Free Democrats of Talossa
| Free Democrats of Talossa 
|
| Leader: Üc R. Tärfă Party President, Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir Party Secretary |
| Founded: 25 September 2015 |
| Beliefs: Democratic, progressive, liberal, republican |
| Color: |
The Free Democrats of Talossa (Els Democrätici Livereschti da Talossa, FreeDems) are a Talossan political party formed by a merger of the ZRT and Liberal Congress parties, who had previously constituted the Free Democratic Alliance. At its formation, the party was the largest party in the Government, the second largest party in the 48th Cosa (with 47 seats) and counted 3 sitting Senators among its members.
Election Results
| General Election | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | +/- | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2016, 49th Cosa | 39 | 33.05 (#1) | 66 / 200 |
 19
|
in opposition |
| December 2016, 50th Cosa | 25 | 23.58 (#3) | 47 / 200 |
 19
|
in government |
| October 2017, 51st Cosa | 27 | 23.89 (#3) | 48 / 200 |
1
|
in government |
| July 2018, 52nd Cosa | 36 | 31.3 (#2) | 62 / 200 |
14
|
in government |
| April 2019, 53rd Cosa | 42 | 43.8 (#1) | 89 / 200 |
27
|
in government |
| December 2019, 54th Cosa | 33 | 41.8 (#1) | 84 / 200 |
5
|
in government |
| August 2020, 55th Cosa | 46 | 49.5 (#1) | 99 / 200 |
11
|
in government |
| June 2021, 56th Cosa | 31 | 42.47 (#1) | 85 / 200 |
14
|
in government |
| April 2022, 57th Cosa | 30 | 37.97 (#2) | 76 / 200 |
9
|
in government |
| February 2023, 58th Cosa | 26 | 29.89 (#2) | 60 / 200 |
16
|
in opposition |
| October 2023, 59th Cosa | 35 | 42.68 (#2) | 85 / 200 |
25
|
??? |
Constitution
At its founding Convention, the Free Democrats voted to adopt a Constitution to govern the party. The current version is available below.
The Constitution of the Free Democrats of Talossa
I. Els Democrätsen Liverats da Talossa (the Free Democrats of Talossa) is an active political party in Talossa whose purpose is to fight for and defend liberty and democracy for its citizens and provinces.
II. The official slogan of the party shall be ‘livertà és democraçù pirméis!’ (liberty and democracy first!)
III. The official logo of the Free Democrats shall be as below:
IV. Membership shall be open to all Talossan citizens. The Secretary of the Party shall be entitled, no more than once a year, to conduct a Census of all party members to make sure they still see themselves as Party members and that their contact details are up to date. Any member who does not respond to this Census within 30 days shall be deemed to have resigned from the Party.
V. The party and its internal policy making decisions will be open and chosen democratically by its membership by simple majority vote; a constitutional amendment will require a 2/3 majority. Once a vote has been called, members have 3 days to cast their vote.
VI. The party shall elect from its membership the following officers:
a. A President, who will serve as the party leader of the Free Democrats and shall be responsible for the distribution of seats in the Cosa.
b. A Secretary, who will be responsible for conducting elections in the party in addition to preparing important party documents for publishing, and providing the parliamentary party with any assistance it might need. The Secretary shall serve as the President in the event of a vacancy.
c. In addition, any province of Talossa which includes 3 or more party members shall be entitled to elect a Provincial Branch Chair. Such an election may take place at the Party Convention or at any other time.
VII.
a. The Provincial Branch Chair shall be responsible for the distribution of seats in provincial legislatures, taking into account advice from Free Democrats in the province under consideration. If there is no Provincial Branch Chair, or they do not complete this duty in time, the Party President shall perform this duty.
b. If the President is unavailable or resigns, the Secretary shall assume their duties until the next Convention. If the Secretary is unavailable or resigns, the President is empowered to appoint a new Secretary until the next Convention.
VIII. All members of the party shall be eligible to both vote in elections to and stand for the above offices. Fourteen days’ notice should be given prior to these elections being held on the forum used for conducting party business, and nominations should open when this notice is given.
IX. The election of party officers shall be conducted annually in a Convention held at the earliest convenience during Winter, defined as December through March. An Exceptional Convention may be called by a petition of two-thirds (2/3) of the party membership, or by a simple majority vote of the party's officers.
