Politics of Hōu Zhanaland

The politics of Hōu Zhanaland function within its framework of an independent, unitary, parliamentary democracy. Its system operates within the confines of responsible government, and officially is under the supervision of the Akashiren government in Tennyoku. The politics of the nation is dominated by its three-party or "tri-preferential" system, the controversial subject of race relations, the dominion's relationship with the Akashiren mainland, and more common points of contention such as the economy. Officially, the Dominion of Hōu Zhanaland is classed as a responsible government dominionship of the Akashiro Shogunate, which is administered by a unitary parliamentary democracy. The government is elected one every eight years through a general election to serve in Parliament, officially known as the Huipūti, the unicameral legislature of Hōu Zhanaland. Parliament members are normally elected from members of the country's political parties running in each of the five constituencies and two territories. The party which gets the most seats has their party leader become the Prime Minister of Hōu Zhanaland. The Huipūti makes up the legislative branch of government, with the executive branch in the hands of the Prime Minister.
Hōu Zhanaland's system of democracy is often classed as a "flawed liberal democracy", with its mandatory three-party system being criticised as limiting choice in electoral candidates, and restricting the people from demonstrating their true dissatisfaction with the current government by forcing them to choose between three almost ideologically opposite political parties. It has also been criticised as a dominant-party system, as its two smaller parties often splinter one side of the vote, allowing its largest party to often be the predicted winner in both first and second-round voting. Since its founding in 1908, party politics has operated with a near-absolute majority to the Labour Party, which has been in government since 1910.
== Political Parties ==
Further information: Political Parties in Abexilas
=== Hōu Zhanaland Labour ===
The Labour Party, officially the Labour Party of Hōu Zhanaland, is a leftist to centre-left political party, and the largest party in Hōu Zhanaland. It supports mostly progressive policy and seeks to continue the global Labour movement founded by UCS Labour in a continuation of their democratic socialist policies, whilst providing an alternative for progressive voters outside of the Xeroist sphere of politics. Labour classes itself as the "pro-Dominion" party, advocating for maintaining the current relationship between Hōu Zhanaland and the Akashiren mainland, being comprised of many of the arbitrators of the Acts of Federation. The party is pro-abolitionist, advocating for equal representation for all peoples, in accordance with the original phrasing of the Constitution drafts published before Federation. Repealing the White Knight Laws has become an increasingly important subject for Labour's voter base since more attention was brought to the subject by the 1910 and 1918 elections. The party is also referred to as the "Federalists" due to their stances on government control and their founders' affiliations with Federation.
=== Hōu Zhanaland Nationals ===
The HZ Nationals, officially the Hōu Zhanaland National Party or referred to simply as the "Nats", is a right-wing conservative political party, and the main rival to the Labour Party. It supports conservative and classic liberalist policies and advocates for greater autonomy in all sectors of life to allow for the domination of Hōu Zhanaland in regional socioeconomic affairs. A proponent of 'small government', the Nationals advocate for minimal intrusion in people's lives by scrapping policies such as social security, healthcare and low taxation to do whatever it takes to benefit the state. Per their policies of autonomy, the Nationals are against the policy of responsible government, and seek to eventually end the relationship between Hōu Zhanaland and Akashiro, in favour of independence and total control over its foreign affairs. The Nationals' founders were mainly former colonial administrators in Sundatano, and the party staunchly opposes any attempts to moderate or change the race relations within the state. A small faction of the party has historically aligned itself with or been advocates of the segregation of the Sikoto people.
