Federal Council of Commissars of Ordrey

The Federal Council of Commissars (: Chomhairle Coimisiéiré Paputíri Ordrais) is the de jure collective and  of the Collective Commonwealth of Ordrey. It is composed of 15 permanent representatives. It is led by the First Commissar, who is generally seen as the de facto head of state of the country. It meets in the National Administrative District of Vernon at Bodica House.

While responsible for serving the function of a collective executive office, each member individually (excluding the First Commissar) is a head of one of the constitutionally-established departments of the Ordrish government. All members of the Council of Commissars are elected by the Federal Assembly of Ordrey and approved by the First Commissar. Comla Mievlen is the incumbent First Commissar, having served since 22 December 2020. Commissars are capable of serving up to a total of twelve years (equivalent to two terms) on the Council, though the First Commissar is only eligible for six (a single term).

Members
The current (Ninth Council) members of the Council are as follows:

Origins and History
The Council of Commissars was first formed in the 1978 Ordrish Constitution following the close of the Ordrish Revolution, described as the "principal steward of society and the state" in the modern (1999) constitution. This description was first ascribed to the Workers' Party of Ordrey in the 1978 constitution, while the Council of Commissars were described as "the principal instrument of the function of government". This change is generally attributed to a desire to remove references to political parties and named individuals in the revised constitution.

At the time of the latter phases of the Ordrish Revolution, the Government of Ordrish Revolutionary Movements (SRNO), which had acted as the provisional government of the nation in opposition to the Republicans functioned under a seven-member group known as the Directorate which oversaw the war effort across the numerous local revolutionary cells, command structures, and the SRNO's connections with foreign allies. With the creation of the 1978 Constitution, the assembled delegates decided upon the adaptation of the Directorate to become a permanent fixture of the post-revolution government as its, as they feared the coalescing of executive power under a single individual in a  could lead to a return to the sorts of nepotistic policies which characterized many of the governments of the post-ww2 Second Republic.

The usage of this collegial model is not without its precedent in Ordrish and Sedic history at large, as municipal governments throughout the country going back to the early modern period had eschewed mayoral models of governance in favor of an empowered council of elders and notable figures. This was part of Acoul Noyon's own political upbringing, as he espoused the virtues of collegial leadership in many of his writings. As the SRNO was largely modeled on a vision of Noyonism that placed the municipality at the heart of the political process, adopting a model of council-based government nationwide seemed the most ideologically consistent.

Outside of Ordrey, few modern countries utilize a similar model of executive, as unitary heads of state remain the most prominent across national lines, though it can be considered a relative to the system of that is observed in many modern democracies.

Operation of the Council of Commissars
Each member of the Council, excluding the First Commissar, is a head of one of the constitutionally-provisioned departments of the national government, akin to ministers in other countries. While each is the principal leader of their respective department, the Council allows these groups to coordinate efforts and share intelligence and research on an interpersonal level, promoting inter-departmental unity in order to work towards the Council's directive to focus on matters that affect the country as a whole.

Motions to be discussed by the Council are to be prepared by the respective department the issue is most closely tied to. Before proceeding to a vote, proposals for measures to be discussed are circulated between the directors of each department and their advisory staff, who then commission the most senior members of their respective department to create written responses intended to give criticism and suggestions, which each director is expected to read prior to its respective vote. This process is intended to build towards consensus ahead of a session of the Council proper. If an issue affects a certain region within a country, the leadership and citizens of that given area will be consulted as well. All members of the population at large are able and encouraged to participate in this preparatory process - one that is made much easier with the advent of the internet, including the opening of a dedicated message board hosted on Morvan House's official website for citizens to post concerns, petitions, and discuss them with their fellow citizens, which was developed in tandem with a similar service run through the Federal Assembly. In cases where a decision intends to directly affect existing legislation or statute, this consultative period is required to last no less than eighteen days. Decisions themselves are made through, with measures being passed by. However, the process is designed to encourage the formation of consensus-based decision-making, which is most often the case. However, this tendency towards consensus has lessened over the years, especially following the end of SiCO's one-party rule in 1999 and the instatement of the modern constitution, with sessions tending towards longer discussions, consultative periods, and closer votes.

Policy Directive Portfolio

 * Main article: Policy Directive Portfolio (Ordrey)
 * Further information: Universal Struggle Directive

The Policy Directive Portfolio (: Coseoghmedhunas) is a geared towards foreign policy crafted by the Council in corpore prior to and during the first session in which the Council meets following the beginning of their term. While this is primarily administered and written by the Foreign Office, it is intended to be a set of general policy aims to guide the actions of the executive and the government at large.

