Tumbra
The Federal Republic of Tumbra | |
|---|---|
Motto: Liberty and Justice for All | |
Anthem: Song of the Tumbrans | |
Map of Tumbra with first-level administrative divisions highlighted | |
Map of Tumbra with major cities highlighted | |
| Capital | Straton |
| Largest city | Couno |
| Official languages | English |
| Ethnic groups (2020) |
|
| Religion (2020) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Tumbran |
| Government | Federal parliamentary democratic republic |
• President | Kelia Campbell |
• Prime Minister | Kenneth Everett |
| Legislature | Federal Parliament of Tumbra |
| Senate | |
| House of Representatives | |
| Independence from the Empire of Tumbra | |
• Empire of Tumbra formed | 1601 |
• Beginning of the Tumbran Civil War | 1864 |
• Treaty of Staplewood | 1875 |
| Area | |
• Total | 480,445 km2 (185,501 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 1.2 |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 114,603,589 |
• Density | 238/km2 (616.4/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $5.9 trillion |
• Per capita | $51,623 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $5.13 trillion |
• Per capita | $44,808 |
| Gini | 23 low |
| HDI (2020) | very high |
| Currency | Tumbran Dollar (TMD) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
| Mains electricity | 230 V–50 Hz |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +90 |
| Trigram | TMB |
| Internet TLD | .tmb |
Tumbra, officially the Federal Republic of Tumbra, is a federal democratic republic located in Esportiva. It is situated with Damukuni to its west, the Hinodejin Empire to its north and oceans to its south and east. It covers an area of about 480,445km2, with a population of over 114 million people in its 25 constituent states. Its capital is Straton, while its largest city and financial centre is in Couno; the largest urban area is the Northeast Conurbation, comprising the previous two cities along with the cities of Harren, Serrapince (which is also the second largest city in Tumbra), Timbourne and Killiney.
Tumbra is a major power with a strong economy; it is a global leader in science and technology, along with culture and media. Couno is in particular home to the Tumbran Broadcasting Corporation and the Couno Herald, two of the multiverse's biggest news providers in the broadcast and print media industries respectively. A major tourist destination, the Tumbran scenery also offers an alluring tourist destination.
Politically, Tumbra is a federal parliamentary republic; under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Tumbra, the President is the head of state, but their power is mostly nominal. The Prime Minister of Tumbra is the most powerful office in the country and the Federal Parliament the primary legislative body.
As a highly developed country, it offers social security and a comprehensive universal health care system programme, rich environmental protections, and free university education. Most of its cities are also home to comprehensively funded public transport systems, most of which are free at the point of use.
Etymology
History
Leyan Empire and early history
The Middle Ages
The Empire of Tumbra
The Tumbran Civil War
The modern Federal Republic
Geography
Climate
Biodiversity
Politics
Federal
| Kelia Campbell President |
Kenneth Everett Prime Minister of Tumbra |
Tumbra is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic somewhat based on the Westminster system. The Constitution of Tumbra, promulgated in 1864, is the supreme law of Tumbra, establishing the structure and responsibility of the government, as well as the other organs of it. Amendments generally require a two-thirds majority in both houses, though failing that, if the amendment manages to get a simple majority in both Houses, the Government may advise the President to call a binding referendum on the matter. As of 2021, this power has not been used.
Federal legislative power is vested in the Federal Parliament, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, forming the lower and upper houses respectively. The House of Representatives is elected in direct elections using the instant-runoff voting system in 650 constituencies, and may be dissolved by the President on advice of the Prime Minister if the term of the House has reached four years, the House has voted to dissolve itself, or if the House cannot settle on a Prime Ministerial candidate after three ballots in the ensuing Prime Ministerial election.
