Carmen Robinson Will NOT Challenge Exile Decision

Carmen Robinson, the first former Councillor of Kerlile to be stripped of her position rather than executed, has announced that she will not be contesting the decision to exile her to Zongongia.

She told the Zongongian Post: “I do not wish to return to Kerlile, nor do I intend to appeal or otherwise challenge their choice to remove my family from the Council of Kerlile. The Council is an illegitimate organisation which should not have existed in any form since at least the end of the 1930s. Any attempt by myself to regain my Council seat would be a tacit endorsement of the body itself; and for that reason I will not do so, now or ever.”

Robinson, who spent a year in prison in Kerlile for treason, was allowed to leave the country in May this year to join her daughters, who had earlier fled to Zongongia before her arrest. This came as a shock to many, as traditionally when a Councillor has been ousted from the Council it has come at the cost of her life and her replacement by her firstborn daughter. Instead, the entire Robinson family has been deprived of their seat on the Council, which is thought to be a first.

There is no provision in the published Kerlian Constitution to allow this to happen, however it has long been rumoured that there is a “secret passage” in the secretive Matriarchy’s constitution that pertains to governance rules for the Council of Kerlile itself. Most legal documents pertaining to the Council remain fully classified, though there have been numerous leaks throughout the years. It is often difficult to tell what is a true leaked document versus a fabrication however, as Kerlile will rarely confirm one way or the other.

Many expected Robinson to challenge the decision and attempt to re-take her family seat; there was even speculation that it could lead to a civil war in Kerlile. However, with this announcement it is clear that this isn’t going to happen. This will be a relief to those weary of conflict; however it strikes a clear blow to the Reformist movement in the Matriarchy, who relied on Robinson as their foremost public champion and a key vote to pass their policies.

Robinson’s dismissal of the Council as an “illegitimate organisation”, however, is likely to send shockwaves throughout the Matriarchy and the wider world. It will be the first time a current or former member of that body openly and explicitly criticised its existence. While the Council has had internal policy disputes throughout the lifetime of the Matriarchy, until now members of the Council Families, the class of quasi-nobility that rules Kerlile, have never called for its abolition.

Whether this is a sign that Kerlile will remain in peace for longer, or the hallmark of a shift among the Kerlian opposition from gradual reform towards advocating for overnight change, remains to be seen.