Announcement from COS

[Ziggy]

 

 

On behalf of the Commonwealth of Orange States, we would like to share some news on what has been going on in COS.

 

First off, we decided to do 1 of those things called an election. Yes, we had to do it. At the end of the election period, we found that we have a solid government in place now to help lead us into 2016, to help strive us towards accomplishing our goals as an alliance.

 

The newly elected government begins their reign on January 1st, 2016. The new government is as follows:

 

President:  Ziggy

Vice President: Leonidas 1 of Sparta

Cabinet:

Regent of Interior & Education: Threno

Regent of Finance: Elmaff

Regent of State: Ziggy (Temp)

Regent of National Security: Sir Provost

 

Secondly, we decided to also change our charter a little, add a few things, and just make it suit the alliance a little better. As a growing alliance, we feel that the changes w emade make us a beter alliance. From revising our charter, changing some policies, and making our alliance more democratic, we go into 2016 feeling better as a community.

 

Without further adieu, our revised charter:

 

 

Charter of the Commonwealth of Orange States

Preamble:

We, the sovereign member nations of the Commonwealth of Orange States, hereby unite together in the establishment of this alliance. This charter is the official document that outlines our admission policies, government structure, alliance procedures, member rights and obligations, and domestic and foreign policies.

The  member nations of the Commonwealth of Orange States stand together to achieve our alliance goals, which are: community, unity, loyalty,prosperity, integrity, equality, peace, and security. These alliance goals help us strive towards excellence in everything we do as an alliance.

 

Article I: Admission, Resignation, Desertion, & Revocation of Membership Policies
The Commonwealth of Orange States welcomes anyone who wishes to join our alliance. All Prospective Applicants must abide by our admission policies, Charter, and the Orange States Accords to gain membership in our alliance.

 

Admission Policy:
- Applicants cannot be a member of another alliance while in he Commonwealth of Orange States.
- Applicants are expected to switch to the Orange Sphere,and remain on it as long as they are in the alliance.
- Any applicant wishing to join the alliance, who is in a war at the time of the posting of an application will be denied.The applicant is welcome to reapply once their conflict has been resolved.
- All applicants for membership in to the alliance, also agree to abide by all rules, polices, and government directives while in the alliance.

Once the Applicant has posted their application for membership, the Ministry of Interior will review your application. If during the review of an applicant's application turns up an issue, the applicant will be told of the issue, and given 24 hours to resolve that issue. If the issue isn't resolved in that time frame, the application will be denied. If the issue requires our assistance to satisfy our admission requirements, we will glady assist the applicant as much as possible.

 

Revocation of Membership

The President, Vice-President, or a Regent, may revoke the membership of a member for any reason, if it is deemed detrimental to the alliance. The revocation may be due to a violation of an alliance policy, Orange States Accords, the Charter, or other reason.

 

Desertion Policy:

If a Member leaves during war time, that member will be considered as a Deserter, expelled, and will be permanently banned from the alliance.

 

Resignation Policy:
Commonwealth of Orange States members may resign from the alliance at any time. The member must be in good standing, must not be engaged in an alliance war or conflict, have no unpaid debts, and has posted their resignation in the appropriate area on our forums.

 

Article II: General Assembly

Anyone granted membership in the alliance, will have a seat in the General Assembly, and will be granted equal voice in all alliance affairs.

 

Article III: President, Vice President, and Retirement Policy
 

The President:

The President oversees all alliance affairs. The President has the authority to veto any legislation,policy,etc that isn't deemed beneficial for the alliance. The President must include the Vice President in all affairs pertaining to the alliance, but the President has the final say. The President may appoint and remove any secretarial/deputy position with cause only, and when deemed necessary, at any time. The President can't just make new and enforce policies,etc without consulting the Vice President, the cabinet, and the alliance membership. All President/Vice President legislative policies must go threw the legislature.
 

The Vice-President:

The Vice-President is the second in command of the alliance. The VP is in charge when the President is away. The Vice President is also the chief advisor for the President. The Vice President's job is to help the President run the alliance efficiently, and assist him with maintaining the efficiency of the regents and their departments. The Vice President has the same authority as the President, except for he/she can't veto legislation, declare war, disband/merge the alliance,or sign any treaties without the President's approval.. The Vice President oversees the legislature and alliance elections. The Vice President is the leader of the General Assembly. The Vice-President is also the tiebreaker for any legislation votes.

 

Presidential Retirement

At such time, if the President steps down, the Vice President automatically assumes the Presidency of the Alliance. Then an election for a new Vice-President must be held within 7 days to fill the empty Vice-President seat.

 

Leave of Absence

Whenever the President, Vice President, or a Regent is away for an extended time period of more then a few days, that member must give notice to the appropriate official so reasonable arrangements for the efficiency of the alliance can be maintained during that period of time.

