Kelowna is the most unified of the three Langaran superpowers. Centred on the old nation-state of Kelowna, it was formed in an age of expansion as the Kelownan Empire, before the Revolution of Lights - a pretty name for a bloody conflict - and the resulting dissolution of the old monarchist hierarchy. After a long period of political upheaval, revolution and counterrevolution, the former Empire settled on a bicameral, parliamentary model of government. Greater Kelowna emerged from its civil strife to be divided into seventy-two administrative districts, all governed from the capital city of Alandra.
The capital of the Kelownan Parliamentary Democracy is the proud city of Alandra in the northern plain, on the shores of the mighty Lake Langur. Between the lake and the Tycho Delta, athwart the River Tycho, stands Kelowna Magna, the second city of the state.
The remaining major cities are all sea ports. Seaboard on the Cavill Sound and Port Atunis on the coast of the Central Sea were originally civilian harbours, but were adapted to naval use after the Goa'uld bombarded the older naval ports. Port Arvis was the only naval stronghold to withstand the bombardment to any degree. It remains something of a ghost town, with only the naval dockyards remaining active amidst the desolation, but is still the largest city in the south.
In addition, the city of Kelowna Minor is the eponymous provincial capital of Kelowna's colonial property on the eastern shore of Andari territory. Kelowna Minor is a semi-autonomous province of
In the south of the country, below Port Arvis, is a large stretch of country known as the Demilitarised Zone. Control of this piece of country was long disputed between Kelowna and Terrania, which was controlled from the Terannian citadel of Gen Keluna. When Gen Keluna received a direct hit from Anubis' orbital weapons, however, control of the area became a moot point; now the population struggles to make something of the land during the first cessation of hostilities in generations and the ruins of the citadel have become a market town and refugee camp.
The Kelownan Parliament has two legislative chambers; the lower house is called the House of Governance and the upper is called the House of State.
Elections for the lower house are held every five years, with each of the administrative districts returning between three and seven representatives, depending on the size of their population. If a seat falls vacant, a bi-election is held within three months to refill it.
Kelownan politics is party-based. Elections are carried out using a system of proportional representation, with electors casting votes for one of the political parties standing. Each party involved in the election puts forward a number of candidates and, when the votes are counted, a number of these are returned to the House of Governance, depending on the proportion of the vote received by the party. There are four main parties in Kelowna and several dozen smaller parties which operate at a more local level, representing the interests of the provinces.
The House of Governance debates and votes on legislation put forward by the Ministry. They may pass legislation into statute, reject it outright - in which case the same or similar legislation can not be re-proposed for at least a year - or return it to the Ministry with recommendations for amendments. Representatives sit in party blocks and frequently vote as such, although each representative has the right to vote as they choose. Although elected via their party, each member of the house holds a seat in their own right and can not be replaced at the whim of the party. Each party in the House has a number of officers, including a party leader and a whip, whose responsibility is to direct voting on critical matters.
The members of the House of State - known as statesmen or women - are not elected directly; instead, all former members of the Ministry, High Ministers and representatives who are returned for a fifth term of office (for a total of twenty-five years in government) are given life membership of the upper house, as are senior judges.
Members of the House of State may retain party loyalties, but are no longer deemed under the authority of any political group. Their role is to debate and vote on legislation passed by the lower house, but they are restricted to passing legislation or returning it to the House of Governance for a second or third reading with a recommendation to suggest amendment or rejection. Any paper passed a third time by the lower house must be passed by the upper house.
The House of State also appoints from within its number the Leader of the House of Governance, who directs and regulates debate within the lower house, and a number of Ministers of State, whose roles are largely ceremonial relicts of Kelowna's imperial past.
The executive office of the Kelownan Parliament is the Ministry. Any member of the House of Governance may stand for election as High Minister in the third year of the electoral cycle, or on any occasion when the High Ministry falls vacant. In order to be considered for election, a candidate must secure the support of two members of the House of State to propose their candidacy, and then prove their ability to form a government by nominating five individuals from either house to form the core of their ministry - this group can not include the two proposers - and securing the acceptance of these five. High Ministerial elections are national, with all enfranchised citizens - minors, criminals and the certified insane are forbidden to vote - entitled to take part part.
Once in office, the High Minister chooses a cabinet of fifteen lesser Ministers (including the chosen five and usually the two proposing statesmen) to aid them in making policy. Ministers may be appointed from either House, although it is traditional for a minimum of eight Ministers to be drawn from the lower. Each of the fifteen Ministers is in charge of one of the principal Departments of State: The Exchequer; the Chancellery; the Foreign Office; the Home Office; the War Office; the Directorate; the Constabulary; Education; Health; Industry ; Science and Progress; Information; Intelligence; Administration; and Culture. In addition to the Ministers, the High Minister can appoint a number of advisers and oversight officers to give recommendations on matters of policy and government initiatives.
