[Lauchenoiria]

Kerlian News Service

International Edition

Council of Kerlile holds first session following inauguration of President Arnott
16th July 2019

The Council of Kerlile has begun its first session following the inauguration of Rebecca Arnott as the seventh President of Kerlile. President Arnott is succeeded on the Council by her daughter, Rosemary, who is the youngest member of the Council at only 19. Former President Joanna Greenwood, who now holds no formal office in Kerlile, today left the capital city, returning to her family home in Maytown.

The published agenda for today’s Council session includes a debate on plastic straws, discussion of potential trade deals with other countries, and four matters which were excluded from the published agenda for national security reasons. It is expected that one of the discussions will involve the future of the Restricted Region, something President Arnott promised to abolish if appointed.

The new Councillor Rosemary Arnott arrived at the chamber today after travelling from the apartment in Hazelton, where she has been studying for the past year. It is expected she will support reform, as her mother does. She has announced her intention to continue her studies while serving on the Council – something that would be a first for a Councillor.

Reports suggest that Councillor Anita Patel intends to propose restricting membership of the Council to over-21s, which President Arnott says is a ‘blatant attempt to retain an anti-reform majority on the Council’. The current minimum age for a Councillor is 14, a result of 1934, when the 14-year-old daughter of the first President Wilma Greenwood inherited her seat on the Council.

Reform of the minimum age is something the Council have debated for decades; however, no consensus has been reached. Councillor Patel’s attempt is considered unlikely to succeed – most other Councillors favour 16 or 18. A debate on succession law is scheduled for next week, in which the age will be debated, along with provisions for succession in cases where a Councillor cannot fulfil her duties. This is considered a priority in advance of the verdicts from the Truth & Reconciliation Commission from the Lauchenoirian war.