"1. Communication and transparency are paramount (not to be confused with Paramount Pictures) for building trust between the people and their government ─ it’s not enough to know that things are being done behind the scenes. What would you do to improve communication and transparency?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"While Communication and Transparency are certainly qualities most citizens would look forward to receiving from the World Assembly Delegate, most work, relations, and negotiations that happen between regions are specifically contained within only and all parties directly involved unless otherwise agreed upon by said parties to release confidential information. That being said, upon reviewal of the lesser confidential responsibilities that do have some public disclosure, it could be implemented to announce when embassies are being officially opened or closed with other regions."

Bro Kinaba said:

"I will announce any and all embassies and treaties we are a part of and their stipulations, I suspect from the answers of my own question to the candidates even our delegate candidates don't know, apart from the obvious Mesothallania. I will make it so every citizen knows and can make opinions to me about a region."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"I believe that communication is important with both the people and mods and regional officials, so it's better that if we have decided a major descision, that we tell the people and not just make it behind the scenes I would also recommend making votes on major decisions or decisions that made mods have different opinions or decisions on it so we let the people choose the future of the region with us."

Vaspartama said:

"My biggest objective to improve communication and transparency is to include citizens in decision-making as much as possible. Some possible methods are soliciting citizens’ opinions on World Assembly legislation as much as possible through polling and communicating official decisions to Africa’s citizens as quickly and completely as possible. I also seek to bolster internal and external roleplay participation by working with the staff to establish a more fairly applicable ruleset for getting mapped."

"2. A leader is only as good as the people they choose to surround themselves with. If elected as Delegate, how would you shape your circle to run things? Are there any staff you would like to bring in and, in particular, who would you nominate as Vice Delegate? Why?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"As current Delegate, I am saddened to admit that my current choice for Vice-Delegate was the one decision I regret the most out of all in current Office. I chose Cobra Sahara as an olive branch to show that there can exist a bridge between the more traditional approach to the roleplay and the contemporary; however, it soon became apparent that despite the goodwill, there was a clear lack of judgement as Cobra Sahara immediately failed to perform select duties and responsibilities given to him. I am not at liberty to discuss further Cobra Sahara’s involvement or lack thereof within the Office of the Delegate, but it can be rest assured that I will not succumb to appointing a Vice-Delegate as a personal favor once again unless I feel it to be in Africa’s true best interest."

Bro Kinaba said:

"My circle is the mod team as it is, and I would want to solidify some staff's positions, and because as Delegate I will be an ambassador, I will stretch my long arm to bring new hopefully active war modders. And I nominate someone very close to me as Vice Delegate, but they wish to stay anonymous until I win. And why them? Because they are an amazing writer."

Navoj Dazpoly (Scandinavian Empire) said:

"Moderation and management of the region would be shaped by the ones who are elected in the Roleplay Council and the Moderation Team. The moderation team would be expanded for those who have the capabilities to moderate but not to do roleplay concerned matters like war modding or cartography.

I don't see anyone fit for roleplay positions as of now, but I believe that Roman Empire (belfast) and Indiaxxx could be a great fit for the moderation team.

Vice Delegate is something I would keep to myself."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"regarding the vice delegate if I got elected as delegate I'm still searching for good candidate that can actually help and is actually active. Even tho we have much differences and hate between candidates my main vice delegate candidates are either bro kniaba or Navoj Dazpoly. They seem fit for delegate or vice delegate keeping in mind they both are active and they both know much Of Africa I would also recommend lower Nubia and Transvall but from my perspective they seem busy enough with mapping or economics or other mods work."

Vaspartama said:

"I would nominate AE/Lunar Sands for Vice Delegate because I believe he has seen the same trends in the staff and the community that I have identified in my platform and wants the best for the region. He only lacks experience in the government, which is by no means a criticism. There is no particular group that I would favor because I believe Africa’s government should be impartial."

"3. What is your relationship with Executor Mombombu? How do you plan to work with them and the other members of the Council?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"I have known Executor Mombombu for half a decade now. We were there when Africa was raided in December 2019. We were there when Africa scrambled to reform from the AOR into the GARP. We were there when Africa reformed itself once again into what it is today. I already work with him and the rest of the Council, currently as World Assembly Delegate, [Non-War] Moderator, and Cartographer."

Bro Kinaba said:

"My relationship with Mombombu clearly, in my eyes is the best. Maybe I'm wrong because I'm not her but she did a lot for me for where I currently am, and I think that's for a reason. I plan to work with them as I currently do, at least more proactively, as I am one of only a few that talk to her about foreign policy."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"Although I did not have a good first impression with Mumbomobo, I have vowed that I will always be loyal to Africa. I will make everyone see that in terms of the good changes that will happen in Africa. If I am elected, I will work hard with the staff to make Africa one of the best continents. I know that if I am elected, no problems will arise with any individual in the continent. All the problems you see or insults to any member are just a joke and not that serious. I will work with members all over the sides and take their advice and ideas. Africa belongs to all of us and does not belong to one person only."

