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Referendum Announced for Constitutional Amendments

The Senate has voted in favour of a referendum on March 1st in which the people of the Empire will vote on three proposals for constitutional amendments.

These proposals were put forward by the Prime Minister, Lord Andrew Musgrave, as part of a platform of constitutional reform.

Any of the three proposals which gain the necessary support in the upcoming referendum will be cumulatively known as the Fourth Amendment.

The first proposal would reform the position of Prime Minister. Although the current election cycle will be kept in place, if a Prime Minister resigns and their Deputy succeeds to the premiership, then the Deputy will no longer be titled as “Acting” Prime Minister; that role will be reserved for a Deputy Prime Minister temporarily taking power. Furthermore, should both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister’s offices fall vacant, the highest-ranking Government Minister would assume the premiership.

The second proposal would remove the requirement for the Monarch to be a practising baptised Christian, requiring only that they respect and uphold the state religion. At present, some members of the Line of Succession – including the Heir to the Throne himself, Crown Prince Shiro – would be unable to ascend the Throne should that choice fall to them due to not being practising Christians, despite being happy to respect the nation’s majority faith.

The third and final proposal would implement reform to the Senate. Briefly put, the position of Senator would be held for five-year terms instead of for life, and the office of Princeps Senatus would be elected by the Senators instead of automatically being held by the longest-serving one.

Austenasian voters will be contacted shortly regarding the referendum, with early voting able to take place from Saturday 22nd.

As a prospective constitutional amendment, the above-mentioned three proposals have also received the approval of the Monarch and of a near-unanimous vote of the House of Representatives (twelve in favour, two not voting). The approval of the People is the final step required by law to amend the Constitution.

About this article

Additional context relevant to this article.

Historical constitutional framework The Constitution of 2011 is no longer the Constitution of Austenasia. It was repealed and replaced by the Constitution of 2026, which entered into force on 25 July 2026. References in this article to provisions of the Constitution of 2011 describe the constitutional arrangements in force at the time of publication and may not reflect current Austenasian law.
Historical line of succession The Line of Succession described in this article is no longer current. Austenasia’s succession arrangements have changed substantially since this article was published. Under the Constitution of 2026, the reigning Monarch may nominate an heir subject to confirmation by the Senate; if no nomination is made, the Senate may elect an heir. Readers should therefore not treat historical lists or descriptions of succession in this article as representing the current order of succession.
Who is Andrew Musgrave? Lord Andrew Musgrave is the Prime Minister of Austenasia and one of its longest-serving officials. He joined Austenasia in 2013 and has served as Governor of Corinium Terentium since December of that year. After holding several government positions, he became Deputy Prime Minister in February 2024 and was elected Prime Minister in September 2024. During the constitutional crisis and interregnum of 2025–26, Musgrave also served as Lord Protector and Regent to the Crown. He relinquished those powers upon the accession of Johannes Karl I Augustus in July 2026 and continues to serve as Prime Minister.