Sabioveronese constitutional referendum, 2017

From MicroWiki, the free micronational encyclopædia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Sabioveronese constitutional referendum, 2017
Should the present Constitution of Sabia and Verona, adopted in 2015, be repealed and a Constitutional Assembly be convoked?
5 March 2017
Votes %
Yes Yes 34 74%
No No 12 26%
Total votes 46 100%
Turnout 90%

A constitutional referendum to decide whether or not the 2015 Constitution of Sabia and Verona was repealed and a Constitutional Assembly was convoked was held in the Sabioveronese central regions on 5 March 2017.[1] It was the first referendum of its kind in Sabioveronese history.

Background

The 2015 Constitution of Sabia and Verona was adopted by the Congress of Salisse, a conference of self-appointed political leaders from different political parties held in Salisse on 18 August 2015. The Salisse Congress sought to draft a new constitution to better suit the needs of Sabia and Verona after the execution of the Haronos Plan.[1] However, it was understood the 2015 Constitution was an "emergency constitution", being called the "Just-in-case Constitution".

Starting in 2016, the Left Alliance, one of the three political parties active in Sabioveronese politics, began to campaign for constitutional reform. The Left's leader, Apollo Cerwyn had been a member of the Salisse Congress, but claimed nonetheless the 2015 Constitution was deeply flawed in different sections, including the idea of separation of powers and the inflexibility on electoral laws.[1] Cerwyn became Deputy PM, on 1 October 2016, when the Left became the junior party in a coalition with the National Artists' Guild, headed by Shounn Virny as Prime Minister.[2]

According to Cerwyn and other Left Alliance referents, Virny had promised them the issue of constitutional reform would be discussed as part of the government's program and addressed in Parliament.[3] The PM, however, refused to discuss the topic and dismissed the Left's concerns, further straining relations in the already conflicted governing coalition.[4]

By February 2017, the Left had teamed-up with the Liberals, the largest party in Parliament, to campaign for constitutional reform. Alongside the Liberals, the Left was able to put pressure on the unpopular Virny to allow for a referendum to be held on whether the 2015 Constitution should be reformed or not.

Referendum question

The referendum question was, in Sabian:

Nashrouk peshvân Konstitoutsios Sâbixann ê Veronas exvaja, énshenik 2015is, ê kêvetsân ra Konstitoutsaierovê?

An additional translation of the question in Spanish was added to the ballots, for non-Sabian-speakers:

¿Debería cambiarse la actual Constitución de Sabia y Verona, adoptada en 2015, y convocarse a una Asamblea Constitucional?

Both questions, in English, translate to:[1]

Should the present Constitution of Sabia and Verona, adopted in 2015, be repealed and a Constitutional Assembly be convoked?

Campaign

Position of political parties

Position Political parties Political orientation Leaders Ref
Yes Yes Liberals Liberals (Sabia and Verona) Liberalism Andrew Blackhorse [1]
Left Alliance – Bakinn Left Alliance Statism Apollo Cerwyn
No No National Artists' Guild National Artists' Guild Magic nationalism Shounn Virny [5]

The Liberals, led by Andrew Blackhorse, and the Left Alliance, led by Apollo Cerwyn, both supported the "Yes" option. The Left had made constitutional reform one of its platform issues in 2016, before entering a coalition with the National Artists' Guild after the 2016 general election. Most of the Jer olemetsik campaign staff is affiliated to the Left Alliance, though its campaign chair, Simor de Jena, is a Liberal.

Though Shounn Virny, leader of the National Artists' Guild, confirmed on 20 February that the party's official position would be to back the "No" campaign (Nize heshê), some sectors of the party declared themselves to be either neutral or outright in favor of the "Yes" campaign.[1][5]

Yes camp

The "Yes" option is supported by the Jer olemetsik ("Yes is right") campaign, backed by the Left Alliance and the Liberals. The campaign is chaired by Isadoran University of Darmosari professor Simor de Jena, affiliated with the Liberals.

No camp

The "No" option is supported by the Nize heshê ("No, thanks") campaign, backed by the administrative sector of the National Artists' Guild. The campaign is chaired by Guild MP Harmê Bertram.

Results

After the votes have been tallied by the Electoral Commission, the results were announced at 10 pm AST (Alios local time) on 5 March. With a 90% turnout, the vote was a massive win for the 'Yes' option, with 74% of voters opting for the reform. 26% of the vote was for the 'No' option; no blank votes were cast.

Aftermath

The referendum results were a big loss for the constitutionalist sector of the National Artists' Guild and particularly for NNS leader Shounn Virny, who stepped down as NNS leader following the announcement of the results.[6] NNS Secretary of Commerce Snø Jens, who had supported the 'Yes', became interim leader of the party after Virny's resignation.

The Constitutional Assembly, composed of all willing citizens of the central regions, met for the first time in Alios on 8 March 2017. The 2017 Constitution of Sabia and Verona was approved by the Constitutional Assembly on 20 April, and ratified by King Tarik on 21 April 2017.[7]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Between a sword and a wall, Virny green-lights constitutional referendum" The SiV Phonograph. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  2. "New cabinet takes office" The SiV Phonograph. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  3. "Cerwyn: 'Virny has not addressed the Left's concerns'" The SiV Phonograph. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  4. "The secret meeting of Liberals and Leftists Virny wasn't invited to" The SiV Phonograph. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Shounn Virny (Enkâkourak) on Twitter. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  6. "Constitutional referendum: 'Yes' option wins by a landslide" The SiV Phonograph. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  7. "Sabia and Verona has a new constitution" The SiV Phonograph. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.