December 1724 Constitutional Referendum

The “December 1724 Constitutional Referendum” is a plebiscite to be held in the South Sea Islands. The referendum concerns a proposal by the Commonwealth Men campaign group to amend the South Sea Islands’ constitution, abolishing the Monarchy of the South Sea Islands and replacing it with a parliamentary republic.

The vote was organised by the [[Government of the South Sea Islands], following increased representation for the Commonwealth Men in the Legislative Assembly.

Background

Since 1720, the Commonwealth Men movement has been pushing for the abolition of the monarchy. While the group represents a diversity of opinions, the majority of members state that they have nothing against the monarchy in principle, but feel that the current system is not reflective of South Sea Islands’ culture.

Under the current arrangements for the monarchy, the President of the Republic of Mercury automatically becomes the monarch of the South Sea Islands. While Commonwealth Men sources claim that it is “absurd” to have a monarch who has never been in the Commonwealth, their opponents point out that the same was true of the hereditary monarchs of Nova England, who previously reigned over the islands.

Referendum question

The following question will be posed to voters on December 1st 1724:

[I]Should the Commonwealth of the South Sea Islands should amend its constitution to abolish the monarchy and become a parliamentary republic, or retain the monarchy in its current format?

-Retain the monarchy

-Amend the constitution to become a parliamentary republic

Rules of the referendum

The Government of the South Sea Islands has set out the following regulations for the vote:

1) To be considered valid, the referendum must have a turnout of at least 60% of eligible voters.

2) Of the votes cast, at least 51% must be in favour of the change in order for the constitutional change to proceed.

3) If either of the above two conditions isn’t met, the status quo will remain in place.