=== Liberal Party of Sundatano & Hōu Zhanaland ===
The Liberal Party, officially the Liberal Party of Sundatano & Hōu Zhanaland, is a centre-right wing political party and the smallest party in the country. It supports mostly libertarian policy that advocates for a higher degree of autonomy for Hōu Zhanaland, increasing the personal freedoms of the people alongside decreasing economic dependence on the government and strengthening ties with local allies in Southern Talasi as opposed to the Akashiren home territories in Halinn. A proponent of moderate to low government intervention in people's lives, the Liberals oppose policies such as social security and seek to instead strengthen the avenues in which people earn money, as opposed to providing people with money directly. The Liberals regularly ally with the Nationals in order to push forward more conservative legislature, due to their combined numbers being often roughly equivalent to the numbers of the Labour Party. The Liberals adopt a unique stance of non-intervention on race relations, not supporting segregation whilst at the same time refusing to support legislature that would repeal any of the remainders of the White Knight Laws.
== Political culture ==
The political culture of Hōu Zhanaland is defined by its unique blend of ideologies brought about by the ethnic blend of its population, with political thought being brought with new groups of people that come from around the world to settle in Hōu Zhanaland, alongside the new schools of thought developed amongst the existing communities. Political change in Hōu Zhanaland is more often slow as opposed to revolutionary, with efforts such as the end of the White Knight Laws taking decades to occur despite the severity of the impacts of the Sikoto protest movement during this time. Hōu Zhanaland's political culture is also defined by its beliefs in pragmatism and sincerity, with the Huipūti being one of the few legislatures in the world to have a code of conduct enshrined in law. Despite this, there are multiple points of contention in the political scene of the country that frequently spark discourse.
=== Race relations ===
As a nation with over 20 ethnicities living in its borders, race relations in Hōu Zhanaland is a frequent point of contention, mainly centric around proportional ethnic representation in government. This issue extends mainly to the largest ethnic group in the country, the indigenous Sikoto peoples, who despite making up over 70% of the population have little to no representation in government outside of the "allocated" Sudwentaland Territory, which, as a territory of the government, has little to representation in itself on the national level. Despite the White Knight Laws, a collection of segregatory laws coming to an end in 1904 as national law, individual states during and after Federation were allowed to make their own decisions on whether or not to maintain them in some manner, the majority of which chose to keep many of the restrictions on a regional level. These heavily impede upon those referred to as "indigenous" peoples (the Sikoto and the Sundati) in their ability to function within wider society, by restricting their ability to hold political office, get a job, and access certain amenities that those considered "settler" people (mainly descendants of Akashiren & Soijiran settlers) would otherwise have unrestricted access to. This divides much of the voting population between pro-abolitionist voters (mainly represented by Labour) and pro-segregation voters (mainly represented by the Nationals). 
Other points of contention surrounding race relations include the protection of original indigenous settlements, many of which were destroyed during colonial rule in Sundatano during the 19th century. This issue is common especially among indigenous Sundati, who originally settled along the coastlines surrounding Cape Resolute, and had the majority of their settlements destroyed during the expansion of Gaaten. The indigenous community continue to advocate for the protection of the last few Sundati settlements, despite opposition from the Nationals.
=== Responsible government ===
Hōu Zhanaland's status as a responsible government of the Akashiro Shogunate is the other major flash point of contention in national political discourse. While the vast majority of the population support the settlement, the "political minority" of the country, represented by the Nationals & Liberals, are opposed to the dominionship, albeit for differing reasons. The Nationals believe that Hōu Zhanaland should have total control over its own affairs, whereas the dominionship strips Hōu Zhanaland of control over its own foreign affairs in the vast majority of situations; the Nationals also believe that the affairs of the mainland do not reflect the goings-on in Haikato in any form, and subsequently should not dictate the politics of Hōu Zhanaland. The Liberals, on the other hand, believe that the dominionship limits personal freedoms as opposed to state freedom, with Akashiren law applying in Hōu Zhanaland as well as national law. In accordance wit their libertarian stance, Hōu Zhanaland's position as a dominion prevents the people from being able to truly express themselves as they risk being punished under the laws of the Akashiren mainland.
Category:Hou Zhanaland
Category:Politics
Category:Political Party
Category:Akashiro
Category:Sundatano