Lore:The Senate Concept
Contents
Coniunctis Viribus – Political System
Coniunctis Viribus is unique on many grounds. Just one of these is the system of management that I feel the town deserves both as a revolution and experiment. No other town will have such a solid base of management where every person knows who they are and has something to aim for if they wish.
Democracy
This system is as diplomatic as any town in Wurm is going to be. Ranging from Senators to the Imperator, there will be democratic elections on many levels and here I will try my best to explain the rules by which this will all happen from the lowest to the highest level.
The Senate
The Senate as a whole will contain elected senators, partially elected magistrates and the partially elected Imperator.
The Imperator
The Imperator is the top of the tree, the only role under this category is Dictator – the one who tells everyone else what to do. He is the deed holder and leader of Coniunctis Viribus and has complete power over everything. He is the only person who can appoint magistrates and can, on the same token, dismiss them as he sees fit. The Dictator can also call senate elections whenever the need arises. The Imperator has full access to the senate, including The Star Chamber and The Archives. In extreme circumstance, the Consul can replace the Imperator, or by election.
The Magistrate
The Magistrate is probably the most complicated group of officials in the family. There are nine offices under this section, although multiple people can hold the same office so there is not only necessarily going to be nine magistrates. There are two ways to become a member of the magistrate: one is by being or having been a mayor of a size 10 village with more than 15 premium members (but approved by the imperator). The other way is by private elections held by the current magistrate and imperator. The Magistrates also have full access to the senate, including The Star Chamber and The Archives.
The nine roles are as follows:- The Consul is the person second-in-command under the Dictator and in his absence can make most of the same decisions. The Consul can always call senate elections if a need becomes clear, and if the Dictator is removed from play for any reason, the Consul takes his place. The generally accepted term of absence to justify this is two weeks absent without reason. The Consul is elected from the magistrates or specifically chosen by the imperator.
Those assigned to the role of Quaestor have no specific responsibility as such they are the general advisors to the Dictator on any number of issues. They will step up when the Dictator makes a wrong decision and help set up the general policies and rulings of the family
It is the job of the Censor to help to maintain a good reputation for the village and to maintain foreign relations. Another duty of the Censor is a sort of spokesperson for the village who helps to handle recruitment ads, and general promotion of the village. Required is a decent knowledge of spies and spy alts, as the Censor is also partly responsible for ensuring that the forum and town are free of unwanted people.
The Governor is quite simply the person who is assigned to maintain the general relations whitin the sister villages of the Coniunctis Viribus family. They are responsible that for every village there is a representative in either Coniunctis Viribus or in the sister village. This is not to undermine current town mayors. The aim of the Governor is to maintain good relationships with sister villages and to keep them inspired to follow the greater cause of the family.
The Commerciante, who is the person that is responsible of all internal and external trade between family, allies, and foreign civilisations. This role is important to be done well and with respect to all partys. Trade is a big factor in establishing good relationships but money has to be made. This person will work closely together with the Imperator, who also acts as budget holder.
The Praefectus Urbi is the director of construction, or ‘town planner’ who works together with the Dictator and Aedile to ensure an efficient defence system and deed layout. They are chief designer of the village and surrounding territory but can also take the role as advisors to help with the designs of the sister villages.
The Aedile, who is the person who makes sure the town is run correctly, in terms of order of physical constructions, such as checking the damage on walls, to the positioning of trees to make sure that nothing causes problems for the town. While appearing to be a small role, the Aedile has considerable leverage over the Praefectus Urbi as the two go hand in hand.
The Praefectus Inventorium, or Head of Logistics/The Town Inventory, makes sure that every citizen is producing what the town needs, and making sure we have enough of everything stockpiled so that none of our citizens miss out on tools and equipment due to lack of availability. This includes trade between towns together with the Commerciante.
The Praetor is the main commander who all citizens must listen to in the event of PVP situations. Another duty of the Praetor is to oversee training of town fighters to make sure that the town can put up a good fight.
The Senators
The Senators are the next group of officials under the Magistrates. The senators are decided trough public elections where all members of the family can vote on.
The elected candidates will then become eligible for the office of Princeps Senatus who is basically the ‘Chief Senator’. Note: Magistrates may also be selected to fill this position if the Imperator feels this is necessary.
It is the duty of the Senators to keep the family running smoothly and to suggest and decide on changes for the magistrates to put into effect. They have access to the Senate forum where issues within family will be discussed. To be a senator is still a position of great influence and power, which can help to change the course of the family.
The Princeps Senatus is similar to the role of the senator however it is a duty to keep the senators in order and, if necessary, to create petitions for magistrates/imperator to remove senators, so it is therefore necessary for the Princeps Senatus to have access to The Star Chamber as well as The Senate.
The Elections
There are three types of elections; Senator elections, Magistrate elections, Imperator elections. The Senator elections are public where the entire family can vote on and the Magistrate and Imperator elections are private elections, where all the members of The Senate (senators and magistrates) can vote on.
Senator Elections
Senators are elected from the family, by the family. Elections are held whenever needed, though will be frequent if possible. The Senatorial candidates will be selected by the magistrates and imperator. The current senators will remain senator unless they resign or the Magistrate and Imperator decides they are better fit for an other role in the family.
Magistrate Elections
Magistrates elections are a private election. They are elected by the current magistrates and imperator with the final decision of the imperator. Elections are held whenever needed but will not be frequent. Magistrate is a very powerful and important role in the family and can not be decided upon lightly. The responsibility they are given is decided by the imperator together with the new appointed magistrate by looking what role needs to be filled and the personality of the elected magistrate member.
Imperator Elections
The Imperator elections are the only elections that are at fixed moments in time. These elections are public elections that will be held one time, every third month(four times per year). The candidates for this election are all the members of the magistrate that would like to become the new Dictator. This role can not be taken lightly in any way, becoming an imperator means you are responsible for the prosperity of the entire family.
For this election, each candidate will make a post on the www.wurmunited.com family board, explaining: - The future of the family - Changes they want to put in - Why to vote for this person
All the members of the family can then vote for the candidate they see most fit as imperator. The new imperator will be instated whitin one week after the elections are concluded, giving the current imperator the chance to clean up the Imperator Retreat and finish up current projects.
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