Akashian Constituent Assembly election, 1940

Akashian Constituent Assembly election, 1940

6 April 1940
122 of 245 seats in the Constituent Assembly
Turnout	82,1%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Yurika Ehara Kozue Yajima Hideaki Gotō Party NU SP LP Seats won 60 27 13 Popular vote 786.114 356.131 169.039 Percentage 47,9% 21,7% 10,3%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Sōichirō Aki Naganori Ōshiro Masayuki Mikami Party AP CNP CP Seats won 10 5 4 Popular vote 137.857 85.504 57.276 Percentage 8,4% 5,2% 3,5%
Prime Minister before election Yurika Ehara NU Prime Minister after election Yurika Ehara NU

Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in Akashi on 6 April 1940. Half of the Assembly was elected through party-list proportional representation in a nationwide district, while the other half were independent delegates chosen through single non-transferable voting.

Background

The Constituent Assembly (Miranian: 憲法議会 Kenpō gikai; Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌰ᚴ𐌾𐍉𐌼𐌹𐍄𐍉𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐌲𐌰𐌵𐌿𐌼𐌸𐍃 Alakjōmitōneis gaqumþs) was convened by Yurika Ehara after the Akashian Civil War to write a new constitution.

A decree regulating the electoral procedure and powers of the Constituent Assembly was issued in March 1940, and the election scheduled for next month. The decree specified one deputy per 10.000 inhabitants, leading to a total of 245 seats.

There was an emphasis on preventing parties from monopolising the constitutional drafting process, to avoid the issues that had caused the civil war. As a result, voters had two votes: one for party lists, and one for independent delegates. The independent delegates included well-known Akashian civic figures, such as university professors, public intellectuals, activists, journalists, and writers.

Quotas were instituted to ensure half the Assembly's members would be women, while Goths were reserved 20% of seats — double their share as a percentage of the population.

Results

Constituent Assembly election, 6 April 1940
Party		Votes	%	Seats
	National Union	786.114	47,9%	60
	Socialist Party	356.131	21,7%	27
	Liberal Party	169.039	10,3%	13
	Agrarian Party	137.857	8,4%	10
	Conservative National Party	85.504	5,2%	5
	Communist Party	57.276	3,5%	4
	Social Credit Party	49.235	3,0%	3
	Independents	N/A	N/A	123
Total		1.641.157	100%	245
Registered voters and turnout		1.998.973	82,1%

Aftermath

The Assembly presented a draft of the constitution in October, which was approved by voters in a referendum. Notable provisions included:

• Creation of a presidential system, with the President directly elected by voters
• Creation of a National Assembly, elected through nationwide proportional representation
• Replacing previous administrative divisions with provinces and prefectures
• Declaring Akashi a state founded on popular sovereignty and "the union of Miranians and Goths"
• Declaring Akashi's national resources public property

Supplementary presidential and provincial elections were held in the last months of 1940, before the constitution came into force on 1 January 1941. The Constituent Assembly sat for another year, handling other aspects of state reorganisation, before a general election was called in 1942.