Yonkastic Constitution

The **Yonkastic Constitution** is the governing law of the Republic of the Yonkage. It was modeled on the United States Constitution structurally, with seven articles laying out the nature of the government and its structure. Articles one and two establish the legislative and judicial branches, article three establishes the country as a federal state, article four details the amendment process, articles five and six provide for votes of recall and referenda, and the seventh and final article covers the adoption of the Constitution and its effects.

The Yonkastic Constitution has been amended several times since it entered into force in 1942, most recently in 2013 to change the redistricting process. With only 2,436 words excluding amendments but including the title of the document and signatures of the delegates, it became the shortest federal constitution in the world when it was adopted, a record that it still holds today.

## Background

Following the Yonkastic War of Liberation, the Yonkastic Independence Front instituted a provisional government based on the terms of the Agreement of the Provinces, which laid out a system of government where conferences similar to the Kelänsen Conferences of the pre-war era determined state policy. The government was relatively ineffective due to the inflexibility conferred by this system, and its only major achievement was its declaration of neutrality in the Second World War. The Front's leaders called for a Constitutional Convention to be held in Kelänsen starting on February 1, 1942.

## Drafting and Ratification of the Constitution

The Constitutional Convention was attended by twenty-two men and women, mainly consisting of assorted luminaries from the three provinces but also including the co-generals of the Yonkastic Liberation Army. They met in the residence of the Kings of the Reaches; although called the Imperial Palace, it was less a palace or fortress than a stately townhouse.

The delegates drafted the Constitution in secret for two long months, suspending their debate only for food and sleep. Presided over by Ästelek Ütollech, the younger brother of the late independence activist Nemek Ütollech, the Convention eventually agreed on a system that set up a strong central government that drew no power whatsoever from the provinces but rested on popular consent. While the provinces were free to regulate their internal affairs, they had no voice in the central government. This policy was mellowed when the delegates decided to allow provinces to play a part in filling the supreme federal court, but its heart and soul remained present.

The drafters also decided on a parliamentary system in which the executive and legislative powers were fused. Despite extensive debate that largely pitted American-educated delegates against European-educated ones, the Convention unanimously agreed on the wisdom of the parliamentary system, reasoning that a strong central judiciary would be able to check parliamentary power.

On April 7, 1942, the Convention approved the Constitution and submitted it to the people for approval. In a referendum held on the 23rd, the requisite two thirds majority was easily reached, and elections were held from May 7 to May 10.