Riombara/Elections and Voting

The republic of Riombara has always relied upon the votes of its nobles, rather than the whim of its ruler, in deciding important issues of the realm. The foremost of these issues is the selection of worthy nobles as Lords for Riombara's regions and as members of its High Council, all of which are always decided by a vote by the entire realm. Other decisions of major impact are also voted upon by the whole realm, such as going to war, signing a peace treaty or entering a full alliance.

High Council Positions

As a Republic, Riombara's Prime Minister and Grand Justiciar are always voted upon every month by the entire realm. The positions of Minister of Finances, Minister of Defense and Advisory Minister should be up for a vote after a time of roughly 3-5 months. The Dukes are voted upon whenever a ducal position is vacant. Each position may be voted upon if a noble requests a vote to be held and has 4 supporters.

High Council seats:

Prime Minister
Judge
Banker
General
Each Duke

Voting

All nobles have the right and privileged to vote in any public referendum. Each noble has an equal number of votes. No vote has to be made public, but can be if the voters decides to go that route. No one can make you reveal your vote under any circumstances.

Regional Commands + Council Positions

Whenever a regional command or council seat becomes available, it will be open to all and voted upon by the entire realm.

Exceptions:
The previous region lord lost his position due to wounds, imprisonment, or has been kicked out due to revolting of the region - in this case he is reinstated

The procedure is as follows (this applies to all elections except Prime Minister and Grand Justiciar):

Election Rules

• Anyone may run for region lord or council member, provided they do not already have a position or a family member in a position.
  • If someone who already holds a position is elected to a new position, he or she must step down from the old position first.
  • Marshal positions are an exception: they are appointed directly by army sponsors, as they must be more flexible than most in times of war, and in times of peace they are essentially meaningless.
• Anyone may vote for any listed candidate, including themselves.
• The Grand Justiciar does not vote except in cases of a tie, in which case he will cast the tie-breaking vote.

Other Issues

Realm-wide voting has not been used except for region command and High Council elections since before the Second Invasion, but the procedures remain. A full-realm vote is required to initiate or end a war or break an alliance, and a vote of the Advisory Council for other relationship changes.

Recall and Initiative

Though it is rarely used, any noble can call for a vote for any position, as long as he or she can find sufficient seconds (the statute currently calls for 4). In such a case, the normal procedure for an election is followed (all who are eligible may run, including the current holder of the position).

Another portion of Riombarian law is the ability for any noble to call for a vote on essentially any issue, again, with 4 seconds. Depending on the issue, either a realm-wide vote or a council vote does decide upon said call.

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Updated by Grand Justiciar Marche, 03 of July 1007 Last updated by Great Chamberlain Vanidor, 29 of July 1009