X.
a. The candidate list for Cosâ elections shall be drawn up by a committee of the Party Officers, and, if any member so requests, ratified by a secret-ballot vote of all members, carried out by the Party Secretary.
b. Candidates for Senäts elections shall be chosen by a vote of all members residing in the Province affected, and the successful candidate announced by the Provincial Branch Chair. With the consent of the Party President and Secretary, the PBC may choose to allow non-party members residing in the Province affected to participate in such a vote. In the case of a contested nomination, the vote shall be carried out by secret ballot.
c. In cases of emergency such as by-elections, resignations or impending deadlines so that no time is left to conduct a vote as above, the Party President and Secretary may amend the Cosâ list, and a Provincial Branch Chair may nominate a Senäts candidate.
d. If there is no PBC, the Party President shall perform the functions in (b) and (c) above.
XI. Members are free to organize themselves into caucuses within the party. Caucuses shall annually make available to the Secretary a point of contact, purpose statement, and organizing document. The Secretary shall keep a list of all registered caucuses.
XII.
a. For the purposes of this rule, the “Caucus" comprises all Senators and MCs who are members of the Free Democrats of Talossa.
b. If the Party Leader considers a certain Bill on the Clark to be especially important for the enactment of the party's policy and principles, he may declare this bill to be subject to a "whipped vote", indicating that all members of the Caucus are expected to vote in accordance with the Leader's recommendation or otherwise abstain.
c. A declaration of a whipped vote, and any bill on which there is a whipped vote, shall specify precisely which plank of the party's policy, or constitutional principle, is involved.
d. A declaration of a whipped vote can be overridden by a vote of 50% or more of the Caucus members.
e. All Votes of Confidence shall be considered to be whipped unless the Leader or 50% or more of the Caucus specifically state otherwise. The opposite of a Whipped vote is a 'free vote'.
f. A member of the Caucus who votes contrary to a declaration of a whipped vote ("defies the whip") on two separate occasions in the term of a Cosâ may be suspended from Party membership by declaration of the Party Leader. This suspension may be overridden by a vote of 50% or more of the Caucus members, and in any case will expire at the end of that Cosâ term.
g. This section shall not apply to any circumstance covered by Constitution Section XV (the "Agnostic Clause").
XIII. In the event that a member is acting in a way that is damaging to the reputation of the Free Democrats, a petition representing at least half of the party membership may be presented to the party leader asking for the member's removal. The party leader shall schedule closed removal proceedings and notify the member in question, along with a copy of the petition, no less than ten days before such proceedings are to begin. During the proceedings, the member shall be afforded an opportunity to present his defense, and other members may also make their own arguments for or against the removal. On the fifth day of the proceedings, the party leader shall call a closed vote to be held on the removal. If two-thirds (2/3) of the membership vote in to remove, the member shall immediately be removed, and the party leader shall publicly announce the removal. A removed member shall be eligible to rejoin the Free Democrats after two General Elections following the removal.
XIV. The Free Democrats adhere to the notion of 'constitutional agnosticism' which can be understood as a commitment to bridging the gap between the existing debate versus monarchism and republicanism.
XV. Activities such as sewing, knitting and tea drinking are encouraged among members.
Party Policy
A. MONARCHIST/REPUBLICAN COMPROMISE
Free Democrats include both monarchists and republicans, but we all put liberty and democracy first in Talossa. We will offer our support to a Talossan Head of State who is continually active, puts the interests of the Nation above defending their own interests and prestige, and acts as the servant rather than the owner of the State. We support Organic structures which ensure that our Head of State operates in this way.
B. CUTTING THE RED-AND-GREEN TAPE
Talossa's government and legal structure is top-heavy, unwieldy, hard to navigate and no fun. We support the repeal of all laws and abolition of all Government posts and procedures which are more trouble than they are worth to keep going. We want a smaller, consistently active Cabinet, a Ziu which offers active oversight of the Cabinet and intelligent scrutiny of laws, and a functioning Judiciary.
C. ÁR GLHEÞ
'N naziun sanc glheþ, c'è 'n naziun sanc coraziun. The Talossan language is not only one of our highest cultural treasures but something which separates our state from all other nations and nation-building projects. Our vision is that all Talossans will learn and use the national language to some extent, and the Government should set policy accordingly.
D. CULTURE
The Free Democrats support Talossan culture built by its citizens, not the Government. A government that attempts to "do Talossan culture" as well as administer the State will quickly burn out.; The Ministry of Culture should work with ordinary citizens, non-governmental organisations and provincial governments to build Talossa's "civil society" - ways to be Talossan outside of the Government, including language, research, sports and leisure. This may include State funding, through contestable grants or prizes for competitions.