Centralist Democratic Party of Leylandiistan

Centralist Democratic Party of Leylandiistan
Leader	Ruairí de Créag
Founded	February 2013
Dissolved	July 17, 2014
Headquarters	Maple Hill, Leylandiistan
Newspaper	CDP Leylandiistan News Blog
Membership (2013)	2
Ideology	Centrism, Liberal Democracy
National affiliation	Democratic Republic of Leylandiistan
Colours	Red and Black
CDP seats in National Assembly of Leylandiistan (August 2013 - February 2014):	2 / 7
Website
CDP website
De jure dissolved with the Division of Leylandiistan

The Centralist Democratic Party of Leylandiistan (CDP) was a political party in the Democratic Republic of Leylandiistan, now a constituent in the Confederation of Leylandiistan & Gurvata. It was the first political party to be founded in the country, followed closely by SALDAL, following the approval of a document allowing political parties in February 2013. It was led by Ruairí de Créag, and was for a time the largest party in the country.

Establishment

Between November 2012 and February 2013, Leylandiistan was ruled by two Co-Consuls, Ruairí de Créag and Fionnbarra Ó Cathail. This diarchy made all government decisions, and collectively was called the "Cabinet". Cabinet meetings were held in either territory, Robinscourt and Cubbyhole, every week or two. However, with a growing population would come increased calls for democracy. On 21 February 2013, de Créag published a document entitled "Agreement as to government powers", which laid out the new terms of the coalition between himself and Fionnbarra Ó Cathail until the first general election. It facilitated partisan politics, and de Créag subsequently established the Centralist Democratic Party of Leylandiistan (CDP) the following day. Ó Cathail agreed to the document's terms, and later established his own party, SALDAL.

History

Despite the new agreement formalising the coalition between de Créag and Ó Cathail, it thankfully did little to alter the co-operation between both of them. Soon the CDP gained a second member, Ursula O'Sullivan. To facilitate increased membership of political parties, the Co-Consuls decided to designated constituencies for election and administrative purposes. Robinscourt was divided up into Robinscourt North and Robinscourt South, though the Cubbyhole's division into constituencies was never formalised. De Créag represented the CDP in Robinscourt North, while O'Sullivan based herself in Robinscourt South. She was given the title of Councillor in her role as a local representative, though the lack of any local government laws gave this title little basis. O'Sullivan also became deputy leader of the CDP. The party's first major accomplishment was the establishment of the Leylandiistan National Racquet Sports Association (LNRSA) on 19 March 2013, a proposal by de Créag and approved by the Co-Consuls in order to make a national body for the sports of tennis, badminton and squash, which were all popular sports in Leylandiistan.

Issue 3 of the Sentinel controversy

On 26 March 2013, the Leylandiistan Sentinel published a controversial article as its headline piece on its third issue which claimed that the CDP's website was nearly identical to its rival SALDAL's website, which was published two weeks earlier. CDP leader de Créagthen released an official statement on the matter on the party's website on 29 March. He criticised SALDAL leader Fionnbarra Ó Cathail on several matters, and said that the Sentinel's claims of him releasing a statement on the matter were false, and that the similarity was a mere coincidence

SALDAL leader Fionnbarra Ó Cathail released a statement on his party's website countering de Créag's claims, as exchanges between both Co-Consuls became heated. However, both parties agreed to settle the matter. In Issue 4 of the Sentinel an apology was made for the false claims that de Créag had released a statement, they said that what had in fact occurred was private discussion among the Co-Consuls. Both parties had suffered from the experience and averted further controversy with an election in their sights.

General Election 2013

The Co-Consuls announced their power-sharing agreement would terminate upon the democratic election of an executive and legislative body. The latter was named the National Assembly, while the former was divided between the offices of President and Vice President. The election date was set for June 1, but it was later set back to August 7. Campaigning began in earnest. SALDAL released two election posters, and both parties circulated election messages via email. Both parties also released official election statements on their websites. In the CDP's statement de Créag said if elected he would emphasise the economy, internal infrastructural and industrial development, and more diplomatic ties with allied and neutral micronations. Both CDP members were put forward as candidates in the election. Though an election debate was planned on LeyTV, both party leaders agreed that with little time to organise it it was best to cancel the idea.

A moratorium on campaigning was in place the day before the election, and the nation went to the polls from 7 to 10 August. The Electoral Commission released the results on 12 August. The election was a major victory for the CDP. De Créag was elected Vice President of Leylandiistan, and O'Sullivan was elected to the National Assembly. De Créag had missed out on the presidency by just one vote.

In Government, August 2013 - July 2014

In many ways, the coalition between Ó Cathail's SALDAL and de Créag's CDP continued. In December 2013, the National Assembly gave itself broad new powers with the passing of the Installation of Executive and Legislative Powers Act 2013. De Créag drafted the Justice System of Leylandiistan Act 2014 in January 2014, but when it failed to be passed in the National Assembly due to a simple lack of voting members, both De Créag and Ó Cathail decided a drastic solution was needed. They drafted a new constitution, which was approved by a referendum on 23 February 2014. However, the CDP became inactive after this referendum, and when de Créag left Leylandiistan following the Division of Leylandiistan in July 2014, the CDP was essentially dissolved, as it had been inactive since the general election the previous August, and because it had no members left in Leylandiistan.

Ideology and Beliefs

The CDP described itself as a "liberal and democratic party". On its website, it stated that its main goal was "to bring a liberal and democratic view to Leylandiistan, while still retaining overall democratically elected leaders". On the left-right political scale, it described itself is being in the centre, and supporting Centrist beliefs, hence its name "Centralist Democratic Party". It advocated economic, infrastructural and industrial development in its election campaign, showing its main concern was for the economy. Its advocacy for "advancing contact with allied and neutral micronations" showed that, like SALDAL, it favoured neutrality and avoidance of conflict. In government, the CDP worked well with SALDAL, and each party supported the other when either party proposed legislation. Both parties had two seats in the National Assembly, meaning that if Leylandiistan had followed a Westminster system of parliament, the CDP and SALDAL could have formed a majority government, as both parties collectively held 4 of the 7 seats in the National Assembly.