Politics of Arsalania

The politics of Arsalania (Urdu: سیاستِ ارسلعینیہ) take place within the framework established by the constitution of the People's Republic. The country is a Federal People's Republic in which the provincial governments (at present only one provincial government exists in form of Mesustan as Arsalania proper is administrated by the federal government) enjoy a great degree of autonomy in administration but must work in line with the developmental focus of the Federal Government and the Provincial Administrations are often assigned mandates by the Federal Government. Executive Powers are vested within the National Cabinet which is led by the Supreme Leader.

The constitution of Arsalania provides a delicate system of accountability that ensures that even the Supreme Leader is not above the law and can be impeached if found guilty of violations of the Law (corruption, treason, etc.). The Head of State is the Supreme Leader who is nominated by the National Nomination Council and elected by referendum upon the demise, impeachment or retirement of his predecessor. The Supreme Leader occupies a position of absolute power but is still kept in check by the constitution and cannot enforce any changes to the constitution nor any major changes to his own powers without approval of the National Parliament and popular approval.

The Government presently consists of two branches, the Executive and Legislative. The executive branch consists of the National Cabinet and is led by the Supreme Leader. It is independent from the legislative branch which consists of a unicameral parliament known as the National Parliament.

Arsalania is a Single Party Parliamentary Republic with the Supreme Leader holding considerable amounts of power. Only one party presently exists within the People's Republic of Arsalania which is the presently ruling Socialist Party of Arsalania.

Executive Branch

Supreme Leader of Arsalania

Supreme Leader (Urdu: رھبر معظم‎) is the head of State and Government in the People's Republic of Arsalania; his position is established and defined by Article 11 of the 2019 Constitution.

All present and past Supreme Leaders of Arsalania are required (presently under an informal convention) to either be Muslims or be vetted by the majority of the National Election Nomination Council as having the necessary knowledge and exposure necessary to lead a Muslim country. The Supreme Leader presently serves as both the head of state and head of government of Arsalania.

The position of Supreme Leader in the People's Republic of Arsalania is one of paramount power. The Supreme Leader is the commander in Chief of the Arsalanian Armed Forces and directs both the government and deals with matters of the state.

The Supreme Leader, once elected rules until the designated retirement age (65 years old) when he is automatically obliged to retire, or until he chooses to retire prematurely, dies or is rendered mentally incapable to lead the nation.

In the case of Tyrannical governments the people are also given the right to remove a Supreme Leader by popular referendum which can legally be enforced via popular uprising if need be.

A Supreme Leader may be also removed from his position after the approval of a majority in the National Parliament and a fair investigation conducted by the National Accountability Council in which the incumbent Supreme Leader is proven to be guilty of any major charges whatsoever (i.e. High Treason, Abuse of Power, Violation of the Constitution, etc.) in such a case the Supreme Leader is impeached and the process for election of a new Supreme Leader begins.

Election Process of the Supreme Leader of Arsalania

Upon the death, retirement, disqualification or impeachment of a Supreme Leader, the Election Nomination Council is formed, consisting of Prominent Citizens and Experts who must then explore multiple potential candidates and nominate multiple candidates for a general election. Upon being nominated, polling begins and the candidate with the majority vote wins the election. The Supreme Leader is then sworn in and serves his legally allowed term unless prematurely removed (via any of the means mentioned) rendered incapable of fulfilling his duties or prematurely retires.

Federal Cabinet and Ministries

The Federal Cabinet (Urdu: وفاقی کابینہ) is a council of minsters presided over by the Supreme Leader. Under Arsalanian Law, the various departments of the federal government are organized under independent ministries such as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture & Environmental Affairs, Defence, etc.

The Federal Cabinet meets at least once a month and may be called to make any key decision at any time as needed. The Supreme Leader presently retains the legal power to appoint, fire or reassign a Federal Minister, however the very same functions may be performed as a result of a fair Democratic vote or petition. A Minister must have qualified the Civil Services Selection Examination to be appointed to the status of Minister except in the case of appointment via Democratic vote.

At present two Federal Ministers have been appointed.

Federal Cabinet Secretary

The Federal Cabinet Secretary, appointed by the Supreme Leader (in his capacity as head of the Cabinet) whose primary function is to coordinate and act as an intermediary of communication between the Supreme Leader and Parliamentary members, assisting in organization of Parliamentary meetings, communicating the details of proceedings to relevant departments such as the National Archives or communicating decisions made during Cabinet sessions to those concerned.

Although presently vacant, it has been reported that an appointment to the post is due within May 2023.

Judicial Branch

Although legally established by the Arsalanian constitution via Article 18 & 19 of Part V of the Constitution, the Supreme Court and National Courts do not exist in practice. Such has been because of a lack of actual need considering that any strife and criminal activities are settled among citizens.

A greater reason is that many large scale legal issues are solved via the Pakistani Judiciary considering that Arsalania is a de facto part of Pakistan hence the state of greater stature is preferred by citizens to dispense justice.

A lack of a proper law enforcement branch has also encouraged such an absence of a Judicial Branch to continue although such is expected to change within the foreseeable future.

Legislative Branch

The unicameral Federal Legislature is the National Parliament (Urdu: قومی پارلیمان). It was established on 14 May 2019 with the establishment of the People's Republic. The National Parliament is non-partisan and does not require representatives to be members of the Socialist Party of Arsalania.

Representation and Suffrage

The National Parliament presently consists of five Parliament members who are elected via Universal Suffrage. Seats are allocated to the Provinces on the basis of population. At present, Arsalania (proper) is represented by four representatives and the Province of Mesustan is represented by one representative. No extra seats are allocated on the basis of ethnic, cultural or religious lines at present, however it may be possible that such quotas be established in the future if the need arises.