Vaspartama said:

"My relationship with Mombombu has always been friendly since at least 2020. I used to be on staff until several personal disputes this past year led to my termination. These have not affected our current, amiable relationship. I will work with Mombombu and the rest of the staff as I always have, being a bee in their ear with a perspective that they do not usually see, I have seen a lot more dissatisfaction and I can work with people who seek change, helping to make their voices heard to staff in a way that they will be ready to hear it."

"4. As you know embassies are the cornerstone (not to be confused with Waterstones bookshop) of our region’s diplomacy. What would be your position towards embassies as Delegate? Do you have any specific plans to establish embassies with any particular regions, would you loosen the criteria on embassies, and would you increase or decrease the scope of Africa's embassy participation?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"I will not be making promises regarding how many new embassies are to open or close as our embassy criteria is maintained while the world and other regions fluctuate. It is near impossible to dictate how one would proceed when there are too many factors that may dictate otherwise. I would maintain my current flow, work ethic, and direction, within the Office of the Delegate."

Bro Kinaba said:

"My position would be the same as USM; I just won't have to be pinged 50 times by Mombombu to respond or have Mombombu tell me 2 weeks in advance. At least I hope I'm following USM, because he should be following the official region's embassy policy. I plan to make an embassy with New West Conifer I think it's long overdue to make an embassy with such an active and pro-Africa region. I would probably decrease the scope for existing Embassies so we can place newer Embassies with more connected regions."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"As it's known embassies are one of my main campaigns, our embassies needs more overview whether to decrease them or increase them. My main goal is to abosuletly increase them with more, and when I say more, I mean more embassies. I would say the rule of having a real map is essential to make an embassy with a region isn't that important, I recommend that we change it to that it must be a relastic map not just a random (or tiny) map. This will help us increase our embassies."

Vaspartama said:

"If roleplay is the lifeblood of a region, then embassies are the arteries where different regions can build friendly networks of roleplayers with common interests and have fun together. I will default to Mombombu and staff on what embassies to establish, but I will constantly seek new regions with similar goals and roleplays to do events and activities with and work toward establishing constructive relationships that lead to embassies. I can confidently say that none of the other candidates have as integral a relationship with India as I do."

"5. How would you affirm the region's commitment to the RainDrop Pact as Delegate? Do you plan on proposing reforms to the Pact?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"Africa’s commitment to the RainDrop Pact and potential reforms put forth are systematically discussed within the Office of the Delegate. No more can be mentioned at this time due to confidential reasons."

Bro Kinaba said:

"I first wonder how many people know this as a defensive pact and not just an N-Day thing, can't wait to see that LOL. Anyway, I have a lot of ideas, yet sadly most of them are going to be finalized before anyone or I can become Delegate. But the key reform would be to have a bare minimum standing military of 5 nations to be allowed in."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"Regarding the RainDrop Pact even tho this was my first n-day it's was a disaster in my perspective. We need more nations as that the nations that are joining were most of them inactive. RainDrop Pact needs more regions in it. However I would say that this subject is a little complicated and I can't comment much in it however I will work more with mombombu and discuss it with other mods for a solution."

Vaspartama said:

"I have a very special relationship with Africa’s sister region in the RainDrop Pact, India, and will leverage this relationship to strengthen the RainDrop Pact and increase both military cohesiveness and cooperation on events like N-Day, Z-Day, and entertainment, such as movie nights."

"6. What experience in interregional affairs do you hope to bring to the table?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"My life experiences and skills in interregional affairs have all culminated to the current position that I hold: incumbent of Africa’s Office of the World Delegate."

Bro Kinaba said:

"While Scandinavia made fun of me being banned from the WA and Africa for a month, what throws someone more into the interregional spotlight than that? and come out better for it? Also, I keep an eye on every raindrop pact member I suspect more than anyone else, other than Mombombu."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"the experience of discussing and convincing, I would say that I have a good ability to Disscuss with people in serious matters. So I would say that having this experience will help in increasing our regional relations and embassies and even internal peace."

"7. Our region has recently seen a population boom, with more joining every day. What steps will you take to welcome new players and make things easier for arrival into Africa, if any?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"The Office of the Delegate does not concern itself with regular immigration issues, such as a population boom. That being said, I do personally long for the days when I would discuss one-on-one with newcomers their app in complete and making sure all details of their nation are in working order; I wish there was a moderator dedicated to that attention to details once more."