The Senate is elected, meanwhile, every six years, through proportional representation by direct election. 200 Senators are elected on the same day as the first round of the Presidential election; each state sends between six and twelve Senators to the Senate, and each Senator represents the state at-large. The Senate functions much like the House, with the exception that they cannot raise bills regarding supply, appropriations or taxation. They, however, have the sole power to vet and approve political appointees, including gubernatorial candidates nominated by the President (widely seen as one of the few places in which the President has a free hand, and who also serve as representatives of the President in the state or free city that they are nominated to)
The President, currently Kelia Campbell, is head of state. They are elected by popular vote in a two-round election every six years. The first round being held concurrently to the Senate election, and a second round, held if no candidate garners a majority of the vote in the first round, is held two weeks later. They serve a single, non-renewable six-year term starting on 3 March of the year they were elected in. Most of their powers as outlined in the Constitution are primarily representative and reserve powers, which is the significant change from the original role of the President, in which they were originally envisioned to be taking on more power in a semi-presidential system.
The Vice President, currently James Broadbent, is elected on the same ticket as the President. They are the second highest official in the order of precedence, and are first in the order of succession. Mostly, however, they serve as the presiding officer of the Senate, as President of the Senate.
The head of government, currently Kenneth Everett, is the head of government and exercises executive power through their Cabinet. Since 1882 the party system has been dominated by the Labour and Liberal parties, who jointly have provided all but three of the Prime Ministers of Tumbra since 1864, and who currently hold the largest numbers of seats in the Federal Parliament. However, the smaller centrist Moderate Party, the environmentalist Green Party, the socially conservative Conservative Party and the socialist Social Democratic Party also are represented in Parliament; the six account for almost 98% of all votes cast in any given federal election, and independents on the federal level are rare, mostly relegated to local government authorities.
Administrative Divisions
Tumbra is sub-divided into 25 states, three of which are delineated as City-states. Each state has its own state Constitution, which largely mirror the structure of the federal Constitution, but are bound together in terms of their structure of their parliaments and the way the local government authorities are organised. As of 2021 the 22 non-city states are subdivided into 85 regions, for a total of 88 regions. The 85 regions are then further subdivided into 147 local government authorities, which are separated into rural or urban districts on the municipal level. The three city states are considered as states, regions and local government authorities all in one, giving rise to a unique situation where the three are the only local government authorities elected through single-member seats, because they are state assemblies. The other 147 local government authorities are all elected through proportional representation.
List of States
| State name | Abbreviation | Capital | Largest City | Date ascended | Population | Representatives | Senators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napier | NP | Couno | 5 January 1864 | 12,319,149 | 70 | 12 | |
| Bechor | BE | Serrapince | 5 January 1864 | 10,688,486 | 61 | 12 | |
| Clearmont | CM | Hesham | 5 January 1864 | 8,218,827 | 47 | 10 | |
| Georgia | GA | Macarthur | Kingsbury | 4 September 1871 | 7,669,273 | 44 | 10 |
| Marlsbruhe | MB | Fontwell | 1 January 1873 | 6,557,918 | 37 | 9 | |
| Hamilton | HA | Washington | 14 May 1875 | 6,380,058 | 36 | 9 | |
| Grantfeldt | GR | Millsburgh | 1 January 1873 | 6,011,832 | 34 | 9 | |
| Iswilyn | IL | Denhelm | 13 March 1872 | 5,325,173 | 30 | 9 | |
| Severn | SE | Lakewood | Knapford | 1 November 1865 | 4,952,581 | 28 | 8 |
| Thornton | TH | Collatia | 5 January 1864 | 4,570,461 | 26 | 8 | |
| Fremont | FR | Hoxford | 1 January 1873 | 4,560,299 | 26 | 8 | |
| Dartmoor | DA | Kelder | Tavistock | 15 March 1870 | 4,452,692 | 25 | 8 |
| Westmond | WM | Ridgewell | 31 June 1866 | 3,575,575 | 20 | 7 | |
| Marcato | MA | Dieren | 4 March 1871 | 3,350,238 | 19 | 7 | |
