[BREAKING NEWS] 84th Senate Elected - Intelligence Committee Resolution Takes Center Stage






84th Senate Elected
Intelligence Committee Resolution Takes Center Stage

Written by PhDre




Results

Elections for the 84th Senate concluded on May 21 with 55 voters, one less than in the March 2022 Senate Election. Citizens elected seven of the nine candidates. Returning from the 83rd Senate are incumbents Gem and Cove. Other candidates elected include Pichtonia, Lloenflys, McEntire, Gorundu, and Poseidon. Turbiatop and Acapais were not elected.

Exit Polling

The Europeian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) conducted a Senate Election Exit Poll for the first time, asking voters about their preferences in the Voting Thread itself. The Senate Exit Poll received 19 votes.

Results from the exit poll were in line with election outcomes. Two-thirds of respondents were satisfied with the Senate field. Most respondents (63%) preferred a larger Senate to a smaller one - the Seat Selection preference vote resulted in a 7 seat senate. In the exit poll, candidate Lloenflys was overwhelmingly (74%) preferred as Senate Speaker. An absolute majority of respondents said they would have voted for him if they only had one vote in the Senate Election.

The poll asked the respondents to select a preferred Senate priority from a number of hot-button issues. In recent weeks, the Europeian Regional Message Board (RMB) has seen a deluge of roleplaying, some of which has crossed over into inappropriate territory and resulted in the ejection of a particularly active roleplayer from the region. Europeans have also raised concern over Executive Term Length, which currently sits at 70 days. Some proposed solutions include lengthening terms, reforming or shortening the Cabinet nomination process, and creating a “lame duck” Executive week between a President’s successful election and swearing-in. These issues split respondents, with 28% preferring the Senate to focus on RMB guidelines and 22% wanting a focus on Executive Term Length. 33% of respondents had no particular topic they wanted the Senate to focus on.

Early Senate Activity

Newly elected Senator Lloenflys signaled their interest in running for Senate Speaker in their platform, and the 84th Senate was happy to oblige. The Senate quickly passed a unanimous consent motion to appoint Lloenflys to the office of Speaker, who then promptly resigned as a Justice of the High Court of Europeia to comply with JA1.2 of the Europeian Constitution, which prevents Justices from serving as Senate Speaker.

In their opening address, Speaker Lloenflys acknowledged sentiment for a larger Senate size, stating “the people’s choice to have more voices participating in the chorus of the Senate was clear. To my fellow Senators, let us honor that choice by having a term filled with debate and discussion.” Lloenflys’s request for an active and engaged Senate may be an attempt to correct course after the 83rd Senate saw middling poll results and complaints about inactivity. Lloenflys also announced Senator Gem as Deputy Speaker.

In other news, Senator Pichtonia proposed Resolution 008 creating a Senate Intelligence Committee for the 84th Senate because “Director [of the Europeian Intelligence Agency (DEIA)] Kazaman approached me about serving as Senate Intelligence Committee Chair this term, to which I agreed.” The creation of Senate Committees is defined in the Senate Protocol Act (SPA).

Senator McEntire questioned why the DEIA was exerting influence over the committee process, as the SPA affords the Senate the power to appoint and remove committee chairs, and the DEIA has no formal powers regarding the Senate Intelligence Committee or any other Committee. McEntire proposed expanding the Committee to include themselves. In response, Pichtonia has expressed that McEntire’s “decision to amend [themselves] into the Committee … does fill me with doubt whether I - as Chair - could work towards the aims I've set myself as effectively.”

Former Senator Malashaan echoed concerns raised by McEntire, saying "the head of an outside agency can't choose a committee chair. That's a constitutional issue at [its] heart." Director Kazaman chimed in to suggest that he did not select the Chair, rather he "spoke to Pichtonia about forming a committee, [and] we agreed on some members who indicated they were willing to serve."

The 83rd Senate also ran into issues regarding the creation of a Senate Intelligence Committee, with the inclusion of Senator Cove resulting in then-Speaker Olde Delaware questioning previous staffing decisions by Kazaman. Since that line of questioning, the 83rd Senate reconfirmed DEIA Kazaman.

As of publication, the Senate has not approved Resolution 008. Senate watchers expect the institution to amend the SPA and allow for enforceable Committee rules, which could help institutionalize Senate Committees.



Editor's Note: The article has been updated to reflect that Gorundu was elected to the 84th Senate.
 
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A quality, timely article!
Things have of course "escalated" slightly since publication. We want to cover R008 accurately and appropriately so look forward to some more coverage as the situation unfolds!
I have to read that whole Senate thread! And the GH thread. Unless you recap it all for us 😬
 
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