Bro Kinaba said:

"See if we can talk more about our RP in our recruitment telegram, maybe every month we could show our best RP off to other regions, I always consider RP to be a snowball rolling down the hill, the more the merrier."

Navoj Dazpoly (Scandinavian Empire) said:

"Every member that joins Africa gets an automated telegram message from Transvaall. It does a great job and introducing newbies to the nation, but I believe they could get a more run down explanation of how things can run in the region. For example, most of the time new nations may send OOC messages in the RMB. This shouldn't be berated but rather they should be taught this by the moderators, as they learn from their mistakes. They would be quickly integrated into the roleplay of Africa."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"I'm concerned in this matter even tho every nation is welcomed in Africa, I've saw many new nations who doesn't even read the rules and laws, I would say to avoid randoms of messgs in our rmb to welcome them with an explanation of rules and laws (I know Transvall have that) but i recommend to make the important rules sent to them as most of them will just avoid reading all that. So it's better to send the main rules at the beginning alongside with the other rules dispatch."

"8. Can you point to anything in particular that you criticise about the current government, and how you would improve on that front?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"Any criticisms I have towards the current government have already been put forth accordingly; they cannot be publicly stated at this time as they may potentially leak confidential information related to ongoing projects."

Bro Kinaba said:

"Inactivity, with the population boom we are having, we are not having an activity boom from the mod team, and no one in the region wishes to step up. Consider my answer also a request to citizens to vote for me so I can start seeking out some of you and see if your determination can keep up."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"our government is perfect, but the rule that it's not allowed to unmap a roleplay officer for inactivity (unless for important life threatening matters or unable to communicate) . Yes I know they work hard to make the game realistic (war mode, mapping, economics) but I recommend making the days longer for them instead of 30 to like 70 or 60 days even though I didn't see any officer who this inactive, this is to protect africa in the future from any corruption"

"9. How do you evaluate Africa's current border and immigration policy, particularly that of maintaining population levels? Are there any glaring failures, and if so what changes would you make?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"As Delegate, I can assuredly say that maintaining high population numbers is not the only concern for ourselves nor allied regions. The quality and shared history between/among us, them, and in between is also heavily taken into consideration."

Bro Kinaba said:

"More is better, and I suspect a plunge will happen if we do not keep the current things that make us appealing, all the previous actions should keep the population at least stable if not growing. And we should be harsher about alts where alts shouldn't be, if you're reading this and think I'm going to ban all alts, no, read the rules because some people don't follow these and that's what I'm saying."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"I wouldn't say that there's a problem in our immigrants policy, but it's just random nations deciding to be in Africa and then just be inactive. I would recommend removing nations who has been inactive for a fixed amount of days."

"10. Finally, some Africans feel this election cycle has been overly negative. What’s something you respect about your opponents?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"I would not place this election cycle as being negative in and of itself. I would reform that statement in saying that the approach many candidates are taking within this election cycle is duly disrespectful, abrasive, and outright undiplomatic, therefore personally believing most other candidates are not currently suited to run. That being said, despite having what I feel to be extremely confrontational approaches, I do appreciate that many feel like they have constructive criticism to bring and with to implement. Personally, though, as current Delegate, I do believe that such constructive criticisms should be put forth throughout any Delegate’s run rather than whenever election cycles come around."

Bro Kinaba said:

"I think with a growing population once one person gets rude everyone gets rude, I heard even some people say stop the elections, but then USM would win by default and who would like that?"

Navoj Dazpoly (Scandinavian Empire) said:

"Of course in a political campaign, negative comments will always be passed around. So this is what I respect about my fellow WAD candidates.

Bro Kinaba is a very decorated roleplayer in Africa, and her roleplay is often very detailed and specific to the gram. As she is currently in a position of moderation, she is very fit for this role.

Lunar sand: Roleplay is also detailed, very active within the community.

USM is a great contributor towards the community, of course when he was active he did a lot of things for the good of Africa."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"I actually got no serious hate with my opponents to begin with

bro kniaba - I just wanna make him mad (cause I want to) it's all jokes and got no serious hate with him, he is actually a good candidate he is an active candidate which is good he is a part of the government which makes it better , he is kinda funny which is another point.

Navoj Dazpoly - he is a good candidate too he is also active he knows much of African rules which is good."

Candidates were asked by Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire):

"1. Most campaigns are just looking into foreign relations, what about internal matters? How do you think you would fix this and help in the community?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"The Office of the World Assembly Delegate does not overtly concern itself with internal affairs unless it falls within the purview and responsibilities of the role itself. For that, a dedicated moderator would be needed; those powers are currently delegated amongst the current moderating team. Any person campaigning for the Office of the Delegate looking to involve themselves in this aspect does not understand what the role entails and therefore is not currently fitting of it until they learn and understand otherwise."

