Political Overview

Nova Zemlya is divided into three political territories (Arthane, Nordrim, and Astoleth), which are in turn each divided into 25 equal-population districts. The country uses a federal system, and is governed by a combination of legislative and executive bodies. Elections for both bodies are held every five years on the Winter Solstice. Elections are publicly funded, with strict limits on when candidates can campaign, creating a relatively short election "season." District borders are drawn by judicial commission.

The legislature is a unicameral body known as the Zemlya Argentis. Each of the country's 75 districts elects one representative to the Argentis by popular vote. Members serve a five-year term with a term limit of fifteen years. The speaker of the Argentis is elected by its members, though by custom the position rotates after each election, given to the most senior representative from the region that held the position last.

The executive is led by a triumverate of Primers, each elected from one of Nova Zemlya's three territories. The three Primers select a leader among themselves, called the Primer Ductus, within 10 days. The Argentis selects a Ductus if the Primers are unable to agree. The Ductus acts as the chief of state and spokesperson for the executive, but otherwise holds equal power with the other two Primers (known as Secordans). Primers serve a five-year term with a term limit of twenty years.

Political parties are not recognized as formal organizations in Zemlyan government, nor are they afforded any special privileges in terms of election law, committee organization, etc., but they have nonetheless arisen as loose collectives to aid in the business of government and as a convenient way of like-minded members of the electorate and legislature to associate and organize. The Contemplatives, a socially liberal but isolationist party, are the largest in number. The Striders are the newest movement; equally liberal but more likely to advocate for interaction and integration with the outside world, they have grown to be the second-largest party. The Traditionalists are the most socially conservative 'mainstream' party, and mostly hail from Nordrim; they are now resurgent in other territories, however, after a long period of dormancy caused by a scandal in their association with the Dominionists (a now defunct movement emphasizing interventionism by military force).

The current Primer Ductus is Alia Arxemet, a Strider elected from the Arthane territory and the first Strider to be named Ductus. Her fellow Primers are Secordan Bella Telfar (Contemplative from Astoleth) and Secordan Abelard Hadorius (Contemplative from Nordrim). The current speaker of the Argentis is Damovar Sulan, a Traditionalist from Nordrim, and Ambassador Chalcedony Emeraude has recently been appointed to represent Nova Zemlya at the World Assembly.