Utanian Press Agency, Release 7 December 300 AP

UPA (Utanian Press Agency)
Release: December 7, 300 AP.

Execution bill passed in Nystonia state

The Nystonian State Parliament has approved by a narrow margin a controversial bill to legalise state executions of criminals. Now the cause for executions moves to the federal level as the Federal Parliament contemplates overruling the Nystonian Parliament.

Governor Cryer sent a bill to the state Parliament 4 weeks ago, to legalise state-sponsored executions. Since then, debate has been furious, with apostacy and treachery declarations from either side, name-calling and political tactics to delay or finish the bill.

The vote was declared a conscience vote for the 73 MP's, meaning they were not bound to vote along party lines. It was a ploy by the opposition to defeat the bill, hoping several dissident MP's from the government benches would cross the floor. In the end, nine did, but eight also crossed the floor from the opposition to the government bench, passing the bill by a mere three vote majority, 38-35.

The Cruistian-Democrat and Liberal Nationalist Parties, who govern with the Democrats, stated openly that state-sponsored executions were part of party platform, still four CDP and two LNP parliamentarians walked from the government bench. Two Democrats of the five voted for the bill, as did one MP of seventeen from the opposition Peoples Party. However, the major opposition desertion came from the Utani-Saedaj Party, who hold twelve seats in the Parliament, seven of whom voted for the bill.

"Under Imperial law, executions were accepted as part of the Emperor's right to ensure that the laws of the Empire and of Cruis were obeyed. I see no reason why we should recoil from that right, now", declared a defiant Peter D'jope, lead USP dissident on the issue.

Cruistian-Democrat Governor Cryer was delighted at the result, declaring to supporters outside the Parliament, that "the threat of imprisonment did not work, but the threat of execution does. We have declared this day that we want that deterrent to continue to exist, and we will authorise executions of the most vile of criminal low-life until the message is clear: Nystonia is no place for crime!"

Despite the obvious win, a cloud now looms on the horizon as the four Peoples Party MP's from Nystonia have held a meeting and unanimously condemned the bill, and are now lobbying the President to overturn it. President Okarvits has previous warned that he would consider overruling the state on the issue of capital punishment. Such a motion would push the issue to a national level, raising the same noise and commotion in Utan Krysaror.

At this stage, with support for overruling the bill only with the Peoples, Republican and Democratic Socialists, plus many Democrats, Conservatives and some Utani-Saedaj MP's, against the Cruistian-Democrats, Liberal Nationalists and the government-allied Burovians, the vote could be extremely close, analysts predicting 75-65. However, what would be far more damaging would be the divisions formed within government ranks, which may result in disaster for the President's parliament.