Since the leadership of First Commissar Jois Derba from 1996 to 2002, the Council has pursued a set of directives known as the Universal Struggle Directive (: Oghmedlúithras Bithu). This has been characterized by:
 * Pursuit of peaceful co-existence with capitalist nations, with support given to Noyonist movements and political parties
 * Prioritization of projection through economic and cultural exports to facilitate the realignment of the Ordrish economy away from reliance on hydrocarbon exports.
 * Participation in World Forum humanitarian missions and advancement of global
 * Multilateral action through the Aarnieu Fraternity and other multinational efforts during interventions abroad
 * Maintenance and expansion of existing extraplanetary infrastructure and facilities alongside Velorenkyan and Lathadun cooperating agencies
 * Devotion of revenues from hydrocarbon exports towards alternative energy sources, electronics development, and climate research
 * Peacefully resolve the Myrish occupation of North Mogone and Graulen and demilitarize the Ordrish border
 * Increase diplomatic and economic investment in Osamia
 * Advocate for improvements in recognition and political sovereignty of minority and immigrant groups, especially in Alutra

This set of policy goals were set into motion as part of a wider "New Millennium Vision" for Ordrey, generally focused on the transition of the Ordrish economy away from using hydrocarbons, especially coal, as a foundation for economic activity in the nation, and addressing the threat of climate change while taking a less openly interventionist stance in areas of political instability. It can generally be divided into three overall goals: economic reconfiguration, climate action, and resolution of longstanding political issues with neighboring countries. This is perhaps most evident in the continuation of pursuit to restore the Ordro-Myrish border to its pre-Revolution delineation, and placing pressure on Ecoralia to better implement and enforce protections for the Tretuish community in the Aarnieu Valley.

Leadership

 * Main articles: First Commissar of Ordrey, Secretary-General of the Federal Council of Commissars (Ordrey)

The First Commissar is the leader of the Council of Commissars, and de jure acts as leader of the civilian government , meaning that they exercise executive authority alongside their colleagues. In practice, the First Commissar generally is vested with a more consistent leadership role, comparable in many, but not all cases, to unitary executives operating within a. Each year, the Council elects one of its members to act as Secretary-General, which is the deputy role to the First Commissar. By convention, this role rotates throughout the tenure of a given Council, with one of each of its members (excluding the First Commissar) serving as Secretary-General by the end of the term.

According to the Ordrish, the First Commissar is the highest-ranking civilian member of government. They act as the of the nation's military, act in capacity as  in meetings with other world leaders, and may act in the place of the entire Council if a situation demands a response faster than what would be required to gather all members. However, the First Commissar is not defined as a de jure head of state, and exercises executive authority in corpore with their colleagues. Heads of state will meet with the Council in corpore, but it is uncommon for the entirety of the Council to engage in official business abroad in the same capacity. Beyond the First Commissar, the leader of the Foreign Office tends to act as the vital representative of the Ordrish nation abroad, working closely with the First Commissar to engage in diplomacy and execution of foreign policy.

Sessions
The Council of Commissars functions through weekly meetings, which are held each Tuesday at Bodica House in the National Administrative District in Vernon. Apart from the seven members of the Council, the following officials are regularly seated, but do not have voting rights themselves:


 * First Representative Samo Oclin. As the and leader of the Federal Assembly, he often is a main participant in discussions regarding policy, but is generally thought of as the primary advisor to the Council. It is common parlance to refer to the First Representative as the "Eighth Commissar".
 * Ombudsman-General Siniath Suon, who acts as the primary for the Council and conducts regular press conferences following meetings.
 * Procurator-General Lara Mallet, who typically acts as the main legal scholar and constitutionalist in meetings, and also acts as mediator between the Council and the Federal Court.
 * Secretary of the National Civil Service Workers' Union Gil Martin Clucas.
 * Scholar-General Loelan Beth, who serves as a sort of ideological expert on Noyonism and other related philosophies, who encourages and promotes ideological and constitutional consistency in actions undertaken by the Council.
 * Adela i'Lagadec, Director of Bonwenat and main representative of economic planning in the country.

Following meetings, the Commissars will take luncheon together. In addition, the Council will often do one or more special sessions in conclave to discuss important, usually domestic topics at length. One of these sessions, the Homecoming, is a day trip to one of the Commissar's home city or Province where members visit important places and attractions there.

