His Imperial Majesty the Emperor yesterday promulgated an Imperial Edict which ordered a referendum to take place on 6 January in which all Austenasian subjects will be able to vote on proposed amendments to the Constitution.
The proposed amendments have been grouped into three parts, and voters will be able to vote Yes, No, or Abstain on each of the three parts.
The first part of the proposed group of amendments establishes a Senate as a body responsible for the accountability of the Monarch which may in extreme circumstances vote to depose them; the second part reflects the Roman and Christian culture of the Empire by explicitly claiming that Austenasia is a continuation of the Roman Empire and by making it a requirement for the Monarch to be a baptised Christian; and the third part defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
As each of these three parts has the potential to be controversial, voters will be able to vote in support of one and reject the other two, vote for two parts but against one, or vote for all or against all.
If no changes to the Austenasian population take place before then, there will be an electorate of 54 subjects eligible to vote in the referendum.
The full list of proposed amendments can be seen here.
UPDATE 7 DECEMBER 10:20 – The Emperor yesterday promulgated another Imperial Edict adding a fourth part of the amendment to be voted on in the referendum. This fourth part of the amendment states that the Deputy Prime Minister shall be chosen from amongst the Representatives by a newly elected Prime Minister; at present, the position of Deputy Prime Minister goes to the candidate with the second-highest number of votes in a general election.
