Referendum, Amendment, and More | Mundusian Broadcasting Company

MBC |Oct. 20, 2099

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|| Referendum Held for Extended Kopington Presidency
Referendum which increases President Kopington's presidential term by 2 years, delaying the election to 2102, was held recently.
Author: Valence Auxe Martin

MBC - A referendum was recently held by the Kopington Administration which called for an increase in President Kopington's presidential term by two years. The referendum, which was held on October 6th, was proposed by Senator Daniel Cassorny - a member of the National Front, which is the party to which President Kopington belongs to. Both the Assembly and Senate agreed to extend the presidential term of Karl Kopington, with only four members disagreeing. In regard to upholding the democracy of Mundusia, the referendum was opened to the public. Citizens voted in their respective districts from October 6th to October 7th.

The referendum yielded good results for President Kopington. 75.2% of the populace who took the referendum stated that "President Kopington should indeed be granted to additional years", as per options on the referendum. 10.8% of the populace who took the referendum stated that "President Kopington should only be granted one more year." 4% stated that "President Kopington should abolish elections and take a title of king." The rest of the 10% stated that "President Kopington should not be able to gain an extent on his term and should instead be democratically elected back into the position for the 2100 elections."

Unfortunately, the referendum has recieved domestic criticism from several people of importance, such as protest leader and organizer Caroline Humore. In an interview, when asked about the referendum, she stated that "it's most definitely rigged." Furthermore, she stated that "President Kopington is the most likely candidate to become a dictator at this point in time. He has the power, the money, and maintains a good reputation with the people and corporations. He also has strong control over the legislative and judicial processes, seeing as that anti-protestor law got passed."

The Democratic International Society also strongly condemned the referendum. They also demanded that an investigation be called by unbiased detectives to find any evidence of possible influence in the referendum by government members. In response, the organization's base in Mundusia was seized by federal agents due to a counter-investigation was called. Evidence showed that the organization was attempting to undermine the president of Mundusia. The organization denied the claims, but later apologized for their actions.

With these additional two years, President Kopington has promised to improve Mundusia's status in the world as a beacon of liberty, security, and power.

|| Amendment to Constitution Allows Increased Powers of Law Enforcement
The new 25th Amendment will allow for law enforcement to have a larger variety of powers in order to provide them with further criminal investigative purposes.
Author: Gaule Hams

MBC - Following the incident between protestors and government forces, law enforcement has asked for a greater increase in their powers. Representative of Law Enforcement, Nicholas Jameson, met President Kopington on October 1st. They had come to an agreement that the law enforcement of Mundusia must gain more power in order to properly carry out their jobs. It was also revealed that law enforcement had started to become harassed by friends, family members, and the general populace as well for just carrying out their jobs. Due to this, Jameson reported, criminals were starting to run free and cross over to new cities or towns because of people preventing law enforcement from conducting their duties.

President Kopington and the legislation synthesized with Jameson, ruling that duties are most important to Mundusia as a nation. On October 9th, the amendment was passed through all three portions of the government, each one approving the amendment. The 25th Amendment was soon added to the constitution of Mundusia, basically stating that -

Law enforcement shall be able to have legal access to neutralize[...] anyone who interferes with duties needed to be carried out. Data[...] will be given to law enforcement upon their asking without bothersome practices, showing records of criminal acts, name, birth date, birthplace, location, financial information, online activities[...], among other things.

The amendment was ratified by all of the provinces in Mundusia. Since the amendment was ratified, crime rate has rapidly fell in the nation. Despite some complaints of the amendment being too authoritarian, it has overall been seen as a good thing by the general populace and local government officials.

|| Alternative Energy to be Implemented Widespread Next Year
Solar and wind energy is to be implemented widespread in areas where nuclear power is deemed too expensive to be placed.
Author: Jercy Rackson

MBC - As of currently, around 1/3 or more of the nation does not have access to proper power - neither fossil fuels or nuclear power. This is largely seen in the northern regions, where desert is the main landscape. Due to varying potentials of harsh weather and such in the region, nuclear power had been deemed too expensive or too risky to construct. The same was said for other non-renewable sources, such as coal and gas. Albeit, a different reason was given, stating that the nation's natural resources should not be allocated to areas which are not particularly important to the general people.

Minister of Resources and Energy, Johannes Scotth, stated that the situation was "regrettable" during a press conference on October 16th. In the mentioned press conference, Scotth also stated that "I wish I could do more for the people there. [...] I may ask the rest of the government whether they would find some way to power their systems." Unsurprisingly, the next day, a program was announced to help "areas of less fortune" obtain the energy they need. At the head of this program is Johannes Scotth himself.

Many corporations and organizations have also backed the program. Most notable of these groups is Justicar Limited, who has offered to make the solar energy panels. The program is expected to finish by next year, without sudden incidents considered of course. The program has been favorably named the Scotth Plan after its creator. It's expected to cost somewhere around 100 million Kranims all the way up to 10 billion Kranims. The cost, upon being calculated, was blatantly less than what could've been if nuclear power would be used instead.

A substantial energy allocation is expected to follow this as well. More information will come out in the following days.

|| Several Chemicals, Listed as Harmful to the Human Body, Banned in Mundusia
Several chemicals have been banned from Mundusia. Foreign foods and people traveling to Mundusia with these chemicals in them will now be denied access.
Author: Maye Aboundę

MBC - The Federal Health and Food Administration has ruled that several chemicals commonly found in foreign foods are unhealthy to consume. Such items are largely included in fast food chains that have made their way to Mundusia, which are currently being seized by the government in place for better options. Over the course of these seizures, over 50 fast food chain locations that contain chemicals that the FHFA have ruled to be unhealthy have already closed down. They are already being occupied by Mundusian-based corporations.

Upon the list of unhealthy chemicals are added sugars, many preservatives, bisphenol a, PFCs, titanium dioxide, and many artificial food colors. The list, which spans for two more pages, strictly prohibits a large set of international chains from operating in Mundusia unless they promise to change their ways. However, some items on the list have been banned forever. Such items include some kinds of stimulants, with the banning of some prescription medications highly emphasized by the FHFA. The FHFA claims that further investigation into the true ingredients of many foreign imports into Mundusia will happen within the next few months.

Many citizens have started to complain that the FHFA should've checked the imports at an earlier date. They have, promptly, seemingly started to eat less. Many fast-food workers from the previously mentioned chains have started to look for better jobs relevant to their resume's details. Pharmacists have started to dump out medicine affected by this list as well. As of right now, there is no response from the fast-food chains or from medicine suppliers.