| Finnley | FN | Algoma | Nantwich | 29 September 1866 | 3,205,179 | 18 | 7 |
| Turvenal | TV | Heatherton | 1 January 1873 | 3,147,785 | 18 | 7 | |
| Gamaliel | GM | Brades | Readale | 30 January 1867 | 2,825,719 | 16 | 7 |
| Straton | ST | Straton | 5 January 1864 | 2,819,528 | 16 | 7 | |
| Raleigh | RA | Carter City | 15 March 1869 | 2,650,632 | 15 | 7 | |
| Alexandria | AX | Newton | 5 January 1864 | 2,646,585 | 15 | 7 | |
| Caduke | CA | Caldwell | 1 January 1873 | 2,306,401 | 13 | 7 | |
| Lormark | LM | Renfrew | Southport | 1 January 1873 | 2,145,479 | 12 | 7 |
| Pesvern | PS | Shepperton | 1 January 1873 | 1,754,227 | 10 | 6 | |
| Harren | HR | Harren | 5 January 1864 | 1,406,083 | 8 | 6 | |
| Bencoolen | BC | Bencoolen | 5 January 1864 | 1,063,409 | 6 | 6 | |
State Government
Local Government Authorities
For the 22 states, the state is separated into anywhere from two to seven regions, giving a total of 85 regions. Those, until 2000, were the sub-divisons used to administer local government. After the passage of the Local Government Reform Act 1999, regions were again subdivided into 147 Local Government Authorities, with two types - Metropolitan Districts and Rural Districts. Functionally, the two have the exact same function, with the only difference being the chief executive of said district. Metropolitan Districts have a mayor, while Rural Districts have a council leader.
Both metropolitan district councils and rural district councils are elected through open-list proportional representation, with one representative for every 10,000 voters. The usage of open-list proportional representation allows for a independent politicians to be elected by garnering enough votes to be elected, so long as the number of votes for said independent candidate crosses the threshold.
All councils are elected at the same time as state governments - whenever the state government is dissolved, the councils are dissolved as well, unless the state election happens within eighteen months of the last one. In that case, the councils are not dissolved and are granted a term extension until the end of the new state parliament's term. No such extension is allowed for a newly-elected state government should it dissolve within the next eighteen months, however, making the theoretical maximum length of a council's term five-and-a-half years, instead of the four years found in other forms of government. Should casual vacancies occur during the term of the Council, the next member on the party list will take the place of the departed member; should the departed member be an independent, or the party list run out of candidates, the seat will be left vacant until the next election. For this reason, most independents running for a place on local government authorities run in lists of two or three candidates. The threshold to be elected is also the same as the number of total votes divided by the number of seats; therefore, about 10,000 votes are needed to be elected as an independent. As of 2020, there are 8197 councilors in Tumbra.
Metropolitan Districts have a directly-elected mayor, and operate more like a presidential system. Mayors are elected every four years alongside the district council. Mayors may be subject to recall votes, if more than 12% of the registered voters submit signatures for a petition, to the council within 160 days of the petition being filed, then the post of mayor is considered recalled, and a supplementary election for the post to fill the rest of the mayor's term will be held within 90 days. As of the time of writing, no directly elected mayor has ever been recalled. There are no term limits on the post of mayor, but most step down after two terms.
Rural Districts select a council leader from within its body, operating much like a parliamentary system, and are subject to the same procedures used to elect the Prime Minister and Premiers of State Governments, as enumerated in the Constitution. Both lead a small executive, named a Cabinet, to assist them in the day-to-day running of the region. Despite the difference in the method of election, however, both mayors and council leaders have about the same amount of powers, with the Mayor being given a bit more flexibility to appoint their Cabinet, being able to appoint people outside the Council to their Cabinet. However, mayoral cabinet appointees are subject to approval by the Council, while Council Leaders, while restricted to appointing Council members to their Cabinet, are not subject to the same approval vote.
Most councillors serve part-time, and are renumerated considerably less than state officials, who are constitutionally bound to be full-time legislators.