|
The United Worlds Commonwealth considers itself to be a representative democracy. In actuality the government has evolved into an impersonal beaurecracy which is how most people would consider it if they thought about the government. The government does contain many elected officials including the UWC president who is elected for five year terms. But the elected officials soon find that the beaurecratic wheels can move slowly indeed. A prime example of this is found in the military where the majority of equipment in use is still at TL9/10 standards despite Earth having progressed well into a TL11 rating.
|
|
|
Head of State
(Currently President Miranda Delaport ) |
|
| |__________________ | |
|
The Legislative Council (Elected proportionally from the Legislative Assembly)
| The Legislative Assembly (Elected or Appointed Representatives from electoral regions) The Council and Assembly make up the Legislature |
The Judiciary Council
Appointed by the Judiciary from within the Judicial ranks. |
|
The Head of State is titled the president and in theory this position is open to any citizen of the United Worlds Commonwealth. The president is not a member of the Legislature but may propose legislation and has limited veto rights over legislation from the legislature. The president is also the head of the UWC armed forces. The Legislative Assembly, and hence the Legislative Council is again in theory open to anybody who is a citizen of the United Worlds Commonwealth. In practice since the member worlds are allowed to provide their own representatives through their local government systems this is not the case. The expense of a successful election run is also off-putting for any without the backing of a political party.The Judicial Council is not a body elected from the general population. Instead its members are drawn from the judiciary itself. Only members of the judiciary may vote and only members of the judiciary are eligible for appointment to the council. Members of the Judicial Council are elected for life terms and as a consequence are very difficult to remove. There is no mandated retirement from the council and only a vote of the judiciary can remove a member from the council. In practical terms the "government" of Earth and the UWC itself consists of many departments, each with its own beaurecracy. As a consequence in the UWC things move slowly. The government is unwieldy, partially evolved as an outgrowth of the old United Worlds with overtones from the old Federation and Centauri governments superimposed upon it. The state is essentially run by committee layered upon committee. The current president Miranda Delaport has expressed increasing frustration with the speed with which the UWC government makes any decisions, and inevitably large amounts of credits are absorbed by the increasing beauracracy. |
