Vaklori
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Commonwealth of Vaklori | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
Motto: For Ademar and Country | |
Anthem: “From North and West” | |
 Location of Vaklori (dark green) on the continent of Gondwana (grey) | |
| Capital and | New Aizlava |
| Official languages | Asendavian |
| Ethnic groups (2021) | Human 81.6% Ailurine 12.4% Ursine 3% All Others 3% |
| Religion (2021) | Ademarist 81% Unaffiliated 10% Akronist 9% |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• King | Jon[1] |
• Viceroy | Jari Bruski |
• Prime Minister | Maeve Holstein |
| Legislature | National Diet |
| Independence from Asendavia, 1944 | |
• Settlement by Asendavians | c. 15th century |
• 3 April 1944 | Independence via New Aizlava Accords |
• 5 October 1989 | Modern constitutional monarchy established |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,236,768.62 km2 (477,519.03 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2021 census | 49,853,314 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2021 estimate |
• Total | SHD $1,050,000,000,000 |
• Per capita | $21,061 |
| Currency | Jade Tavosar (JTV) |
| Time zone | East Vaklori Time (UTC -7:00) West Vaklori Time (UTC -8:00) |
| Calling code | +54 |
| Internet TLD | .vkl |
The Commonwealth of Vaklori is a sovereign state located in northwestern Gondwana. Approximately half of the country is located on the Gondwanan mainland, while the other half is located across the Strait of Vaklori on the island of Avnatra. A former colony of Asendavia, Vaklori gained independence in 1944. It is a founding member of the Alliance of Northwest Gondwana and a member of both the Alliance Free Trade Area as well as the Alliance Travel Area. It hosted the World Cup in 2020.
History
Tavari and Banian historical records indicate some trade and political interaction with a polity known as Va beginning in the 12th century. It is theorized that ethnic Reiktic peoples from mainland Gondwana (in what is now eastern Vaklori) expanded into territory on the island of Avnatra (what is now western Vaklori) and conquered the people there through military force, with the country unifying by 1100 under the name “Va.” The name Va is believed to have come from the language spoken originally in the west. That language is now lost, but is believed to have been related to Tavari.
Almost no written records from the Va people themselves prior to the 15th century survive. In the 15th century, explorers from Asendavia arrived and proceeded to colonize the country, starting from the western portion of Va and moving east. The Asendavians maintained a brutal policy of exterminating the natives, and between the 15th and 18th centuries, the indigenous population was reduced from an estimated 3-5 million to fewer than 5,000. Military campaigns, famine, and disease outbreaks (both intentional and unintentional) contributed to this stark decline. Even in modern times, this number is still below 10,000, and those surviving indigenous Va peoples are significantly poorer and less educated than others in Vaklori.
Notably, however, in contrast to the Va people, people in the far east of the country who chose to continue identifying as Reiktic received far better treatment from the Asendavians, who sought to avoid conflict with the Reiktic Empire (now the countries of Talusi, Hausberg, and Toloria). In the modern day, there continues to be a Reiktic minority present in the Vaklorian far east, who are mostly integrated into Vaklorian society unlike the few remaining Va, who tend to live in rural, impoverished areas in the far west.
Vaklori was a relatively important front in the Great War due to its proximity to Asendavian enemies in the war: Tavaris and Great Morstaybishlia (who controlled Lunaria, among other places). Asendavia launched a land invasion of Tavaris from Vaklori during the war. Vaklori soldiers serving in the war bolstered a growing sense of nationalism in the country, leading to the 1944 New Aizlava Accords that granted Vaklori independence with the Jalkorevala of Asendavia serving as Head of State. In 1989, a national referendum amended the Constitution to create a system of constitutional monarchy in which a King of Vaklori (who is defined in law as being the same person as the reigning Jalkorevala of Asendavia) has symbolic power over a parliamentary system.
