Following a slew of resignations in Pacifica, the regional crisis reached its peak when the founder nation ceased to exist, and a controversial state of emergency was declared in Pacifica, followed by the messy removal of Deputy Secretary General and Foreign Affairs Minister USS Merrimack.
May Regional Council Election
The prior removal of Canogally from the Regional Council prompted a by-election, which was held concurrently with the May general election, meaning a total of three seats in the Regional Council were up for grabs. USS Merrimack announced his campaign for re-election, along with five other candidates.
Although none of them released an official platform, a candidate named Lifeldern made a campaign promise to introduce a bill allowing all residents to vote. This promise was made in response to numerous perceived barriers, including Pacifica’s policy of barring nations which have an influence lower than 1000 (equivalent to spending 1000 unendorsed days in the region) from voting. Lifeldern’s proposal received considerable backlash, with many citing concerns about security. Lifeldern revised their proposal to make World Assembly membership a requirement for the right to vote, but concerns about this proposal remained. The eventual winners of the election were USS Merrimack, Frenchdom, and Nismon.
State of Emergency Declared
As the ceasing of Pacifica’s founder became imminent, Secretary General North Newlandishforth declared a state of emergency, which was approved by the Regional Council. The state of emergency meant that, until the founder returned, there would be no Secretary General elections. This was met with opposition from a faction of Pacificans, who believed the state of emergency was undemocratic. The concerns were amplified by the fact that Secretary General North Newlandishforth had never been elected by the people to their current position, but had rather been appointed by the Regional Council. However, those in favor of the state of emergency pointed to the fact that the Secretary General had no real power, as the Regional Council served the role of a collective executive, and despite stubborn opposition from some residents, the Regional Council approved of the state of emergency going into effect. The next day, Pacifica’s founder ceased to exist.
Conflict Between North Newlandishforth and USS Merrimack
Soon after the founder nation ceased to exist, Secretary General North Newlandishforth suddenly put forth a motion for the removal of USS Merrimack as foreign affairs minister, and dismissed Merrimack from his position as deputy secretary general, choosing Democratic Republic of Unified States to succeed them. North Newlandishforth stated the reason for this motion was due to Merrimack’s “poor conduct and disregard for government”, although the specific actions by Merrimack have not yet been released to the public. Merrimack claimed the motion for his removal was motivated by North Newlandishforth’s dislike of him, and harshly criticized the move.
Three Regional Councillors voted in favor of Merrimack’s removal, which was enough to remove him from his position as minister of foreign affairs. However, one of the first to vote in favor of Merrimack’s removal, newly appointed Deputy Secretary General Democratic Republic of Unified States, stated in a private interview that they “don’t know” of any specific actions that had warranted the motion for Merrimack’s removal, indicating that the evidence against Merrimack had not been disclosed to the Regional Council. Merrimack resigned his position in the Regional Council on the same day of the closure of the vote to remove him as Foreign Affairs Minister.
Following Merrimack’s resignation, the Pacifican government has moved on, and another by-election is expected to be held soon. However, with tension from the recent conflicts in Pacifica still remaining, and a noticeable trend of members of government falling into inactivity, the future of Pacifica looks far from ideal.
