Commonwealth of Sainte Genevieve

The Commonwealth of Sainte Genevieve is an island nation in the North Atlantic Ocean, about half-way between the northeast coast of Scotland and the southwest corner of Norway. Its coordinates are 59˚8'5.40" N, 0˚16'37.78"E

Politics and Government
According to Article 1 of the Constitution of Sainte Genevieve, the country is a republic with a parliamentary system of government. Legislative power is exercised by the unicameral Parliament and the Office of the President. The Constitution states the President also exercises executive power, but this is largely a ceremonial role. Executive power is vested in the State Council, which is headed by a Prime Minister.

The President
The President is the ceremonial head of state of Sainte Genevieve. Though he does hold some executive powers, the President is mainly a figurehead. The Office of President is outlined in Section 2 of the Constitution. According to Article 12, the President must live in or near Rossport.

Duties of the President

 * The President appoints public officials and Ministers.
 * The President signs into law the bills passed by Parliament. A presidential rejection (veto) of a bill does not nullify that bill; a referendum to approve or reject the bill must be held in a timely manner.
 * The President concludes treaties with other states, but must have Parliamentary approval to make a treaty entailing renouncement of, or servitude on, territory or territorial waters.
 * The President may adjourn sessions of Parliament for a limited period, and also may convene Parliament if sessions have already adjourned.
 * The President may dissolve Parliament. New elections must be called within 45 days, and the new Parliament must convene within 60 days.
 * The President may submit potential legislative measures to Parliament for consideration. The President may also make provisional laws when Parliament is not in session, provided they do not contradict the Constitution.  Provisional laws must be submitted to Parliament as soon as it reconvenes.

Presidential Elections
A presidential candidate can be nominated in one of three ways: To be elected President, a candidate must also be at least thirty-five years of age, and fulfill the requirements necessary to vote in Parliamentary elections. If only one candidate has been nominated, he is declared elected without a vote. If multiple candidates are nominated, the candidate with the most votes using the Instant Run-Off voting system is declared elected. Elections are held in March or April in every sixth year, and the President's term begins on 1st June.
 * A nomination by no less than 2,500 and no more than 5,000 voters.
 * A sitting President can nominate himself for reelection, provided he has not previously served the maximum of two terms or twelve years in that office.
 * A nomination by at least three county councils.

Presidential Authority
Article 8 states that if the Office of President becomes vacant, or if the President cannot perform his duties, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall exercise presidential authority. The Prime Minister shall preside at their meetings, and in a difference of opinion between the three, the majority shall prevail.

Removal of the President
According to Article 11, the President may be removed from office in the following manner: Parliament must adopt a resolution to remove the President with a three-fourths majority. Then, a referendum must be held within sixty days of the adoption of the resolution. If the referendum passes, the President will be immediately removed from office and a new election must be held within sixty days. If Parliament's resolution is not approved in the referendum, Parliament shall be immediately dissolved and new elections must be called. The President cannot perform his duties from the time the resolution is adopted by Parliament until the results of the referendum are known.

Parliament
The Parliament of Sainte Genevieve is the country's unicameral legislature, comprised of 50 members. The structure and procedures of Parliament are outlined in Sections 3 and 4 of the Constitution. Article 31 of the Constitution states that MPs are elected by Single Transferrable Vote to five-year terms. Each constituency returns between three and five MPs, and there can be no greater than seventeen constituencies.

Parliament is led by an elected Speaker. Although he or she is nearly always the member of the ruling political party, the position of speaker is non-partisan. To insulate the Speaker from retribution by his or her constituency, he or she is automatically reelected into the next Parliament if he or she wishes, though not necessarily in the position of Speaker. The Speaker typically refrains from debate, instead serving as a moderator, and the Speaker may only vote on legislation in case of a tie.

If Parliament withdraws its support of the current State Council with a resolution of no-confidence, the Prime Minister has thirty days from the adoption of the resolution to form a new State Council that meets with the approval of Parliament. The Prime Minister may request the President dissolve Parliament, though the President may refuse. If after thirty days Parliament does not approve a new State Council, Parliament will be dissolved and new elections must be held within 45 days of dissolution. The new Parliament must convene within 60 days of dissolution.

