Results announced for Division elections

Results have been announced for yesterday’s election, the first for the new Divisions recently established for non-residential subjects. Three of the four Divisions had only a single candidate stand. Turnout in these Divisions was, as expected, accordingly quite low, although voters did have the option to vote for an abstention, which – should the majority of votes be cast for it – cause that specific election to be re-run with new candidates. However, the three Divisions with a single candidate all saw said candidate win comfortably. Lord Andrew Musgrave has been elected for the Britain and Ireland Division, Professor Sir Sanjib Bhattacharya for the Asia Division, and Sir Isaiah Burdette for the New World Division. Lord Musgrave received 100% of the vote, and both Professor Bhattacharya and Sir Isaiah received 80%. Many eyes were on the election for the Europe and Africa Division, which had three candidates standing; a record for a local election. With a turnout of 68.75% (11 out of 16 eligible voters), Dr Kalin Yanev narrowly won with 5 votes, with his opponents Nitan Kumar and Clemens Schumann receiving 4 and 2 respectively. The four newly elected Representatives take office today. Although, constitutionally speaking, new elections do not now have to take place for up to five years, the Prime Minister Lord William has stated he would prefer elections to take place much more frequently in Divisions so as to encourage political engagement and ensure democratic mandates.

Candidates announced for non-residential elections

Nominations have closed and candidates have been announced for the elections taking place on July 31st. The upcoming elections are a historic first, being for the Divisions established at the start of the month to represent non-residential subjects in Parliament. Any non-residential subject – that is, an Austenasian not living within an Austenasian land claim – will be entitled to vote for a Representative, depending on the region of the world in which they live. Of the four Divisions into which the Empire’s non-residential subjects were placed, three returned only a single candidate for Representative. Professor Sir Sanjib Bhattacharya is standing for Asia, Lord Andrew Musgrave is standing for Britain and Ireland, and Sir Isaiah Burdette is standing for the New World. The non-residentials of these Divisions will therefore have the option to either vote for the sole candidate or to abstain. Should the majority of votes be abstentions, the election will be re-run for that Division, with those eligible to do so invited again to stand. Professor Bhattacharya has served in various diplomatic capacities for the Empire since 2015, and has had an award-winning career in translation and education. Lord Musgrave is the incumbent Home Secretary, and took part in the Cabinet discussions for the naturalisation and representation initiative that has culminated in these elections. Sir Isaiah is one of the newly-naturalised Austenasians whose entry into the Empire made these elections so necessary, and has held various roles within the Grand Unified Micronational. The Europe and Africa Division, on the other hand, has had three different candidates stand. Perhaps the most well-known of these three candidates is H.E. Nitan Kumar, Austenasia’s ceremonial Ambassador to Ukraine, whose safety has been of concern due to living in the beleaguered city of Kharkiv, in which he has organised humanitarian relief. The other two candidates for the non-residential subjects of Europe and Africa are Mr Clemens Schumann and Dr Kalin Yanev, both of whom joined Austenasia in May. Mr Schumann is running on a liberal left-wing platform, and Dr Yanev has expressed interest in developing Austenasian culture, having been conducting research on the organisation of societies and cultures for over 15 years. Votes will be counted and the duly elected Representatives announced and take office on Tuesday 1st August, replacing four Acting Representatives appointed by Parliament upon the creation of the Divisions.

Parliamentary representation for non-residential subjects

Non-residential subjects of Austenasia will henceforth be able to vote for Representatives in Parliament, following a new law passed this evening. This sees the culmination of efforts led by Prime Minister Lord William Wilson, whose campaign for the premiership included a pledge to see parliamentary representation for non-residential subjects (an idea originally proposed by his predecessor Lord John Gordon) finally arranged. No parliamentary representation for non-residential subjects was provided for by the Austenasian Constitution of 2011 or its subsequent amendments, due to their historically having made up such a small proportion of Austenasia’s population. However, in recent years the proportion of Austenasians who do not live within Austenasia itself has increased, with a notable jump in numbers happening in May earlier this year as a result of Honorary Subjects being able to apply for naturalisation. While still technically a minority, just under half of Austenasians – 47.3% – now hold non-residential subjectship as opposed to being residential subjects living in traditionally organised territorial Towns. The growing proportion of non-residential subjects has made it a pressing concern of the government to enable parliamentary representation for them, with the Constitution only allotting Representatives to Towns. Today’s Act of Parliament has changed the definition of Town to include a new entity known as a Division, into which Austenasia’s seventy non-residential subjects are henceforth grouped. Four Divisions have been established, grouping together non-residential subjects living in the British Isles, in the rest of Europe and Africa, in Asia, and in the Americas and Oceania. Parliament has appointed a prominent non-residential from each of these regions as Acting Representative of their Division on a provisional basis until elections are organised: Non-residential subjects will be contacted over the coming few days to inform them of these reforms, and to begin organising elections for the new Divisions. With the addition of the four above-mentioned Acting Representatives to Parliament, the House of Representatives now stands at 15 strong, the largest it has ever been.

