Sealtainn

The Free Land  of Sealtainn and Arcaive, or simply Sealtainn (pronounced: ʃ ɛ ː ltain ), is an island group in the Northern Sea off the coast of continental Auralia.

Sealtainn is an independent republic, becoming such in 1946 when independence from New Sealand was declared. Sealtainn retains close traditional ties with New Sealand and various other nations of Auralia whose peoples settled Sealtainn in its early days.

History
The early history of the islands of Sealtainn and Arcaive is not well known. Monks from the region of Gaelia explored the islands as a possible sanctuary in the eleventh century, introducing sheep and basic agriculture. The islands at this time were known as Eileinean nan Caoraich, meaning "Sheep Islands". In the sixteenth century a harbour was built allowing greater trade. This drew in merchants and others seeking to make money but drove away the monks who sought a quiet life.

During the religious tensions in the 17th century, Sealtainn became a protestant stronghold and was made an official colony of New Sealand. It was at this time that Sealtainn's fishing industry began to expand. Sealtainn remained a colony of New Sealand and in 1854 won the right to limited self-governance, whilst retaining an MP in the Parliament of New Sealand.

More than a century later, prominant Sealtainners began calling for independence from New Sealand. In October 1945, after the Second Continental War, Sealtainn held a referendum on independence. The referendum passed with 54% voting "Yes" to independence and 46% rejecting the idea. Although the referendum fell just short of the 55% approval required to make the referendum binding, the Parliament of New Sealand accepted the decision and full independence took place on 17 June 1946.

Politics
The politics of Sealtainn take place in a framework of parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Sealtainn is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Executive branch
The President, elected to a 4-year term, has limited powers. The Prime Minister and Cabinet exercise most executive functions. The President of Sealtainn is a largely ceremonial office that serves as a diplomat, figurehead and head of state. The head of government is the prime minister, who, together with the cabinet, takes care of the executive part of government. The cabinet is appointed by the president after general elections to the Legislative Assembly; however, this process is usually conducted by the leaders of the political parties, who decide among themselves, after discussions, which parties can form the cabinet and how its seats are to be distributed (under the condition that it has a majority support in the Legislative Assembly). Only when the party leaders are unable to reach a conclusion by themselves in reasonable time does the president exercise this power and appoint the cabinet himself. This has never happened since the republic was founded in 1946.

The governments of Sealtainn have almost always been coalitions with two or more parties involved, because no single political party usually receives a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Only once since becoming a republic has this happened, when the Sealtainn National Party won 25 seats out of 40 in 1973.

The extent of the political powers possessed by the office of the president are disputed by legal scholars in Sealtainn; several provisions of the constitution appear to give the president some important powers but other provisions and traditions suggest differently. The president is elected every four years (last 2006), the cabinet is elected every four years (last 2006) and town council elections are held every four years (last 2006). Elections in Sealtainn are often planned to happen concurrently.

Legislative branch
The parliament of Sealtainn, called the Legislative Assembly, was founded in 1849 as an advisory body to the Governor, who was the representative of the King/Queen of New Sealand. The Legislative Assembly is composed of 42 members, elected every 4 years unless it is dissolved sooner. Suffrage for presidential and parliamentary elections is 16 years and is universal. Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of proportional representation from the 42 parishes and one borough. Until 1998, there was a Legislative Council of 18 members, however this was abolished to create a fully unicameral system.

Presidential elections
The latest presidential election was held on 1 June 2006. Approximately 80% of voters turned out in the election. Left-leaning incumbant John Anderson was defeated at the polls, polling a distant third and losing to outsider James Muir. Traditionally limited to 6-8 weeks, Sealtainn's presidential campaign season saw intense personal attacks on the two front-runners, John Anderson and Graeme Burnes, with each having their personal lives intensely attacked. 2006 also saw the first televised debate between presidential candidates. Since becoming President, Muir has used his largely ceremonial office to promote Sealtainn trade abroad and family values at home.

The next Presidential elections will likely take place in June 2010.

Legislative Assembly elections
The last Legislative Assembly elections took place on 1 June 2006. The ruling coalition parties, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, lost one seat each in the Legislative Assembly but with the help of two independent MLA's, still hold a slim majority with 23 seats in the 42 member Legislative Assembly. This constitutes the first time since 1973 that independents have helped form a government.

A total of 24,074 votes were cast, constituting 72% of the electorate. The results of the 2006 election are shown below.

So long as it is not dissolved early, the next Legislative Assembly elections shall take place in June 2010.

Judicial branch
The judiciary consists of: The justices of the courts are appointed by the President on advice of the Prime Minister every four years, often they are incumbants and usually are only replaced when they voluntarily retire.
 * The Criminal Court (An Chùirt Eucoraich)
 * The Magistrate's Court (An Chùirt Bàillidh)
 * The Constitutional Affiars Court (An Chùirt Reachdan)

Regions and municipalities
Administratively, Sealtainn is divided into two regions based around the main groupings of the various islands. The Sealtainn Isles Region (Cèarn na h-Eileinean Sealtainnaich) is the northern most of the two regions, and is also marginally most populous, with approximately 52% of the nation's population living there. It is also the larger of the two regions geographically, being 1,466 km².

The Arcaive Isles Region (Cèarn na h-Eileinean Àrcaibhain) lies 16 km from the Auralian continental mainland and 80 km away from the southern most point the Northern Isles Region. It is home to 48% of the nation's population and is 990 km² in area.

The tiny island of Fair Isle (Eileann nan Geansaidh), is part of the Northern Isles Region. Fair Isle is home to just 70 or so people and is the most isolated place in Sealtainn.

Geography
Out of the approximately 170 islands, only 35 are inhabited. Curiously, in both island groups (the northern Sealtainn Isles Region and the southern Arcaive Isles Region) the main island is called "Mainland". This can lead to som confusion to those not familiar with the area. Generally, the Mainland most people will speak of is the Mainland of the Sealtainn Isles Region, due to its also being the island on which the capital Oban Clea is located.

Fair Isle lies approximately halfway between Sealtainn and Arcaive, but it is administered as part of Sealtainn Isles Region. Due to the islands' latitude, on clear winter nights the aurora borealis or "northern lights" can sometimes be seen in the sky, while in summer there is almost perpetual daylight, a state of affairs known locally as the "simmer dim".

Climate
Sealtainn has a Maritime Subarctic climate. The climate all year round is mild due to the influence of the relative warmth of the surrounding seas, the surface temperature of which falls to 5 °C (41 °F) in early March and peaks at 13 to 14°C (55-57°F) in late August. However, summers are cool and temperatures over 21 °C (70 °F) are rare. The warmest month on record was August 1947, when the average maximum temperature was 17.2 °C (63.0 °F).

The general character of the climate is windy and cloudy with at least 1 mm (0.039 in) of rain falling on about 200 days a year. Average yearly precipitation at Oban Clea is 1,238 mm (48.7 in), with November and December the wettest months, together receiving about a quarter of annual precipitation. Snowfall can occur at any time from July to early June although it seldom lies on the ground for more than a day. Less rain falls from April to August although no month receives less than 50 mm (2.0 in). Fog is common in the east of the islands during summer due to the cooling effect of the sea on mild southerly airflows.

There is a wide variation in day length during the course of the year due the islands' northerly location. On the shortest day at the winter solstice sunlight lasts 3 hours and 45 minutes and this stretches to 23 hours at the summer solstice, with twilight occupying the remainder of the time. However, the remoteness of the islands from warm and dry airflows means that all months are cloudy. Annual sunshine hours average 1065 hours so sunny days are rare and overcast days are common.