On 24 June 2023 (7 Leo 0007 in the Asgardia calendar) Dr Igor Ashurbeyli welcomed newly elected Members of Parliament at the first digital sitting of the second Asgardia Parliament.
It is my pleasure to welcome you personally! Five years ago to date, I was standing on stage in Vienna addressing the first ever in human history Parliamentarians of the digital space nation Asgardia. At that moment, we were at the very beginning of a new unexplored path, and we could only imagine the outlines of what we were to accomplish together, what we had to achieve, what we had to learn, what to overcome, and what to strive for.
And now, in line with the Constitution of Asgardia, the time has come for the First Asgardian Parliament to lay down its powers, and for the Second Asgardian Parliament to commence its work.
I would like to express my gratitude to all the members of the first Parliament for the great work they have done over the past five years. A total of 180 people have been members of Parliament during this period. Some of them moved on to work for the Government and my Administration, some left the Parliament due to various personal circumstances, and several people were expelled by a decision of the Asgardian Supreme Court. New members have been re-elected to fill the vacancies.
Gathered here today are those to whom residents of Asgardia have given their votes, to whom they have entrusted the further building of the legislative framework of our nation, which is destined to be the future of all of humanity. For the future of humanity lies far beyond the confines of planet Earth - it is in the universe.
I extend my sincere congratulations to all of you on your assumption of office.
There were a total of 247 applications submitted for the election; 16 candidates were rejected on the basis of document verification, two withdrew on their own, one was rejected by the Court, and one of our colleagues, sadly, passed away. A total of 227 candidates were allowed to stand for election.
In line with the Asgardian Constitution, you are the 150 people with the most votes today. It is good to see many familiar faces - people who have been at the forefront of parliamentarianism of the first space nation in the history of humankind since 2018.
You have decided to continue your service to humanity, to devote your time, strength, intellectual power and energy to further develop Asgardia. Your dedication and willingness to share your experience with the new members of Parliament is worthy of respect and admiration.
Eighty members (53.3 percent) of the first Parliament qualified for the second Parliament which is a serious renewal of membership and demonstrates the presence of real democratic processes in Asgardia. A total of 70 new members (46.7 percent) have joined the second Parliament and it is a special pleasure to welcome these new members.
In accordance with the wishes of Asgardians, last year during the work on amending the Asgardian Constitution, it was proposed and overwhelmingly approved to remove the age limit for Asgardian civil servants in any positions; in particular, the previously existing age threshold of 40 years for membership in Parliament was lifted.
The future of humanity lies far beyond the confines of planet Earth - it is in the universe
I am glad to mention that this decision has already paid off. The Parliament was enriched with the new young people from various countries, and became ‘younger’ in its average age, going down from 58 in the first Parliament to 48 in the new one. I am sure that the combination of experience and wisdom with the energy and enthusiasm of the young will bring additional fresh blood to the already established habits and traditions.
The broader geographic representation of Asgardians living in the countries of planet Earth is also a testimony to that. There were 33 countries in the first Parliament and there are 49 in the current one – 16 more countries are represented. This is not essential, since Asgardia sees no earthly boundaries or states; it rather shows the growing influence of Asgardians on Earth. We are already over 1.1 million people living in over 200 countries.
The Constitution of Asgardia defines the structure of our Nation as a classical democratic system with three independent branches of power. As members of the Asgardian Parliament - the independent legislative branch - you are responsible for the development, discussion and adoption of Asgardian laws which are necessary for the continuous development of its economy, industry, further establishment of the governance system and development of governmental institutions, for engagement in international activities, and for interaction and collaboration with the countries of planet Earth.
On the basis of the Asgardian Constitution and 11 already adopted Acts, which you need to get acquainted with, as well as guided by the ‘Act on Acts’ regulating the activity of the Asgardian Parliament, you will have to continue your laborious efforts on the detailed development of further legislative acts. I encourage you to focus on the agreed priorities already in order to take our nation’s legislative framework to the next level in the next five years - your upcoming term in the Asgardian Parliament.
The third independent branch of power, the Asgardian Court, continues its work, since the term of office of the four Asgardian Justices is unrelated to the term of the Parliament. As for the Supreme Justice of the Asgardian Supreme Court, as I did exactly five years ago, I have just signed a Decree appointing Mr Yun Zhao to this position. I would like to thank him for his service to Asgardia in the course of the past five years and to wish him continued fruitful service.
In conclusion, I would like to say that I expect each of you to participate personally not only in law-making, but also in bringing the ideas of Asgardia to the people of your countries of residence. Expanding the circle of Asgardians and residents is also your responsibility.
You should lead the Asgardian representative offices in your Earth countries and cities. Please involve those candidates who did not make it to Parliament, but who can head regional and city representative offices.
Finally, we need to start collaborating with the parliaments of planet Earth’s countries and make every effort to gain international recognition of Asgardia as an independent state.
Yet, in all the multifaceted activities of all three branches of power, not for a moment should we forget the primary mission of Asgardia - the birth of the first human child in space to ensure the eternal existence of humankind in the universe.
I wish you a fruitful and constructive work in the Second Asgardian Parliament.
We are one humanity, one unity!
