22 January 2023
Today, the Ministry of Elections released a ballot allowing citizens to vote for the Minister of Mint. The Minister of Mint is in charge of printing money, controlling the distribution of Dineros, and regulating the taxation of the districts. They are the second most important person in Phillip so citizens were given the ability to vote on them. As per the Constitution, the President has the ability to appoint other members of the government except for the Minister of Mint. This was put in place in the Constitution to limit the amount of control the President has over the economy.
There are three candidates on the ballot. The first is VP Fitzgibbins' brother, Ben Fitzgibbins. He hasn't held a political position in Phillip yet, but his knowledge of economics has gained him a decent amount of support. He is the most likely to win this election. The second candidate on the ballot is Rep. Marcos of Calabaza. She has garnered some support from women in Phillip and is expected to perform well, but not win. Before the election was announced she held three positions, a seat in the National Assembly, the Supreme Judge, and the Governor of Tarkis. In Phillip, one person is only allowed to hold three positions of government (excluding Ministries). In order to run for Minister of Mint, Marcos resigned as the Governor of Tarkis. So currently, the seat is vacant until President Renny appoints a new Governor. The third and final candidate on the ballot is Minister Reed Von, who is also expected to perform well but probably not as well as the other candidates.
Voting for this election will end at 7AM PLST on the 23rd of January. After this election concludes, a parliament consisting of one member from each political party will be formed to advise the decisions of the Minister of Mint. This council has been named the "Jolly Parliament" and will have four seats. Because of this election being delayed multiple times by the Ministry of Elections, the National Assembly has decided to postpone its first meeting to Monday the 23rd. This is because VP Luke Fitzgibbins has some legislature relating to regulating the Minister of Mint that he wants to get passed after the Minister is elected.