Oldest Austenasian, Tulsabai Pethe, dies aged 86

Tulsabai Ramdas Pethe, the eldest member of Austenasia’s population, passed away early this morning aged 86. The news was announced on social media by The Rt Hon. Ketan Uzagi, Mrs Pethe’s grandson, “with profound grief and sadness”. Mrs Pethe, born in January 1937, was a resident of Imperia, an Austenasian Crown Dependency situated in central India which has been governed by Mr Uzagi as governing commissioner since its annexation in October 2015. His grandmother was the eldest of the family of five who lived there. Emperor Jonathan I has conveyed his personal condolences to Mr Uzagi, and declared a period of national mourning to last until the end of June. The death of Mrs Pethe is only the second time in the still relatively short history of Austenasia that one of our people have passed away, following the death of Taras Oliynyk last year. Following Hindu tradition, the antyesti funeral and cremation of Tulsabai Pethe took place within 24 hours of her death, late this evening Indian time, and was attended by relatives and neighbours of the Austenasians of Imperia.

Treasury establishes precious metal investment account

An Act of Parliament was passed yesterday formally establishing the Precious Metals Account, an online investment account from which profit can be drawn from investing in precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum. The Precious Metals Account (PMA) was initially set up by Lord Michael Simpson with a starting investment of $200 in precious metals. Lord Simpson, an experienced investor, has donated the account to the Austenasian Treasury. Profit generated by the account will now be available to fund “state expenditure and the public good”, in the words of yesterday’s legislation. For almost ten years now, Austenasia’s state income has come almost entirely from voluntary donations. Another source of income will now enable the Treasury to better budget for the funding of state projects.

Population reaches 150 as naturalisation applications approved

The population of Austenasia yesterday saw a huge expansion to its highest ever level, rising to 150 after an unprecedented grant of non-residential subjectships. Thirty six applications for naturalisation have been approved by the Home Office, the largest ever single increase in Austenasia’s population. The applications came from the Empire’s Honorary Subjects, who were invited to apply for naturalisation in March after a new process for such was authorised by Parliament. Of the thirty six new non-residential subjects, seven already served as honorary diplomats representing the Empire abroad. The new Austenasians are from around the world, living in countries including Bulgaria, Egypt, Poland, and Venezuela, although most are from the UK, United States, India, Argentina, and Italy. This huge influx has resulted in a dramatic change to the proportion of residential and non-residential subjects. The former have always been a significant majority, but although residential subjects still outnumber non-residentials, they now do so only by seventy nine to seventy one. Political representation of non-residential subjects – already a topic of interest since the premiership of Lord John Gordon – will now be a far more prominent topic of prospective reform. The government will be communicating with the new Austenasians to find ways in which their specific skills and interests can contribute to the nation.