Functions and Significance

The National Parliament is handed the responsibility of approving, rejecting or deferring to popular vote, any major or transformative action being undertaken via the Executive powers of the Supreme Leader, as well as to represent the people of Arsalania, their needs and to present proposals as to alter the state's allocations and direction in regards to the issue such that they may be solved accordingly. While partially defunct at present, as the Arsalanian People's Republic grows and becomes more professional in its mode of government, it has long been expected that a surge in the power and significance of the National Parliament may be experienced.

Constitutional Amendments are also passed through the National Parliament and require 80% of Parliamentary votes. Constitutional Amendments can only be annulled via another Constitutional Amendment, Popular Petition or through the results of a specific referendum. The process of Constitutional Amendment via the National Parliament is enshrined via Article 16 (b) of the Constitution which also has provisions with respect to other means of Amendment.

Two Constitutional Amendments and one Resolution have been passed by the National Parliament to date.

Form of Government

Officially a Federal People's Republic, the highest offices of power are held by civilian leaders, who due to Arsalania's already small population, are also often military personnel.

The Federal government of Arsalania is the body established by the constitution of Arsalania as the governing authority presiding over the provinces and all state arms. Foreign observers describe the country's system as a Federal Single Party Democracy with considerable power vested in a paramount leadership position (i.e. the position of the Supreme Leader). The Socialist Party of Arsalania is the only legal political Party in Arsalania.

The system of governance has been decently consistent throughout Arsalania's established history. While the structure of any semblance of an Arsalanian government in the very earliest stages of Arsalanian history were not more than disorganized and informal 'rabble' as some may describe it, after the establishment of the People's Republic in 2019 a proper Arsalanian Government was formed which has undergone major changes in structure but has remained fairly consistent with the National Parliament seeing minor sessions begin in 2020 and it's most historic session to date bringing forth a new era for Arsalania in form of the 21 March Resolution.

The first Constitutional Amendment in Early April 2022 amended the constitution to be in line with the 21 March Resolution which called for a transformation of the State and Law to be in line with the beliefs and preference of the people themselves.

It is also believed that Arsalania may become a Federal Islamic Republic in the future as regular political debates begin on the question of Arsalanian identity and form of government.

Administrative units & Provincial Governments

The People's Republic of Arsalania is divided into five administrative units at present, one of which is a full province and the other is the core national territory known as 'Arsalania proper'

• Arsalania (Proper) - Federally Administered, most populous and central province of Arsalania. The Federal Capital, Arsal City is present within Arsalania Proper.
• Province of Mesustan - Administered by Provincial government based in Provincial Capital of Mesustadt, accounts for 2 out of 10 citizens of Arsalania.

Apart from these two, there are five 'Autonomous National Territories'

• Awanestan
• Saa'databad
• Nazgarh
• Mirzapur
• Luddarabad

which are generally autonomous with respect to state intervention apart from mandates and do not receive representation in parliament although their rights with respect to popular referendum remain.

The Provincial Governments of Arsalania may be assigned an official mandate by the Federal Government which must be completed in a specified period of time. The Provincial governments are allowed a great deal of autonomy and may self-govern to a moderate degree under the People's Republic's Federal structure.

Direct Democracy and Subordination of the State

The Arsalanian political system prides itself as adhering to various principles of Direct Democracy while maintaining a subordinate representative democracy system. Although acting as proxies, the State allows for both state & citizen-initiated referendums with majority vote to decide virtually any matter of the state. Article 16 (b) of the Constitution of Arsalania states that any Constitutional Amendment may also be enacted or repealed via 'Popular Petition or Referendum' thus cementing the Rule of the People.

This works in tandem with a political tradition that puts the state in a position serving the people themselves such that there is no discernible divide between the state itself and the people,

'The people are the state and the state is the people' being the primary principle behind the system itself, Arsalania's leadership do not form a separate class and partake in all tasks, from menial labour to decisions of the highest scale all the while being open to scrutiny by the general public at all times.

Although due to the lack of state owned industries such has not seen much use, the concept of economic democracy is very popular and the government may seek to properly introduce it in the future.

Foreign Relations

Arsalania is one of the, if not perhaps the most influential and active Islamic countries within the Micronational Spheres which have long suffered from a lack of Professionalism and 'Brick and Mortar Micronationalism' among Muslim Micronational States. Arsalania has historically been a member state of a now defunct-micronational organization known as the Reformed Intermicronational Confederation. More importantly however, it was an active and founding member of the New Micronations Internationale, later known as the 'First Micronational' briefly before it's dissolution.

At present Arsalania is a member of the Association of South Asian Micronations and was recently granted Protectorate status in a lesser known organization known as the Sovereign Western Accord which is headed by Arsalania's close ally, the Kingdom of Missouria.

Diplomatically Arsalania remained very isolated until 2020 when it began it's diplomatic resurgence, leading to the foundation of Arsalania's diplomatic efforts which it has continued under its consistent policy of 'Neutrality with Honour'

Recognized States

Apart from all UN member states (except Israel) the People's Republic of Arsalania actively maintains bilateral relations with six other states and has ratified treaties of various stature with them, these are (in chronological order):

• Republic of the Union of Eastasia
• Social Republic of Georgienstine
• Republic of Kirael
• State of Vishwamitra
• Micronation of the Avigation Vision of Radiator (AVR)
• Karno-Ruthenian Empire
• Empire of Huai Siao
• Republic of Upper Schwartz Morgen Lorgen Land

At the very peak of Arsalanian Diplomatic relations, Arsalania maintained ties with over 10 nations, relations with those above either broke down (Missouria), were annulled unilaterally by the other party (Indradhanush) or said states dissolved (WRC)