Bro Kinaba said:

"Thanks to UNPRETENTIOUS, STABLE, MASTERFUL more so Under, Selling, Massively the entire region, we are led to expect that the Delegate cannot do internal actions, does anything stop you USM? No? That's what I think, I can do internal after I'm done external. And because I treat this as my hobby, I think there's a good chance I will have a lot more time for internal than the other candidates."

Lunar sand (Aurarian Empire) said:

"iknow that delegate role is mainly about foreign relations but that's the main problem we are crictizing about our current delegate(no offence) working behind the scenes is not enough, you need to be active and helpful with the people and even to roleplay with your nation also. U need to suggest ideas help new or old nations in their questions, and contribute in the community."

Vaspartama said:

"My campaign platform deals in depth with my vision of internal matters, and I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but there is a disconnect between staff and roleplayers that I would like to mend for the good of the region I love. I don’t want to promise things I can’t deliver on, but as a staff member once more, I will bring up the issues with impartiality, insularity, and effectiveness that have spawned numerous complaints over the current iteration of Africa’s roleplay. That said, issues aside, Africa’s roleplay is still some of the best roleplay on NationStates (but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve)."

Candidates were asked by Bro Kinaba:

"1. To what extent are you aware of Africa's procedures? Can you list Africa's security obligations and the regions that are a part of them, or the requirement for running as a Delegate according to the Constitution?"

Mesothallania (USM, Current Delegate) said:

"As a long-time moderator and current World Assembly Delegate, I would say I am well-acquainted with Africa’s procedures. All relevant information regarding security obligations, election requirements, etc. can be found via the NS Africa factbooks and dispatches, as well as sometimes on Discord; further elaboration can be asked from a current member of the Government with the proper knowledge on the question at hand."

Navoj Dazpoly (Scandinavian Empire) said:

"The duties of a delegate are to

• Maintain foreign relations with regions of the RainDrop pact and beyond

• Maintain internal matters inside the region and make sure everything runs smoothly

• Maintain friendly and efficient moderation inside the region

• Participate in WA votes and campaigns

But DO NOT include

• Maintaining daily roleplay (this should be a practice by all citizens)

The requirements to be a delegate are not strict, for any nation can run as long they are a citizen of Africa."

Vaspartama said:

"I am INTIMATELY aware of Africa’s procedures, having been the only one besides Cosmic Traveler/Mesothallania who served on the staff as an admin. I hate bureaucracy and red tape, though I know they’re self-sustaining and constantly growing, but I’ll humour this question on merit. Here is the exact verbiage of the Constitution:

The Electoral Branch is the WA Delegate, Interim Delegate, and Vice-Delegate. They are elected every 6 months by the people of Africa. The Electoral Branch is made up of the following:

• WA Delegate: Delegate responsible for representing the region at the WA. As an elected representative, it is an equal member of the government and checks on the Founder. Endorsement of the Delegate by WA nations is mandatory.

• a. World Assembly, Executive, Appearance, Border Control, Communications, Embassies, and Polls.

• Interim Delegate: Role provided, and maintained, by the founder only while the winning candidate after the Delegate Election waits to accrue enough endorsements to become the World Assembly Delegate.

• a. Appearance, Border Control, Communications, Embassies, and Polls.

• Vice-Delegate: appointed to an existing Officer of the executive branch. Ancillary to the WA Delegate and is thus responsible for collaboration with the WA Delegate and general administrative affairs to the region.

• a. Appearance, Border Control, Communications, Embassies, and Polls

• Elections for WA Delegate (1) shall be held every 6 months for 5 days and will be held between (2) any number of (3) eligible candidates and be decided by (4) eligible voters.

• Elections shall be held every 6 months. The dates for the elections shall be April 1-5 and October 1-5.

• Any number of candidates may run. There is no limit to how many people may run for office.

• The election shall be held between eligible candidates. To be eligible, a candidate must be a WA member and a citizen who has been in the region for a minimum of 6 months.

• Only eligible voters may vote in the election. Any citizen may vote in the election.

Here’s what I understand from it. Every six months (hopefully, this has not been strictly enforced and likely won’t be), citizens who are WA members and in the region for at least six months can run for WA Delegate and be voted in by eligible voters. The precedent has determined that candidates only need to join the WA after being elected as was the case with both the Sovereign State of Khalistan and Indonesia. Therefore, you only have to be a citizen for 6 months to run, and I have been in the region since 2020. As for the embassy regions, the list is long and exhaustive, but they include a core of descendants of the Assembly of Regions that Africa was a core member of, especially India and formerly Alcris, as well as other regions with similar ideals and roleplay models. Africa’s security obligations under the Raindrop Pact are defined in the Pact’s charter and include mutual defense against raiders who attack any constituent region."