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Kelssek!
nbs Motto: Unum cum virtute multorum
(Latin: "One with the strength of many")
Population: 157,235,162 (183 FE census)
Capital: Neorvins
Largest city: Kirkenes
Largest urban areas:
Greater Kirkenes - 18,520,000
Outineau/Région Ôsheaga - 14,078,000
Burnaby and Lower Lakeland - 8,522,000
Latrobe/Kardinia Valley - 6,939,000
Saint-Rémy/Hull-Gatineau - 4,690,000
Clayquot - 4,197,000
Breton-Dartmouth - 4,170,000
Ulyanōf - 4,002,000
Mazinaw - 3,870,000
Redswyth - 3,727,000
Langlois - 3,522,000
Neorvins/National Capital Region - 2,693,000
Vickery/Sherwood - 2,573,000
Official languages: Anglian, Frankish
Government
- Type: Federal republic with parliamentary democracy
- President: Mégane Larnach
- Prime Minister: Ewan Cleeves (UCP)
- Leader of the Opposition: Cody Mercer (AfL)
- Chief Justice of the High Court: Youcef Thibault
Legislature: Parliament of Kelssek
- Upper House: Congress of the Federation
- Lower House: House of Commons
GDP (nominal): $5.292 trillion (182CE)
GDP (nominal) per capita: $34,589
Human Development Index: 0.955 (high)
Currency: 
Kelssek thaler (τ) = 100 pence (d)
Time zones:
UTC +6 to +8:30
(DST: +7 to +9)
Drives on the: left
Calling code: +42
Internet TLD: .ks
"...But don't ever expect to be able to compete with the Left-wing Utopia of Kelssek. Sure if you fall in love there and have a kid, the Kelssekians will keep your child and teach him poetry, music, and how to brew a cocktail that will command the respect of all ... but the buses run on time, the libraries rock, and the zoos are all outside and essentially Kenny proof." - Mikitivity
A nation of soaring mountains, vast wilderness and great natural beauty, Kelssek is a multicultural nation which has historically combined the confederation of various national groups and an open-door immigration policy. From its rural towns to its massive urban conglomerations, it is one of the world's most cosmopolitan nations. Its people generally see themselves as progressive, communitarian, and open-minded, with a strong sporting culture. Kelssek is a leading tourist destination, drawing well-heeled sophisticates and grizzled adventure-seekers alike to its lively cities, unspoiled wilderness, organic local handcrafted unionized vineyards, and completely epic skiing and mountain resorts. The diversified, industrialized economy is largely organized around democratic worker's councils, with regulated markets permitted for most consumer goods and services and arms-length state corporations responsible for basic infrastructure and services in many industries. Kelssek is also a centre of international culture and sport, prolifically producing music, television, film and literature, and having previously hosted both the summer and winter Olympic Games, World Cup 46 (soccer), and the World Cup of Hockey and Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions.
Kelssek is a centralised federation of 12 provinces and two territories, governed as a republic under a system of parliamentary democracy. Although the President of Kelssek has wide-ranging nominal powers as head of state, in practice the prime minister is the most powerful political office and the Parliament of Kelssek is the nation's chief governmental body. A common title for the country is "Socialist Commonwealth of Kelssek" (Communauté socialiste du Kelssek in French); although it is not the official name the phrase "socialist commonwealth" appears in the preamble of Kelssek's constitution.
In foreign affairs, Kelssek claims a proud history of diplomatic engagement in the World Assembly and the East Pacific region; despite engaging in the occasional "force projection", it is usually quite nice and totally not into invading other countries at all. For more about Kelssek's cities, sports leagues, universities, and other things, see NSWiki.
Government and politics
The Parliament of Kelssek is the supreme institution of power, although it is constrained by the constitution which divides up areas of federal and provincial sovereignty and contains a liberal Charter of Freedoms which allows the courts to invalidate laws ruled to violate certain individual and group rights. Parliament is composed of three parts: the President of Kelssek, the Congress of the Federation, and the House of Commons. In practice, the House is the dominant chamber. The Cabinet (governing executive) is formed by a party or coalition of parties which is able to command a majority of votes in the House of Commons, led by the Prime Minister who is typically the leader of the largest party.
Elections for the House of Commons must be held at least every 4 years and 6 months, and may occur sooner if there is a vote of no confidence in the government. The 496 MPs are elected through an additional member system, primarily made up of 372 single-member districts (known as "ridings") with an additional 124 seats allocated on the basis of percentages of the party vote. At the ballot box, voters make a preferential vote for an MP to represent their riding (also known as instant-runoff voting or the Australian system) and one vote for a federally-registered party (the party vote). On the basis of the overall party vote, the 124 "top-up" seats are allocated to parties whose number of district MPs leave them under-represented as a proportion of the House, provided they win at least 5% of this vote. This majoritarian-biased compromise improves the representation and power of smaller parties.
Elections for the Congress are held every 6 years on a fixed election date of the second Monday in October. Each province elects 5 Senators to the Congress under a single transferable vote system. The Congress is able to amend and block legislation except "money bills" dealing with the budget and taxation, which are the exclusive competence of the House.
The current Prime Minister is Ewan Cleeves of the United Communist Party, which has a minority in Parliament and is supported by the Green Party under a confidence-and-supply agreement.
The President of Kelssek is primarily a ceremonial and non-political position. The president also holds important reserve powers which are by convention only used in times of political deadlock or crisis, such as deciding who to designate as Prime Minister if an election produces no clear winner. The President is elected by popular vote every five years and may serve a maximum of two terms. Candidates must be citizens at least 18 years old who are nominated by a two-thirds vote of either the House or the Congress up to 24 months before the presidential election. Most presidents have typically been nominated from areas like the arts, labour movement, academia, or law.
The current president is Mégane Larnach, former civil servant and military pilot who was previously deputy director of the Kelssek Civil Aviation Directorate.
Map of Kelssek
Click on the map for the full version (which is 1.2MB)
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