Akashian general election, 2010

Akashian general election, 2010

26 June 2010
400 seats in the National Assembly 201 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	90,2%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Kōko Kaga Rise Takashima Hiroshi Sone Party SP CP MPP Last election 32 seats 7,7% PR 8,5% STV 48 seats 12,4% PR 11,0% STV 122 seats 27,1% PR 25,8% STV Seats won 210 50 36 Seat change 178 2 86 PR vote 2.953.606 1.120.855 802.775 % and swing 39,0% 31,3% 14,8% 2,4% 19,6% 16,5% STV vote 3.233.400 888.046 781.784 % and swing 42,6% 34,3% 11,7% 0,7% 10,3% 15,5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Yumi Morino Kazunori Takata Liana Ferrari Party FP GP URP Last election 20 seats 6,2% PR 7,8% STV 26 seats 6,5% PR 8,0% STV 121 seats 26,9% PR 25,4% STV Seats won 27 25 21 Seat change 7 1 100 PR vote 643.735 583.148 568.001 % and swing 8,5% 2,3% 7,7% 1,2% 7,5% 19,4% STV vote 622.391 599.621 561.670 % and swing 8,2% 0,4% 7,9% 0,1% 7,4% 18,0%
Most voted party by province
Prime Minister before election Anna Carbone MPP Prime Minister after election Kōko Kaga SP

A general election was held in Akashi on 26 June 2010. Kōko Kaga led the Socialist Party to a landslide victory, winning the first single-party majority since 1970. It was the second election nicknamed the "red wave" (Miranian: 赤い波 akai nami) after 1990.

Having been humiliated four years before and facing poor opinion polls, the Socialists elected Kōko leader only a month before the election. This proved to be a masterstroke: Kōko's youth and charisma helped drive a surge in the party's popularity. She enjoyed high-profile support from young voters and the entertainment industry, an overlap dubbed "Scandal voters".

"Kōkomania" caught the centre-right incuments on the wrong foot. The Moderate People's Party's new leader Hiroshi Sone proved less appealing than the retiring Anna Carbone. Liana Ferrari suffered especially badly, forced on the defensive after four years of setting herself up as the next Prime Minister and believing Akashi's electorate now had a "permanent centre-right majority".

While frustrated by the Socialist surge overshadowing her campaign, Communist Party leader Rise Takashima cannily responded to the transformed campaign by urging voters to launch "a new leftist decade". She concentrated her fire on the conservative parties, playing down the Communist–Socialist rivalry.

Results

General election, 26 June 2010
Party		Party list			Constituency			Total seats	+/-
		PR	%	+/−	STV	%	+/−
	Socialist Party	2.953.606	39,0%	+31,3%	3.233.400	42,6%	+34,3%	210	+178
	Communist Party	1.120.855	14,8%	+2,4%	888.046	11,7%	+0,7%	50	+2
	Moderate People's Party	802.775	10,6%	-16,5%	781.784	10,3%	-15,5%	36	-86
	Future Party	643.735	8,5%	+2,3%	622.391	8,2%	+0,4%	27	+7
	Green Party	583.148	7,7%	+1,2%	599.621	7,9%	-0,1%	25	-1
	United Reform Party	568.001	7,5%	-19,4%	561.670	7,4%	-18,0%	21	-100
	National Cooperative Party	492.268	6,5%	+0,9%	508.539	6,7%	+0,5%	20	-1
	National Union	136.320	1,8%	-0,4%	151.803	2,0%	-0,5%	5	±0
	Conservative National Party	90.880	1,2%	-0,7%	53.131	0,7%	-0,8%	0	±0
	Akashi Renewal Party	83.307	1,1%	-0,7%	60.721	0,8%	-0,8%	0	±0
	Independents	98.454	1,3%	-0,4%	129.032	1,7%	-0,2%	6	+1
Total		7.573.348	100%	—	7.590.140	100%	—	400	—
Registered voters and turnout		8.396.173	90,2%	—	8.396.173	90,4%

Bloc strength
Bloc	Parties	Seats
Crimson bloc	CP, GP	75
Pale crimson bloc	SP, NU	215
Light yellow bloc	NCP, FP	47
Light blue bloc	MPP, URP	57
Dark blue bloc	CNP, ARP	0

• Government: Socialist Party majority.

The SP surpassed all expectations and won a single-party majority for the first time since 1970. They gained swings of over 30% of the vote and swept all provinces, managing to finish first even in communist-leaning Kobi and conservative-leaning Takao.

Most of the leftist gains came at the expense of the conservatives. The MPP lost 15–16% of the vote and 86 seats, falling to third place for the first time in its existence. The centre-left voters Liana had managed to woo in 2006 deserted the URP, which suffered a greater defeat, losing 18–19% of its vote and 100 seats. Liana had mistaken a temporary victory caused by previous SP turmoil for a permanent realignment.

The smaller parties emerged comparatively unscathed by the left–right competition. The CP gained 2 seats, making it the official opposition. The FP gained 7 seats, a notably good result for leader Yumi Morino amid the excitement of "Kōkomania". The GP and NCP both lost one seat.

Kōko formed a single-party SP government, and took advantage of its majority to quickly pass flagship reforms for its "21st century socialism" program, which included constitutional amendments approved by referendum the next year.