Vaklori has been noted for its enthusiastic culture around sports and for its participation in international sporting events such as the Aldanic Games and the World Cup, which it most recently hosted in 2020. Association football is the most common sport in the country, but there is a professional league for nearly every major international sport in the country.
Government
Politics in Vaklori takes place in the framework of a multi-party, parliamentary, constitutional monarchy. Unlike Asendavia, the powers of the monarch in Vaklori are only symbolic and are only used on the express advice of the elected government. Since 1989, the National Diet has been a unicameral body with 640 seats; prior to then, the Diet consisted of a popularly-elected lower house known as the Legislative Assembly and an upper house known as the Synod whose membership was appointed by the Jalkorevala of Asendavia. In 2005, the Electoral Reform Act set fixed-length terms of four years for the Diet. As a compromise to ensure passage, the Act also lowered the percentage of the vote a political party needs to receive to gain representation in the Diet to 0.75%, which has resulted in a marked increase in the number of elected parties. No single party has attained a majority of the Diet since 2005, with coalition governments becoming the norm. The Diet is elected in a closed-party list proportional representation system with each of the country's twelve provinces serving as an electoral district with a number of seats proportional to its share of the population of the entire country. The Constitution requires these districts to be reapportioned at least every twelve years.
Current Government
Government:
Ademar Democrats: 121 seats
Liberal Alliance: 87 seats
Agrarian Center Party: 72 seats
Free Democratic Party: 23 seats
Pirate Party: 11 seats
Crypto Revolution: 7 seats
Other Parties:
Labor Party: 77 seats
Green Party: 33 seats
VKLeft: 29 seats
Communist Party: 22 seats
Vaklori Communist Party: 7 seats
Ailurine Voice: 6 seats
Stand Up!: 3 seats
Alliance of Man: 1 seat
Official Opposition:
Royal Nation Party: 109 seats
New Popular Party: 29 seats
Pensioners Party: 3 seats
Elections in 2021 resulted in a coalition led by the Ademar Democrats Party entering government. The leader of the Ademar Democrats, Maeve Holstein, became Vaklori's first female Prime Minister. The coalition is broadly center to center-right, and is considered to be somewhat fragile, consisting of the Ademar Democrats (an Ademarist party of the center-right) as well as the Liberal Alliance (classical liberals), Agrarian Center Party (agrarian populists), the Free Democratic Party (centrists), and for the first time, two minor parties: the Pirate Party, focused on issues of information freedom and government transparency, and the Crypto Revolution Party, which advocates for financial deregulation and the adoption of cryptocurrency. Stated policy goals for the Holstein Government include lowering taxes on businesses and individuals, revamping the country's system of crop insurance and farm subsidies, considering the adoption of cryptocurrency in the country's national payment networks, and undertaking an audit of the National Bank of Vaklori as well as the Ministries of Treasury and Defense.
The official opposition consists of three parties: the Royal National Party (a monarchist party), the New National Party (a big tent populist party), and the Pensioners Party, which advocates for issues relating to the retired and elderly. The Royal National Party and New National Party had never collaborated in any coalition prior to 2021, but agreed to serve together with the Pensioners Party so that their coalition, at 141 seats, was larger than the coalition of the Labor Party, Green Party, and VKLeft at 139 seats and therefore took the spot of Official Opposition. The Labor/Green/VKLeft coalition had previously served as government since 2013, but the 2021 elections saw Labor—the previous largest party—lose 50 seats due in large part to the unpopularity of increased fuel taxes, accusations of corruption in regard to the country's 2020 World Cup bid, and controversy surrounding Vaklorian membership in the Alliance of Northwest Gondwana, which increased in unpopularity after perceived political and economic instability in its most powerful member, Tavaris.
- ↑ The King of Vaklori is the same person as the Jalkorevala of Asendavia, but the position is legally separate. In Vaklori, he is known as Jon with no ordinal number, as the Vaklorian crown is a new creation. In Asendavia, he is known as Jon VII.