Vaule Municipal Elections

[Imperator Azenquor]

[b][u]VNN News: Vaule holds local government elections[/u][/b]


[i]“For several previous decades, elections to local city councils and provincial administrations took place on an irregular basis with different provinces electing their local officials at different times. Additionally, the Mayors of towns and cities and the Governors of the various provinces were previously appointed by the Prime Minister. Additionally, an age old law placed severe restrictions on national level political parties running or financing municipal candidates. As a result, there has never been significant attention paid to local or municipal elections in the country until now.

In an attempt to standardize the municipal elections process, and to increase the number of competitive local election races the Parliament approved the Municipal Elections Act (2009) which entered into force this year. Under the new act, all municipal and local elections will take place every three (3) years and all municipal positions, including mayoral candidates, will be directly elected by the populace. The Municipal Elections Act has also lifted the restrictions on political parties being able to field candidates, however campaign finance restrictions remain in place. Under the finance restrictions, candidates may only be given a maximum of B$3,500 by their political parties.

In this election cycle, candidates from four main political groups are vying for office across the country. In total, there are 5,800 seats in 151 city and municipal councils and 150 mayoral or gubernatorial posts. The City of Zhukovgrad is an unusual case as it is the only city in the nation that does not have a mayor. The city is instead run by the City Council with a rotating Chairmanship.

In other news, the Vaulian Blue Guard, the newly formed right-wing student organization and the S.V.A.R.Y. organization have both staged a surprise foray into politics by entering candidates in the municipal elections. These candidates will take on two established political parties: the Party for Social Justice (PSJ) and the Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF). Voting is expected to begin tomorrow morning, and the initial results should be announced by 8:00pm tomorrow evening.”[/i]

[iamthey]

"Avalon wishes vaule well in its electoral execution, and extends morale support to whomever ultimately prevails." - Michael Atrevier, Councilor Superior of Avalon

[Imperator Azenquor]

[b][u]VNN News: Embarrassing defeat for PSJ in Municipal polls[/b][/u]


[i]“It appears that the Prime Minister’s gamble with holding the municipal elections early has backfired spectacularly. In what should have been a walkover for the well-established Party for Social Justice (PSJ), the Vaulian Blue Guard staged a major upset and routed the PSJ in several municipalities. According to the Office of the Prime Minister, the Party for Social Justice (PSJ) failed to grasp the extent of public dissatisfaction with their performance nationally, and severely underestimated the organizational capabilities of the Vaulian Blue Guard. This, the spokesman claims, resulted in a poorly organized municipal campaign in which several PSJ candidates did little or no campaigning.

When the dust settled, the Vaulian Blue Guard National Front (BG-N) won a total of 3,124 Municipal seats (out of a total of 5800) and seized control of 82 Regional Councils (out of 151). The Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) won the second largest share of the vote, while the governing Party for Social Justice (PSJ) was left in third. On the gubernatorial front, the Blue Guard won 80 mayoral races (out of 150). In what is seen as an even worse embarrassment for the government, the Sygh-Varthys city council is now under the control of the S.V.A.R.Y. People’s Front.

In light of the disappointing election results, the PSJ has begun a sustained damage control campaign. Prime Minister Svatek has sought to distance himself from the electoral debacle and has praised the municipal election as ‘advancing democracy and strengthening accountability in local government’. The Opposition Union of Patriotic Right Forces (PRF) has called the municipal election result ‘a stunning indictment of the government and it’s policies’ and has called on Prime Minister Svatek to ‘take the hint and resign to make way for a government that can better serve the nation’.

The Blue Guard National Front has celebrated its shock victory and has portrayed it as the first step towards taking the reigns of power in the nation. The Blue Guard has also sought to downplay fears of a confrontation between the national and local administrations by suggesting that ‘both the national government and the local governing authorities function according to the Constitution and have clearly defined duties and responsibilities’.”[/i]-R. Porter