 

 

Article III: The Regents
Regent of Interior and Education:

Is in charge of the interior department for the alliance. The Regent of Interior & Education oversees alliance membership, member education, recruiting, keeping open internal communications with alliance members, and other internal policies for the membership of the alliance.

Regent of Finance: Is in charge of handling all financial matters for the alliance. These include, but not limited to member aid, trade circles, and tech deals.

Regent of State:

Is the official diplomatic representative of the alliance. The Regent of State is in charge of establishing relations with other alliances, and managing diplomats. 

Regent of National Security:
Is in charge of the organization and defense of our military, as well as the strengthening and training of our member nations, and the defense of the alliance. 

 

Regent or Deputy Retirement

If a Regent or a Deputy steps down from their position, the President must appoint temporary replacements for those positions till the next election term. Once that election term begins, those positions will be up for election.

 

 

Article IV. The Orange State Accords
All members of the Commonwealth of Orange States must adhere to all the policies set forth not only within this charter, but also in our Orange State Accords. The Orange State Accords are a set of member rights and obligations that our members must adhere to while they are within the alliance.  The Orange State Accords are posted along with our charter, in a viewable area of our forums, at all times.

 

Article V. Elections, Nominations, and Campaigns

 

Elections:

The Commonwealth of Orange States hold elections for the Vice President, Regents, and Deputies only. The President serves until he/she steps down. We hold elections 3 times a year, as follows:

 

Election Terms:

Spring Term: January-April

Summer Term: May-August

Fall Term: September-December

 

Nominations & Campaigns:

Nominations for elections will begin 2 weeks before the new term starts. Each member wishing to run for office must notify the Minister of Interior and Education of their desire to run for a government position. Nominees may be nominated by another member, or themselves. If a member is nominated, then the member who is nominated, must accept the nomination of the nominating member. This notification must be a nomination thread in the appropriate election area of our forms. Once the nominee has affirmed their declaration, the nominee must start a campaign thread in the appropriate campaign area of our forums. The campaign thread must tell about themselves, the position sought, and their ideas for that specific position sought. The campaign threads will remain open till the election begins.

 

Election Qualifications:

Any member of the Commonwealth of Orange States may run for office, as long as the member meets the critieria, set forth by the Ministry of Interior & Education. The criteria for is as follows:

 

-Member must be active within the alliance for 30 days. The 30 days starts from acceptance of membership application.

-Member must be able to be on IRC regularly

-Member must be in good standing within the community

 

 

Article VI: Alliance Policies

Tech Raiding:
The Commonwealth of Orange States prohibits any tech raiding by its members at all times while in this alliance.

 

Foreign Affairs Policy:
The Commonwealth of Orange States strives at all times to remain a peaceful alliance. We will only involve ourselves in affairs that directly involve us or an ally. The Commonwealth of Orange States is adamant about working hard to handle any and all disputes diplomatically to resolve any issues. We know that diplomacy may not always work, so, if needed, we will seek immediate mediation through an ally. If all diplomacy or mediation doesn't solve all lingering issues, we will use military force, and any resources at our disposal to handle the issue.

Unauthorized Aggression Policy:
No member of the Commonwealth of Orange States is allowed for any reason to begin a war against any nation for any reason. Any member who violates this policy will get an immediate expulsion from the alliance, and said member will be held accountable for paying all reparations to that nation for the attack.
 

War Policy

The Commonwealth of Orange States Government considers any declaration of war, spying, tech raids,or any aggressive action against a member, as an act of war against us. We value our sovereignty, and will defend it, using any resources at our disposal to defend off the threat.

Article VII. Charter Amendments, Mergers, & Disbandenment
Any member of the Commonwealth of Orange States may bring to the General Assembly any charter amendment or policy idea for discussion and possible vote into law. In order for any charter amendment or policy to become law, it must be approved in the General Assembly by a majority approval of the alliance.

 

 Mergers and Disbandenment

At such time that it becomes necessary to either merge or disband, the entire alliance must vote on the issue. A majority vote of approval is needed for either to pass.

 

 

 

 

[WarriorSoul]

Congrats on the things, folks!

Keep doing you, Ziggy.

[Van Hoo III]

I see a lot of Ziggy in there. :P

 

Also, props on typing "adieu" instead of "ado". Pet peeve of mine. lol

[Ziggy]

Congrats on the things, folks!

Keep doing you, Ziggy.

 

I see a lot of Ziggy in there. :P

 

Also, props on typing "adieu" instead of "ado". Pet peeve of mine. lol

Thanks WS, Hoo

[Chunky Monkey]

Congrats to our friends in continuing to expand and grow!

[Sephiroth]

Congrats and good luck with the new gov.

[Master Hakai]

1 of those things called an election? I'm not familiar.

[Threno]

Looking forward to an excellent 2016 with my fellow members of COS!

[Zygon]

Yay! Cheers friends!