Domestic PoliticsLiore Kitembo Party Calls for Electoral Reform September 5016The Yamabiro Governance District Serves as the Seat of Liore's People's Assembly, which has been the Center for Recent Reform DemandsAt the heel end of this year's Mtukano election, the upper leadership of the Liori branch of the Kitembo Party has issued a statement calling for significant reforms to the election process of the People's Assembly, Liore's national legislature. In this statement, which has reportedly been drafted by party leader Mune Boro and signed by members of the party's national executive board, calls for Liore to abandon the historic practice of conducting first-past-the-post elections with single member districts, and instead embrace a mixed-member proportional system. The plan put forth by the Kitembo Party would effectively maintain the current Liori district system, allowing constituents to vote directly for candidates from their districts, while establishing a second ballot poll allowing Liori voters to choose a party rather than a candidate. The results of this second poll would establish the proportion of the People's Assembly that would be allocated to each party, with non-constituent representatives being appointed from a party list in the like scenario that district votes aren't representative of the national proportional vote.
The prime justification put forth by the Kitembo Party for this electoral reform, which would be the first time since the 49th century that Liori election laws underwent major changes, is that such a system would be much more representative of the will of the voters than the current system, which effectively marginalizes opposition voters in their districts, while maintaining the ability for voters to directly elect individual representatives. However, several political scientists and notable pollsters have suggested that there may be ulterior motives for this policy. The Kitembo Party maintains a broad base of support across Liore, being a significant force in almost every district, but is only the top party in a smaller proportion of districts. These analysts suggest that the calls for MMP elections are attempts by the Kitembo Party to claw their way out of their usual second or third electoral placement and back into government, ascribing to them sole wish of dislodging the long-reigning Ujamaa Mpana/Harambee coalition.
No matter what the true aims of the Kitembo Party may be, their reform proposals are not without support. An aggregate of several trustworthy polls indicates that as many as 43% of voters have a broadly accepting opinion of the proposal, with only 39% expressing opposition. Among the other parties, opinion is mixed. The largely regional Harambee Party has opposed the policy, likely recognizing that it would eat away at their margins in the few districts they can reliably win, while their governing partners in Ujamaa Mpana (Broad Socialists) have not yet taken an official stance, though some members recognize that they have room to gain in the socialist voters of districts won by regional parties. Several smaller parties have also expressed support for the reform, seeing it as a possibility for them to finally defeat FPTP and gain a voice in government. As of yet, there are no plans or proposed legislation on the reform being discussed by the government
Multipartisan People's Assembly Caucus Drafts Plan to Cut Liori Carbon Emissions November 5016In recent decades, Liore has made strides in moving away from reliance on fossil fuels and "dirty" energy, instead opting for the nuclearization of energy infrastructure in Liore and the wider Kitembo Union. However, oil and natural gas remain the most significant source of energy in Liore and the KU, supplying for the electric and fuel needs for the consumers and commuters of Liore, at the expense of Liore's natural environment and the global climate. However, Liore's previous movements towards clean and green energy were not token efforts made by uninterested lawmakers, but the first steps toward a carbon neutral Liore. A People's Assembly caucus comprised of members from each party represented in the legislature (though spearheaded by the eco-radical Harambee Party) has drafted a comprehensive plan to put the Liori energy sector on an unshakeable green path, and has begun the process to propose a bill to implement the plan. Labeled as the
Save Liore Plan, this plan would put Liore on a two-decade path to cut remaining fossil fuel use by more than half by constructing more nuclear and hydroelectric power plants across the country and equipping urban and residential areas with solar farms. The plan would also allocate funds to outfit Liore's railway system exclusively with electric trains and allocate funds to the research and development of "greener sea and air travel." The plan, however, has little substance to address the carbon emitted by common commuters, with key drafters of the plan stating that automotive transport was beyond the scope of the plan.
The
Save Liore Plan has large support both in the People's Assembly and among the public at large, and is expected to pass convincingly through the legislature. Both the President and Premier have expressed their support for the SLP, with Premier Hami Okar, a member of Harambee and previously of the caucus which drafted the plan, stating "this will be the biggest step in Liore history towards true ecological progress and joining great nations as Lourenne in a non-exploitative and imperialistic view of the environment." Leaders of the caucus have stated that they hope to have a bill officially proposed to the People's Assembly by the end of the year and voted into law next year.