IGS Expedition revisits Banstead Heath

Monday 1st May saw an expedition of the Imperial Geographical Society (IGS) explore an area of Surrey countryside first visited by the Society in 2011. The expedition – led by Emperor Jonathan I – consisted of nine people, including Emperor Father Terry, Emperor Mother Margaret, and the latter’s sister-in-law Lady Boxall. The former Lord Marshal William had been planning to join the expedition along with his mother, which would have pushed the numbers up to eleven, but could not do so due to car problems. The IGS has long had an annual tradition of launching an expedition on the first Monday of May to explore countryside in the British county of Surrey, with the first of said expeditions taking place in 2009. Monday’s expedition revisited the same area explored by the 2011 expedition, with some slight adjustments to the route. The expedition explored Banstead Heath and adjoining wooded areas with a mostly circular route, then briefly headed south over the M25 motorway to see the view from the top of local vantage point Colley Hill before heading back to the start point. The expedition stopped for lunch in a sunny clearing, and later on stopped again for a tea and coffee break at The Sportsman, a nearby pub which is also of significance to the Imperial Family for having hosted the wake of Dame Bette (Emperor Mother to the former Terry I) in 2012. The route taken also encountered several coal tax posts, nineteenth century structures marking a boundary around London for tax purposes. While 2011’s expedition was remembered as being very windy, Monday’s was much less so, although the weather was somewhat mercurial, alternating between brilliant sunshine and heavy showers. It was also noted that various footpaths were far muddier than remembered! A video of the expedition will be published shortly.

Naturalisation process introduced for Honorary Subjects

Honorary Subjects of Austenasia who have held this status for a certain amount of time will from now on be able to apply to the Home Office for naturalisation, thereby becoming non-residential subjects with full Austenasian national status. For most of Austenasian history, the only way for a non-resident to become an Austenasian was for an Act of Parliament to be passed specifically authorising it, although in 2020 new rules were brought in allowing the Monarch to grant subjectship to an applicant with the sponsorship of an Austenasian noble. Honorary Subjectship was created in November 2008, when Austenasia was only two months old, after several people interested in Austenasia requested some means of affiliation with the country short of becoming a subject (which, at the time, would have required moving in to the Imperial Residence). Honorary Subjectship is granted by the Secretary-General after an application is made online. The new process sets out three categories under which Honorary Subjects can apply for naturalisation, namely those who have: All 658 of the Empire’s existing Honorary Subjects have been sent an e-mail explaining this new opportunity, and invited to apply if interested and qualified via an online form. This marks the first time that Honorary Subjectship has ever been anything other than completely honorary. Although the position will continue to carry no rights or obligations by itself, it now serves as a potential pathway to naturalisation. This new naturalisation process was set up by the Office of the Secretary-General and the Home Office’s Department for the Census, after being authorised by the Procedures and Offices Act 2023 passed on 2 March earlier this month.

Emperor Jonathan I celebrates ten years on the Throne

It was ten years ago today – 20 January 2013 – that His Imperial Majesty Emperor Jonathan I ascended to the Austenasian Throne. To mark this momentous occasion, today’s Imperial Ascension Day – an annual public holiday – has been declared the start of a Decennalia year, during which various celebratory events will take place to observe the tenth anniversary of the Emperor’s first year on the Throne. Emperor Jonathan I has published an Imperial Edict thanking those who have supported him in his reign and recommitting himself to the promises made at his coronation. The Edict also contains a small honours list. The Emperor’s cousin Lord Timothy has been made Archduke of Gallia, and three other imperial rulers – Quentin I and the deputy monarchs of Imvrassia – have been given Austenasian dukedoms. To further mark today’s jubilee, His Imperial Majesty also donated coins of historical emperors to the Imperial Numismatic Museum. The first major Decennalia event is an online chess tournament which will take place tomorrow, in which twenty people are expected to take part. Jonathan I is the fourth Emperor of Austenasia, and the only one to have reached this milestone of ten years on the Throne. He became Emperor upon the abdication of his immediate predecessor Declan I, having been Heir to the Throne as son of Austenasia’s founding Monarch, Terry I. His Imperial Majesty will address the Senate on this momentous occasion later today.

Consuls appointed for 2023

Lord William Wilson, Duke of Taysha, yesterday as Prime Minister appointed the two Consuls for 2023. Annually appointed to a yearly term, the Consuls are Austenasia’s highest judicial authorities, responsible for sentencing convicted criminals. In following ancient Roman practice, they also give their names to the year. This year’s Consuls have been announced as Shiro Mephistopheles and Sir Anthony Clark. Mephistopheles previously served as Minister of Defence from 2018-19, and was recently elected Chairman of the Grand Unified Micronational. Sir Anthony has served as Attorney-General since 2020, and also holds office as Governing Commissioner of Amerdansk. Both became Austenasian nationals on the same day, 6 August 2018. Consular years are named in Latin; 2023 is therefore the year of the consulship of Lucinus Mephistopheles and Antonius Clericii Eques.