When a representative is elevated to the Ministry their seat is immediately put up for bi-election. Once they leave the Ministry - unless they leave it in disgrace, indicted by the House of State - they are entitled to take a seat in the upper house.
The High Minister, with the advice and assistance of his Ministry, is responsible for setting government policy and generating legislative measures to be debated in the lower house. He or she is also responsible for appointing ambassadors, with the advice of the Foreign Minister, members of the military High Command, with the advice of the War Minister, and setting taxation, with the advice of the Minister of the Exchequer and subject to legislative approval.
The Ministry is also the senior office of the sprawling Kelownan civil service, which consists of the fifteen Departments of State and the High Minister's staff. The departments of the civil service are:
The High Minister's Staff - responsible for organising the High Minister's agenda, itinerary and personal affairs, as well as issuing press releases and attending to matters of internal ministerial security (in other words, control - although not necessarily suppression - of information leaks).
The Exchequer - responsible for administering the national treasury, the mint, matters of taxation and public spending.
The Chancellery - responsible for overseeing governmental practice and the maintenance of constitutional propriety. In this role, the Chancellor (as the Minister of the Chancellery is known) answers for his department to the Chancery Court.
The Foreign Office - responsible for diplomatic affairs and overseas trade, the FO has benefited more than anyone from the creation of a more unified Langara.
The Home Office - responsible for domestic affairs and commerce, including agriculture and mining. The Home Office was once the most powerful of all departments, but its powers have gradually been devolved to newly created groups such as the Constabulary, Department of Industry and Department of Education.
The War Office - responsible for the upkeep of the military and the pursuit of war, the War Office has taken a fall in status with the establishment of the JRC.
The Directorate - responsible for the Kelownan security services, the Directorate is a vast and rambling body. The Minister of the Directorate is known as the Director.
The Constabulary - responsible for law enforcement across Kelowna, including police and customs activities. The High Sheriff (Minister of the Constabulary) is the only man in Kelowna with the authority to authorise - and thus to commute - a death sentence for a criminal charge.
The Departments of Education, Health, Industry, Science and Progress, and Culture - 'minor' departments which were developed as branches of the Home Office before being devolved from their parent organisation and upgraded to full ministerial status.
The Department of Information - the Kelownan state's news and propaganda machine.
The Department of Intelligence - responsible for the Kelownan intelligence services, both foreign and domestic.
The Department of Administration - responsible for the general state of government paperwork and the production of government publications.
The Kelownan judiciary is divided into a number of courts, each organised in several tiers. Anyone decided against in the lower courts is permitted to appeal to the next level, although more serious offences begin at a higher level and thus allow for fewer appeals.
The Criminal Courts are empowered to hear criminal cases. The criminal court hierarchy begins with the Magistrate Extraordinary's Courts, with cases rising on appeal or on grounds of severity to the Praetor's Court, the Lower Court of Peers - presided over by a Praetor, a senior magistrate, but adjudicated by a jury of nine - the Upper Court of Peers - in which the jury is supervised and sentence passed by a junior judge - The Court of High Justice - senior judge and jury - the Court of Low Appeal and the Court of High Appeal, the latter two being reserved for appeals and adjudicated by a panel of judges. Cases involving death begin at the Upper Court of Peers.
If all other appeals fail, it is possible in cases of murder and espionage only to appeal to the Minister of the Constabulary to reject a request for the death sentence to be applied.
The Chancery Court has three tiers and hears pleas for judicial review of governmental decisions. Its sole purview is to decide whether a decision is constitutional and made according to correct process; it can neither reverse nor amend decisions or legislation, only order that the process be repeated with greater attendance to constitutional rules.
The Court Martial falls under the authority of the War Office and adjudicates offences by serving members of the military against the Military Code of Justice. It has only two tiers; Courts Martial Regular - under a military magistrate - and Courts Martial Extraordinary - which hear appeals under a member of the High Command.
Other courts include the Civil Court, the Tribunals - a hierarchy of courts regulating industrial relations and offences - and the Commissariat. The latter is a three-tiered court which hears cases which, for reasons of national security, can not be held in the public courts. Although their cases will never be made public, those convicted in the Commissariat General may appeal a conviction to the Commissariat Senior and then to the High Commissariat.