Senate Down To Three Members After Resignation, Removal
Written by Monkey
Written by Monkey
Published 5 May 2021
On April 26, former Senate Speaker Lloenflys posted Does Europeia Still Have a Senate? in the Grand Hall, concerned at the level of inactivity in the senate. Specifically, he noted that under RE01, nearly all the current senators except for Forilian (Malashaan, Sanjurika, CSP, and GraVandius) would be eligible for removal due to inactivity due to not having posts in seven days. While he expressed a wish to see the senate turn things around in the latter half of the term, he affirmed that he would not be seeking their removal. Other citizens chimed in to express their disappointment, including then-President Calvin Coolidge. Vice Chancellor Deepest House was especially critical, calling for more oversight and stating:
"I’d be ok with an up or down recall vote on every senator. Let them make the case for why they should remain in office".
Later that day, Speaker GraVandius released an address, stepping down from the speakership, but continuing to remain on as a senator. In his post, he attributed his inactivity to real life developments, and stated that he was 'quite disappointed' at the unsuccessful revival of the senate aide program and the failure of the public results amendment at referendum. The senate quickly moved to appoint Forilian as the next speaker through unanimous consent, who took office on April 29.
Shortly afterwards, Monkey filed petitions on the floor of the Grand Hall, calling for the removal of each sitting senator. The petition reached the 12 necessary signatures within 12 hours, with everyone who signed signing for all 5 petitions. Signatories justified their signatures by stating that the region needed to hold the senate accountable for their inactivity beyond the Grand Hall thread. Recently elected Speaker Forilian even signed the petition, stating:
"I think that this is a reasonable referendum and discussion to have for individual Senators to defend why they should remain in office".
Other citizens did not agree with the referendum petition, including Lloenflys, who initiated the discussion.
"The Senate is in the middle of several complicated discussions. It has resumed working toward the conclusion of those issues. I would rather we let it get on with its business rather than removing the Senate and starting from scratch again". (EBC Coverage)
Upon verifying the petition, Vice Chancellor Drecq administered the referendum, opening individual discussion threads on each senator. Senator CSP opted to resign from the senate, citing an intent to transition to executive matters, opening a by-election to be held May 6. The remaining four senators opted to defend their seats. Senators Sanjurika and Forilian were both met little pushback, with voters citing Sanjurika's newness to the Senate, and Forilian's activity admist the otherwise stalling senate. Senators Malashaan and GraVandius both took the time to express their frustration with the referendum.
Senator Malashaan cited several reasons to justify his recent activity, including the submission of the Information Reform Amendment, and claiming that he had been waiting on other senators to weigh in on legislation. He also noted that while not public, often times drafting laws and legislation happens 'in the dark', suggesting that the legal definition for inactivity under the SPA may not be a perfect indicator of activity. Most voters agreed with his assessment in the referendum discussion thread, and advocated for retaining Malashaan as a Senator. Darcness justified his own reasoning for signing the petition and calling for a referendum by saying:
"Having a single Senator go dark for a week is worthy of raising a flag...And this (or 'these') petitions, really, will be remembered, which is really the point".
Senator GraVandius also issued a brief statement defending himself and stating his frustrations with the referendum. In his comment, he pointed to his speakership resignation for reasoning as to why he remained as a senator, and went on to say:
"if you have the clear and omniscient premonition that I will be inactive the remainder of the term, absolutely remove me from office. It’s literally just my word versus your fortune telling abilities".
Several citizens commented on the brashness of his statement, overall stated their support for voting against his removal.
Four days later, the EBC released the data from its referendum polling, hours before the votes opened. The results showed that a majority of polltakers would vote to remove GraVandius, while all of the other Senators seemed safe in keeping their seats.
On voting day, the referendum for each senator had around 47 votes, just a little under double the amount of polltaker that took the EBC's poll, however the poll seemed to be a good predictor of the final result anyway. Senators Forilian, Malashaan, and Sanjurika all held onto their seats with over 85% of voters voting to keep them as senators, however Senator GraVandius was recalled by one vote (25 for removal vs 24 against).
After the removal, GraVandius posted a leave of absence in which he announced his desire to step away from Europeia. In his address, he stated growing frustrations with his political success beyond the recent referendum among other reasons for his leave. Closing out his address, he reflected on his experiences in the region serving as Senator and under his private media outlet, the ERI. A wide range of citizens, from Lloenflys to HEM, stepped forward to thank GraV for his service, and wish him best of luck in his future endeavors.
However, Senate business hasn't concluded. Another by-election has been announced for May 8, to bring the current senate up to 5 members after losing CSP and GraVandius. Currently, candidates for the first round include Olde Delaware, Rotasu, and HEM, while Calvin Coolidge recently stepped up to run for the second by-election. The Senate is also in the midst of confirmations following the recent election of Kazaman, with Speaker Forilian working to push through noncontroversial cabinet nominees at the last minute, before GraVandius' removal which might have impacted the Senate's ability to confirm nominees before the by-election. On top of this, there's also been recent judicial activity involving the senate, with Senator Malashaan challenging the legality of legislative corrections taken by Senator Forilian, and President Kazaman requesting an advisory opinion on the ability of a diminished senate to confirm nominees. With three bills on the senate floor as well, it's looking clear that this senate likely won't be worrying about an inactivity referendum in the near future.
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