Confidentiality
Meetings of the Council itself are not open to the public, making it among one of the few institutions of Ordrish government which is not accessible by general constituents - so crucial is this policy that non-voting members are escorted out of the meeting hall until the vote has been completed. This is done in the interest of maintaining among the Commissars, and removing as many external pressure as possible, mainly that of partisan bias, from affecting the consensus-making process. In addition, while the results of votes are made public record, how each individual Commissar voted is not, with that information released after the end of the term of the Council as a whole. This has drawn the ire of many in government, especially outside of the Workers' Party of Ordrey, claiming that the offsetting of responsibility for externalities of the vote could jeopardize the careers and policy plans of members outside of the majority, as well as make it difficult for constituents to invoke the confidence vote necessary to recall a member of the Council.

Election and composition

 * Main articles: 2020 Ordrish General Election, 2020 Ordrish Council of Commissars Election

Members of the Council of Commissars, excluding the First Commissar, are elected for a term lasting six years by the Federal Assembly. Each officeholder is elected individually via by an  of votes. All persons over the age of 17 in Ordrey are eligible to hold office, but in practice, only those who are members of national, provincial, and municipal governments, or the civ89il service in general, are considered regularly. The voting is conducted in several rounds via ; in the first round, any individual may enter their name for consideration, although following, any who do not meet a certain threshold increasing by 2.5% each round is eliminated until a candidate achieves a majority. Party representation secured through these elections are not adherent to a specific formula, but rather, that representation is allocated for at least one seat for the top five parties represented in the Federal Assembly, loosely based on the results of the general election. At present, at least one seat is allocated to the Workers' Party, the National Futurists, the Sedic Socialist Party, the Alliance for Stewardship, and the Miners' and Colliers' Party. The other two seats are currently occupied by the Workers' Party, as they remain the dominant political party in Ordrish government at large. This continued supremacy has come under question in recent years, however, as both the National Futurists and Alliance for Stewardship in particular have become increasingly competitive.

The First Commissar, by contrast, is elected via secret ballot by direct popular vote nationwide. Since 2002, the First Commissar has been elected via a two-round system, where if a candidate fails to achieve a majority in the first round, the top two performing candidates are then selected for the final round, the winner of which becomes First Commissar. In Ordrey, parties can field multiple candidates in the First Round, though in practice, the candidate pool that emerges is generally limited in size, often down to two or three per party which participate in the first round. As a result, there have been elections where only a single party (the Workers' Party) is represented in the final round, which has drawn considerable criticism from across party lines in the country in recent years.

Commissars' lives
Unlike most senior members of government in other nations, Commissars are not entitled to an particular to their specific posting, excluding the First Commissar, which has an official apartment in the National Administrative District. Most Commissars live in apartments in the capital of Vernon near the National Administrative District, and do not have additional privileges or stipends allocated to them as high-ranking government officials, though their residences as government officials is afforded a higher degree of security than most other apartment blocks in the country.

As with all members of the national government, Commissars' annual salary (including the First Commissar) is tied to the national. This is intended to be a measure to ensure that the national executive, as well as the rest of the government, is encouraged to maintain the policy of maintaining and improving the national standard of living for all citizens. The salary is reappraised during the development of each Six-Year Plan arranged through Bonwenat. As of the current planning cycle, government employees receive 916,650 ORG (approx. 10,500 IRN) per annum. Commissars which have served at least 2/3rds of their first term (four years) receive a pension equivalent to half their salary during their time in office. If a Commissar leaves office due to health reasons, even if prior to the 2/3rds threshold, they are still eligible for the pension. Former Commissars are no longer eligible for the pension if they receive annual earnings through other activities that meets or exceeds the amount granted.

Serving Commissars enjoy a handful of of amenities to conduct official business, from free telephone contracts to a chauffeur-driven car, federal planes and helicopters. Each Commissar also has lifetime access to priority seating in Senthuisarn Ordrais trains and on both Alvarre and Alvitoth flights. They are also given personal security, which is often discreetly composed of plainclothes officers. Commissars may draw from the SO when requiring a security detail, especially during official events, but it is not uncommon to see Commissars without a dedicated escort in and around Vernon.

The families of Commissars do not play any official role in government or the enactment of policy, but will occasionally make public appearances at official events.

Immunity and Recallability
As with all members of national government, Commissars are granted for statements made during their time in office, and cannot "accrue" charges that may be prosecuted after their time in office. Also like all members of the Ordrish government at all levels, members of the Council are subject to immediate recallability. However, unlike other groups, recalls can only be initiated by a vote of no confidence by the Federal Assembly, at which time a referendum will be held no more than 60 days following the vote. If the recall is the result of actions in violation of legal statutes, the recall will be followed by a trial which will be presided over by the Federal Court.

Recalls can be voted on for any reason, but custom generally dictates that this only take place if the member in question is found in violation of either legal statute or of the code of ethics observed by members of government.