Representatives has no say in this process. There is no restriction placed on specie or sex in order to be a member of the judiciary. Although there are three levels of courts, it is the High Court that has the final judgement on all things. Citizens cannot apply at first to the High Court, but must start at the appropriate level. Nonetheless, the High Court can make judgements on any matter & these judgements become precedent for all afterwards. No one can ignore a verdict of the High Court. Even the President must obey an order of the Court. If the President does not, then the President can be arrested for contempt like any other citizen. The Court judges, however, can be dismissed if Congress impeaches a judge for
illegal behaviour or ill health (either physical or mental). This needs to an
extremely serious offence & not some political game. Other than dismissal, a
judge can retire in three ways: either a judge reaches 70 years of age & must
automatically retire, retires early, or dies in office. Most have retired at the
compulsory 70 years old mark. Closing Notes The political structure of the UFP is complicated, but it provides a balanced government that ensures good government for the citizens of the Federation. It may be far from perfect, but the fundamentals of democracy are guaranteed. It has certainly with stood the test of time for over 1 000 years. Numerous amendments passed by referendum have seen the UFP slowly mature becoming ever more strong. There is little evidence to suggest that any major reforms or rebellions will take place in the near future. Many issues are dealt with at the time & those that need to be hardly ever leave the scrutiny of the media. Thus a well informed citizenry are constantly involved with the political environment of their elected representatives. Many a representative, & president for that matter, have had to endure the wroth of an angry electorate. Many, as a result, have had a short life in public office. The message, hence, is clear: it is the citizens who run their Federation, not the politicians.
Fourth Age Glossary (2950-3200)
© 1997-2009 This creative work is the property of David Mark
Atwell.
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