Intergalactic Summit

The citizens of Federation colony Mantenault VI go to the polls today in what will be a deciding moment for the future of not only their planet, but also for the entire tone of the Federation and Caldari warzone brought in under the CONCORD Emergency War Powers Act.

The question before the citizens today is as follows:


This is how the parties on Mantenault have been campaigning leading up to the voting period today:

• The Progressor leadership team has thrown their support behind this initiative as the appropriate reclamation of proper
Gallentean democracy. They urge supporters to vote yes.

• Sociocrat council members have asked voters to support the proposal but have urged all citizens to fight to maintain other wartime provisions, many of which were introduced with Sociocrat backing. They suggest a yes vote.
• The 'one party/one voice' provision of the hastily compiled NAG program gave the U-Nats a boost in their power in colonial politics. Officially, they reject the motion as a risk to sovereign Gallentean security in a time of war and crisis.
• The high Minmatar membership of the Unionists has lead the party to adopt a cautionary approach to this issue. Not willing to risk cultural subversion to an ally of the Amarr Empire, they have asked supporters to vote no.

Under normal Mantenault law, government affairs are handled on an ad hoc basis built on the foundation of a direct democratic system with suffrage held by all registered citizens of the colony. Shortly after the start of the CONCORD-sanctioned conflict in their region, the people of Mantenault voted to give up their authority to a ‘National Administrative Government’ overseen by the four sizable political parties on the planet. While in the past the ‘parties’ have acted more as community lobby groups in the Mantenault system, this reform in YC 110 gave them direct control over colonial affairs for the first time.

6 260 455 voters are eligible to cast a vote in this referendum authorized by the Administrative government, with three of the four council members supporting the move. While records on council decisions are sealed for six months immediately following, it is widely believed that the dissenting voice was Marnian Veroe of the Ultra-Nationalists.

With voting commencing shortly, the Institute of Social Development has decided to cover this poll as the the people of Mantenault decide – is it time to go back to business as usual after years of back and forth with the Caldari State, or is it too early and too much of a risk during ongoing hostilities?

This is truly a question that resonates across the cluster, whether you live on a planet or among the starts. It speaks to the relevance of the ongoing capsuleer conflict and what it really means for society under its guns.

Have your say. Contact Laurentis Thiesant or respond on the IGS and tell us if you think it’s time liberty or security reigned on Mantenault. Is the militia war a direct threat to planetary colonies or is the worst yet to come?

Stay tuned for more updates as the day progresses. You can also follow the developments on the GalNet site for ISODE here.

I'm Laurentis Thiesant, director of the Institute of Social Development, covering the Mantenault VI referendum.

As votes are being processed by the system, the Institute of Social Development has been monitoring the live feed provided to media outlets and the public throughout the referendum. At this stage, it appears that the ‘yes’ vote on the question of restoration of direct democracy on Mantenault VI is ahead – but with a vast majority of electors still to make up their mind, this is far from being a solid indication as to how this vote will end.

With 6 260 455 people registered to vote in this ballot, 289 010 have so far voted 'yes', with a minority voting 'no' - currently 138 399.

The Ultra-Nationalists have declared sabotage after several supporters of the party reported experiencing an unusual glitch in the virtual electoral software which made the supporting statement for the U-Nats appear as unintelligible gibberish when selected. Under rules regulating the vote, all parties were entitled to submit a brief statement on their position which was to be accessible to all voters. Marnian Veroe, the U-Nat leader has told ISODE that the major parties, the Progressors and the Sociocrats were behind this alleged attack as they ‘attempt to reclaim dominant influence over colonial politics whilst marginalizing growing grassroots support for Ultra-Nationalist ideology on the planet’.

The Sociocrat and Progressor parties, both of whom are in favour of a ‘yes’ vote, have denied the allegations, with a Progressor spokesperson joking – ‘I can’t tell the difference between this (the unintelligible string of characters) and normal U-Nat policy. Are you sure this isn't what they submitted?’

No evidence of active sabotage has yet been uncovered and no reports of problems have come in from campaign of the Unionists who also are asking electors to vote ‘no’.

We’ll keep you up to date as this story unfolds.

Today’s events are not the first time that the controversial National Administrative Government has been the subject of heated debate. Since its inception several years ago, there have been near constant questions raised (mostly from outside sources) about the NAGs status under colonial law. Some academics believe that the structure of the emergency government, while put in place by democratic mandate, was in fact a violation of parts of the Federation charter which all member worlds and colonies agree to upon formation. Much of this debate has remained highly theoretical however, as the isolated and usually unimportant nature of the Mantenault colony meant that for the most part, the mainstream of Federal academia and law didn’t care enough to investigate further.

