Political Groups Act (Draft 1)

Political Groups Act Preamble WHEREAS the act establishing parties and clubs is at the same time overly bloated and missing necessary regulations, WHEREAS it is imperative that we keep a record of political parties both as to combat fraud as well as to preserve party membership records for future generations, THEREFORE I hereby present the Political Groups Act. Part 1 - Political Parties Article 1 - Definition §1. A political party, or party, is defined as a group of a political nature, which usually holds certain beliefs that the members of the group have in common, and that is involved in some manner in the politics or government of SimDemocracy. Article 2 - Restrictions and Privileges of Political Parties §1. For a party to be formed, an announcement must be posted to r/SimDemocracy, detailing leadership, beliefs and policies, the party’s name, at least three (3) founding members and optionally a color to represent the party as well as anything else deemed necessary by the creator of the post. §1.1. This announcement or an equivalent one must be posted in an announcement channel open to the public on the SimDemocracy Discord server. §2. If after its creation, a party’s member count drops below three (3), the party shall have seven (7) days to regain the required number of members. If at the conclusion of the seven (7) days, the party does not have at least three (3) members, the party will be disbanded. §3. A person may only have membership, official or otherwise, of a single political party in SimDemocracy at any given time. §4. All political parties are entitled to a role for their party on the official SimDemocracy Discord server. Article 3 - Political Parties and Elections §1. The party leader may decide who is allowed to run for office as a candidate for their party. §2. Candidates may not run for office under the banner of a party that has not been lawfully formed. §3. Candidates may not run for office under the banner of a party they are not a legal member of. Article 4 - Political Parties Leadership §1. The party leader may decide who is allowed to be a member of their party. §1.1. The party leader may not discriminate based on protected characteristics. §2. The party leader may appoint a party leader to replace them prior to resignation, unless otherwise specified in the party’s specialized party leader rules. §2.1. If a party is without a leader for any reason a majority of party members may elect a new party leader, unless otherwise specified in the party’s specialized party leader rules. §2.2. If a party is without a leader for more than fourteen (14) days, the party will be disbanded. §3. To add or amend specialized party leader rules the party leader has to present the rules and/or amendments to the relevant authorities, along with the signatures of a majority of the party supporting it. Part 2 - Clubs Article 5 - Definition §1. A club is defined as a group of a non-political nature, who usually share an interest in a particular activity or hobby. Article 6 - Restrictions and Privileges of Clubs §1. For a club to be formed, an announcement must be posted to r/SimDemocracy, detailing leadership, purpose for formation, the club’s name, and at least five (5) founding members. §1.1. This announcement or an equivalent one must be posted in an announcement channel open to the public on the SimDemocracy Discord server. §2. If after its creation, a club’s member count drops below five (5), the club shall have seven (7) days to regain the required number of members. If at the conclusion of the seven (7) days, the club does not have at least five (5) members, the club will be dissolved. §3. Clubs may not engage in any political activity. §4. Club creation may not be abused for the purposes of creating useless roles. Part 3 - Independents Article 7 - Independents §1. Independents are defined as persons who do not belong to any political party. §2. Independents are entitled to a role showing their status as such on the official SimDemocracy Discord server. §3. Independents may only run for office as an independent. Part 4 - Miscellaneous Article 8 - Economics §1. All parties and clubs are entitled to one (1) profit or non-profit economic account, as long as the party or club meets the necessary legal requirements. Article 9 - Party and Club Records §1. A list shall be kept by the Ministry of Archives detailing all currently existing parties, their formation posts, their party leaders, their party members and if applicable how many days it has been since the party dropped below three (3) members. §2. The list shall also record all previous party memberships and party leaders from the moment of this act being passed. §2. The party leader is responsible for informing the relevant authorities about all membership changes pertaining to their party, except in the case of an individual leaving a party in which case they are personally responsible. §2.1. A party change is only in effect once the responsible party has informed the relevant authorities. §3. Unless decided otherwise by the government, it will be assumed that the relevant authorities is a government official in the Ministry of Archives appointed to record political parties. The government may choose in which way the relevant authorities shall be informed, within reason. Article 10 - One-Time Effects §1. All legally formed parties and clubs at the passage of this act will stay formed but will, from the passage of this act, be forced to comply with the rules and regulations as set out by this act. §2. All parties must present a list of party members at the latest of fourteen (14) days from the passage of this act. Any party that fails to do so will be dissolved. Article 11 - Repeals §1. The Legal Entities and Groups Act shall be repealed.

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