Vote!

[iamthey]

The Citadel will be holding its first Parliamentary election over the next few weeks; MP's will serve a maximum of ten years before being up for re-election; however an election could occur previous to that. All citizens of legal age are urged to turn out and help in deciding who will represent their respective barony in Parliament. Despite attempts by independents, the three major parties are expected to garner the majority of seats.

Party Descriptions

Democratic Socialist Party: The DSP is a highly regimented and well organized party laying claim to a sizable portion of popular support, and expending a fairly large turnout in their favor. The DSP supports leftist policies with respect for the economy seeking to end the third way economics of the Nationalists through the abolishment of charter enterprise, and the full scale nationalization of existing industry. Beyond economics key social goals are the curtailing or elimination of the aristocracy, and the longterm weakening of royal power and prerogative, seeking above all that the position of High Magistrate be legally tied the working majority in parliament. Foreign policy wise they are pro-intervention and are referred to by critics as "nice imperialists".

Pacifican Nationalist Party: The PNP is generally regard as the present ruling party, its founder and director Thomas Devereaux is expected to be Appointed High Magistrate by the King, and by association made Speaker of Parliament. The Nationalists are moreover credited for resolving the charter crisis during which the socialists, and the conservatives threatened to nullify the weeks of effort put in by the Charter delegations. It touts pragmatism, administrative expertise as the core aspects of its platform often accompanied by the paradoxical phrase "Our plan is to govern". Rhetorically and by in large on a substantive level the Nationalists attempt to transcend ideological labels and boundaries breaking with both the right and the left and drawing from both what they perceive as their strengths. Economically their third way policies of royally chartered monopolies, and the central planning of neo-mercantilism have brought a fair amount of success to the economy. Overall the PNP seeks to simply build on the status quo.

Aotearoan Conservative Party: The ACP is a traditional conservative party built upon the theories of classical liberalism. The Conservatives themselves are supportive of a capitalist free market system, and a minimalist government. They seek to eliminate the authority of the aristocracy, and the monarchy alike and instead move towards a more independent parliament with a figurehead Monarch. Foreign policy wise the Conservatives are isolationist and seek to contain the Citadel's obligations to its geographical area they also tend to be far more idealistic and principled while the Socialists and Nationalists alike tend to be more pragmatic.

Edited November 1, 2009 by iamthey

[JEDCJT]

"Being a nonpartisan state, we do not officially endorse any political parties, though we do wish them and their candidates well."

[TheStig]

"I wish the conservatives all the best."

[iamthey]

Election Update:

The Conservatives have taken an early lead, at one point capturing a majority of exit polls, as the largest party in the Nation such was expected. The real question in this race is who will make up the largest secondary party; the DSP has fallen behind in the race with a clear favorability given to the Nationalists. This comes to the surprise of many pundits and analysts as the DSP is the second largest party in the Citadel. In response many political scientists point to the make up the Nationalists indicating that they have a clear funding advantage encompassing the entire aristocracy and much if not all of the upper class non-nobility. Thus they would have been far more capable of getting their own message out and building a support base out of the populous. Others have also pointed out that it may not be due to any monetary advantage, but simply that anyone satisfied with the job of the King, and the status quo will likely stick with the stability of the present rather than jump to either the right or left wing camps.

More updates will be delivered as the election continues.

Edited October 31, 2009 by iamthey

[Biohazard]

Furon endorses the Nationalists, but wishes the other parties luck in the election.

[Jordosaur94]

We hope that the Conservatives will win in these elections, but we wish the other parties good luck in the run.

[Ned the Great]

President Ned of Nedland has endorsed the Conservatives in this election, although he finds their choice of name ironic considering that they want to end the power of the aristocracy.

[iamthey]

President Ned of Nedland has endorsed the Conservatives in this election, although he finds their choice of name ironic considering that they want to end the power of the aristocracy.

"Albeit the term "conservative" can refer to a subset of political values that above all focus on preserving the present; the more modern conception of the term generally refers to the preservation of enlightenment ideology and rationalism. By contrast liberal ideologies tend to draw their influences from the post-enlightenment era namely from people such as Nietzche, Sorel, Satre, Heidegger, and those they influenced. In this case the order they wish to preserve is the order seated in the enlightenment. Also they don't wish to abolish the aristocracy, or the monarchy; they respect both as social institutions, they simply wish for both to relinquish their control over the economy and the executive. Also the term is kind of propaganda ridden as they wished to distinguish themselves from the left wing DSP, and the centrist PNP." - Victoria Blake (PH.D), Wellington Royal Society

Edited November 1, 2009 by iamthey

[Jerahoam]

"We wish the nationalists the best of luck in this election."

[iamthey]

Polls Closed - Final Election Results

Final election results; despite original expectations, and an initial lead by the conservatives the Nationalists ended the race with a 52% Majority of the 500 Parliamentary seats, an astounding 260 seats. Nearly 100% of seats in Aotearoa proper went to the Pacifican Nationalist Party which exception to the seats in christchurch, a stronghold of the ACP. The averaged popular vote of wellington's baronies was 95% in favor of the PNP.

In a more distant second the ACP captured only 32% of the nation's baronies taking only 160 of the 500 seats. Most of their victories came in the pacific isles portion of the nation (as well as Christchurch). Despite their defeat after a very hopeful campaign the conservatives are surprisingly satisfied with the results accepting the legitimacy of their defeat.

And in a very distant last the DSP captured only 16% of the electoral seats far from what they originally hoped to capture. In total they amassed only 80 of the 500 seats. Due to the totality of their defeat many of the DSP leaders are taking the loss as the nation's rejection of their values and ideology. One Nationalist pundit said, "Other than a few rhetorical differences the over all results and agenda of the PNP, and the DSP alike are fairly similar. The main difference is that the PNP is a very pragmatic party while the DSP is a more idealistic one. I would attribute the defeat of the DSP to the nation's clear preference for a more pragmatic outlook on the people's work". There have been rumors that the DSP intends to assimilate into the PNP and grant their seats to the PNP.

Nonetheless a working majority has already been established by the election, and the MP's are expected to take their seats tomorrow.

Edited November 2, 2009 by iamthey