SO 2017-27 Prime Ministerial Elections Act

Article I: Introduction
In order to encourage the spread of diversity in regional elections, we, the Parliament of the Union, move to codify into law the tradition that the Prime Minister must be elected with an absolute majority of votes cast.

Article II: Quotation from Aralunya, Original Founder
“For the [...] prime minister a majority needs to be achieved. If that requires more than one round then so be it. And we'll remove the candidate with the lowest votes” (Aralunya, Parliamentary Union of Nations RMB, October 12, 2015).

Article III: Eligibility
1) Are eligible to stand and vote in Prime Ministerial elections only those residents of the Union who are currently members of the NationStates World Assembly.
2) If a candidate resigns from the NationStates World Assembly during the election, he is disqualified and all votes for him are rendered void.
3) If a voter resigns from the NationStates World Assembly after having cast a vote in a Prime Ministerial election, his vote shall be rendered void.

Article IV: The Process
The Prime Minister will be elected by uninominal majoritarian ballot with two rounds, as follows:
1) Members may propose their candidatures to the Founder during the two weeks prior to the election. They may list or not affiliation to one or more political party.
2) After the candidatures are closed, the first round of voting will begin. The Founder will post a three-day poll on the regional page with the name of each candidate and their (optional) political affiliations, restricting voting to the NationStates World Assembly residents.
3) If, in the first round of voting, a candidate secures a majority (half plus one) of the votes cast, they are elected Prime Minister.
4) If, in the first round of voting, no candidate secures a majority (half plus one) of the votes cast, then a second round of voting will be held. The Founder will post another three-day poll on the regional page with the name of the two candidates with the first and second highest number of votes in the first round and their (optional) political affiliations, restricting voting to the NationStates World Assembly residents.
5) The candidate with the most votes in this second round is elected Prime Minister.
6) If at any point in this process there is a relevant tie of votes, the candidate with the longest permanent residency in the region is favored.

Article V: Conclusion
We, the Parliament of the Union, hereby enact this document and its provisions as law, to be cited as "[The] Prime Ministerial Elections Act 2017".

April 28, 2017
The Hon. Abdoa, MP (Speaker p.t.) LSM GSM
The Hon. Aralunya, MP

Debate scheduled April 19-21, 2017
Motion to Pass to a Vote made on April 19, 2017 by Sen Abdoa, seconded by Sen Thomolia and Sen Libertarian Democracy
Vote scheduled April 20-22, 2017).
Signed May 1, 2017

Status: enacted