Government
The Government of Sainte Genevieve is called the State Council. The President oversees the State Council, though the true head of government is the Prime Minister. Pending consent of Parliament, the President appoints, discharges, and determines the number of ministers in the State Council.

Members of Parliament in Opposition also form a "Shadow State Council," in which minority MPs function as unofficial ministers of the Opposition.

Political Parties
Sainte Genevieve has five major political parties currently represented in Parliament, as well as several smaller parties which operate at a local level.

Administrative Divisions
The country has a two-tier structure of local government, the upper of which consists of six county councils and three city councils. The three cities, Dungannon, Farset and Rossport function as county equivalents, and are administered separately from the counties that surround them. The county and city councils are responsible for the primary and secondary schools inside their borders, as well as certain medical facilities, parks, etc. Prior to the Law Enforcement Consolidation Act 2001, each county and city had its own patrol division of the national police service. After the Act went into effect, however, the nine divisions were consolidated into five. County councils who share patrol divisions with their neighbors now elect independent police commissions for administrative purposes.

The lower level consists of town councils, usually made up of three to twelve elected members. Though not governmentally independent from the counties, the town councils do exercise authority over smaller matters such as local road maintenance, waste management, and library facilities.

Military
Sainte Genevieve is protected by a small, but well-equipped military. Originally, Sainte Genevieve's army and navy were two distinct entities, but were merged into the Sainte Genevieve Unified Armed Forces (SGUAF) in 1987. The 2,700 men and women serving in the armed forces are trained at the Commonwealth Military Academy, a faculty of Sainte Genevieve University. Military service is voluntary and open to any Sainte Genevieve citizen of good character who is at least twenty years of age.

Though Sainte Genevieve prefers to keep itself out of international conflict, the SGUAF has been present in a number of international aid missions in the past half-century. Most recently, approximately 120 officers and personnel were dispatched to Croatia during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s.

Currency
The currency used in Sainte Genevieve is the Sainte Genevieve Pound, often abbreviated £ or SG£ to distinguish it from the British Pound Sterling. The Sainte Genevieve Pound was one of the last European currencies to decimalize, following the passage of the Currency Reform Act 2006, which went into effect on 1 January 2007.

Religion
Over four-fifths (82.4%) of Sainte Genevieve residents are Roman Catholic, and the Roman Catholic Church is the State Church in the country, as outlined by Article 62 of the Constitution. Freedom of religion is a guaranteed right in Articles 63 and 64, however. The remaining Sainte Genevieve residents are mostly members of other Christian religions. Less than 1% are members of non-Christian religions, and less than 3% did not declare membership in any religion.

Language
English is the official language of the Commonwealth, and is understood by 99% of the population. Other languages spoken in the country include French and Irish.

Education
Education in the Commonwealth is divided into four levels: Primary (ages 5-9), Lower Secondary (10-13), Upper Secondary (14-17) and Tertiary (18+). Education is compulsory through the end of the upper secondary level. Sainte Genevieve has two universities: the Sainte Genevieve University in Rossport and North Sea Catholic University in Dungannon.

Culture
Culture in the Commonwealth has been shaped by centuries of English, Scottish and Irish influence.

Literature
The most famous Genevievan writer is Charles St. John (1877-1936). Best known for his collections of short stories, St. John's first and most popular novel The Fox is taught in university literature classes throughout Western Europe and North America.

Poetry
A poetic style endemic to Sainte Genevieve is the Eighty-One. Eighty-Ones are poems with nine lines, each line with nine syllables. The poems are usually read quickly, and are often found in primary and secondary school readers.

Music
The musical scene in the Commonwealth is built on the Celtic musical traditions of the Scots, Irish and Bretons.

Media
Sainte Genevieve has one state-sponsored broadcast network, RTSG, which operates two television channels and three radio channels. Three newspapers also circulate in the country: Sainte Genevieve Independent, Rossport Times and Dungannon Dispatch.

International Relations
Like its neighbors Iceland and Norway, Sainte Genevieve remains outside the European Union. Though the name of the state is Commonwealth of Sainte Genevieve, the country has severed the political ties between itself and the British Commonwealth.