So Minea was nice enough to post this for us =D

http://tera-forums.enmasse.com/forums/news-announcements/topics/Upcoming-Political-System-Get-Ready

Get ready for it—TERA’s first vanarch elections will be coming up just a few weeks after launch. Every one of TERA’s active provinces will need a vanarch, and by then we should have a healthy pool of high-level players and active guilds eager to compete for the honor and power of the vanarchy. We want this first election to be fun, competitive, and highly meaningful to the participants and the voters.

If you think you have what it takes to be the people’s choice, you’ll have a week from the election announcement to mount your campaign and convince voters to throw their support behind you and not that other candidate.

Even if you don’t plan to run for office, you’ll still get to choose your world’s leaders with your vote, so you might want to know something about the process.

What’s a vanarch?

Vanarchs rule over the provinces of TERA’s world, and determine taxes and other policies within their provinces. One vanarch oversees each province for a period of one month until the next election.

Who can run?

At present, a candidate for vanarch must be at least level 50 and the leader of a level 3 guild with at least 20 members. To raise the level of your guild, earn Catharnach awards by doing guild quests. You’ll need 70 Catharnach awards to raise a guild to level 3.

Each candidate will declare for a particular province, provide a statement of candidacy, and pay a registration fee of 100 Catharnach awards and 3,000 gold. All candidates will need to register before the election deadline, which we will announce prominently on the website and in game.

Who can vote?

Vanarchs are elected by popular vote. Any character of level 20 or higher is eligible to vote, but your account is limited to one vote per server.

Which provinces will have vanarchs?

We currently have 15 active provinces including the Island of Dawn.

How can I campaign for vanarch?
 

• Get noticed for your helpfulness.
  
  Get yourself known as a helpful, courteous player. The election is decided by popular vote, so the more people associate your name with good experiences, the more likely they are to think kindly of you when the election rolls around.
   
• Establish a good guild reputation.
  
  If your guild is known for friendliness and helpfulness, you’ll gain reputation just by being its leader. If you communicate clearly what your guild stands for, voters will feel like they have a good reason to give you their votes.
   
• Use the Interwebs.
  
  Campaign on your guild’s website or social media accounts to get your campaign in front of the voters. Don’t use your personal accounts—remember, no personal information allowed!
   
• Spill some blood!
  
  Host a deathmatch or tournament to create excitement and spread the word about you and your guild. The more voters are familiar with you, the more votes you’re likely to get.
   
• Get your guild involved!
  
  All your guild members should be completely committed to winning the election. They’ll need to amass gold and Catharnach awards, campaign for you, and support your candidacy with their time and energy.
   
• But I still have more questions!
  
  We know you do, and we’ll answer them on the politics page of the TERA Game Guide, which is coming to the TERA website very soon.
  
  As we write this, TERA’s political system is still new and growing. We’re committed to making it even better, so some details may change over time.

Originally posted by rexzshadow
Dibs on vanarch for island of dawn and turn on pvp =X

 No you can't has noob pwnage!

Originally posted by Azmodai
This is going to be amazing xD, Does anyone know how many Providances will be Decided through PVP? I remember someon mentioning that the 2 most important Providances will be based on PVP, not sure though.

We don't know because we don't have battlefield yet so as of now its only just voting. Also there are like 20 is provience total? so they only releasing 15 as of now so i g uess 5 more for pvp? Idk we have to wait and see.

Originally posted by Deron_Barak

Originally posted by rexzshadow
Dibs on vanarch for island of dawn and turn on pvp =X

 No you can't has noob pwnage!

Originally posted by Deron_Barak
@Rex

LOL, it would be kind of funny to see which classes are stronger with their first two abilities. A high level rolls in to be mobbed by 50 level 2's hehe

still die coz of the endless stagger from all the attacks lol

There seems to be some questions or confusion about what is actually in the NA launch version of the political system in TERA.  Rex's OP tells about the forum post by Minea(EME) and this is a section of the game guide:

Playing the Politics Game

After level 50, a new kind of prestige opens up for TERA players: the honor of becoming a vanarch and running a province for the Valkyon Federation. This part of the game is not for everyone, and it's certainly not a casual commitment. Vanarch candidates must first prove themselves as a guild leader, and will then need to campaign across the server in periodic elections to garner enough votes to reach office.

Once there, though, vanarchs have the power to set and collect taxes on transactions, add (or remove) features and services in their provinces, and even enjoy a few personal perks. And it's not just the vanarch that benefits from the process—the vanarch's entire guild gains access to special quests and cool mounts.

http://tera.enmasse.com/game-guide/endgame/#politics

We know part of the "features and services" is the specialty shops but other than that we'll have to wait and see.

Originally posted by rexzshadow
Dibs on vanarch for island of dawn and turn on pvp =X

LOL that would be epic hahahahahahaha