The decision to eventually hold a second vote on the NAG was brought to the party-based council after pressure began to be applied to the Progressor and Sociocrat parties from their superiors in the Placid region. Sources have said that other regional divisions of their parties were concerned about the effect the NAG could have on their public relations and campaign potential. One regional independent was believed to have called the NAG the death of democracy and spent much of his campaign highlighting the links between this ‘death’ and the major parties.

Back on the campaign trail, colonial militia forces have moved in to monitor the protest and calm minor scuffles that have flared up as counter-protesters have moved in to lodge their opposition to those calling for the vote to be scrapped.

As things stand, the no vote is now ahead on 1 102 388 with yes trailing slightly on 1 077 603. The feeling that we’re getting around the community is that many ‘yes’ voters are holding back and waiting for an ‘all clear’. The question now is whether or not that signal will be sounded in time, or will the negative campaign reach its quota of votes before the affirmative side can rally and make a comeback.

Democracy is alive and well, I see.

Seriously, when we liberate these guys we'll be doing them SUCH a favour.

Ugh, why would we want them?

Good timing, it would seem.

-Eran

The word "democracy" always rings a little hollow when read close to the term "Black Eagles".

It doesn't matter how tight the leash is if the person holding it is a sociopath.

Voting in Mantenault resumed a few hours ago, with a media blackout continuing until only recently amid cited concerns of political manipulation based on ‘shock and horror’ media stunts acting as last minute vote grabs.

A statement released through the National Administrative Government took particular care to note the normal nature of this action, noting examples from both the business and political communities to prove that their actions were above board and legitimate in the face of growing civil unrest.

“There are many democratic nations, both in the Federation and elsewhere that place restrictions on political advertising during voting as a way of allowing voters the opportunity to digest all available information and cast their vote without undue harassment. It was our belief that the Ultra-Nationalist protests were merely a way of swaying votes, rather than being a legitimate political statement. I wouldn’t be surprised if the glitch was there own doing. The NAG had to act to balance the scales and restore order to this free and fair referendum.”

Those were the words of Progressor spokesperson Dyna Kerran, who was joined by Sociocrat Arina Rior at a press conference on the lifting of the media blackout and who added this to the statement -

“In the stock market, whenever things get ‘out of hand’ or an extreme situation emerges which has a detrimental effect for all involved in the market – it is not unreasonable for a halt to be placed on trading to a limited extent. We have merely followed that principle in assuring that the Mantenault people get the opportunity to vote with reasoned minds, free from the fear being built by the ‘no’ campaigners.”

After the vote reopened, there was a surge in participation as electors across the planet rushed to have their say before any further changes were made to the election process. It is believed that a result may be announced later today.

At last count, the vote stood at 2 897 943 votes for the NO campaign, which has slid back behind the YES vote on 2 965 431.

U-Nat supporters have claimed that the 'abuse of the NAG by the Progressor/Sociocrat/Unionist alliance is a direct attempt to ruin its standing in the eyes of the community and boost the YES campaign'.

Keep watching.

Earlier, the Sociocrats came forward with what they believed to be evidence of tampering with the referendum which ended only hours ago. The party claimed to have witnesses from across the planet who had spotted unidentified persons tampering with communications relay networks at protests early on in the vote. Both the Social Democrats and the Progressors have pointed to the sudden increase in the ‘no’ vote during the protests as a sign of U-Nat involvement, however the Nationalist campaign has had the following to say:

“Who else has the resources to pull off a heist of this magnitude? We Nationalists are just a smaller party built on community support and the backing of average Gallentean families. The major parties have millions of ISK at their disposal to throw at winning however they can. Fortunately for the people of Mantenault, our local community prevailed in spite of their actions.”

With this revelation, both the Progressors and the Sociocrats have refused to participate in what they call an ‘illegitimate’ government, with this action effectively shutting down the NAG as it will be unable to meet its 3/4th requirement for the passage of motions.

This was the last we heard from Mantenault as explosions rocked the network, destroying relay stations as FIO investigators attempted to access the stations to examine the claims of sabotage. Communications are currently down across the planet. ISODE is attempting to reach the central server in the capital which appears to be unaffected by the attack.

We'll give you more as we have it.