Midrasian consular election, 2017

Midrasian consular election, 2017

14 September 2017
Turnout	68,186,043 (66.2%)
<imgur w="150">YpZ0JYy.png</imgur> File:MDRUDA.png Nominee Melcion Portas Lucatiel Lorett Party Reform Bloc Chartist Bloc Popular vote 36,888,649 30,150,652 Percentage 54.1% 45.9%
Consul before election Charles Vauban Social Democratic Party (Midrasia) Elected Consul Melcion Portas AP

The Midrasian consular election of 2017 on 14 September 2013 elected the 46th Consul of Midrasia since the Constitution of 1791. The election was took place against a backdrop of protests against incumbent Charles Vauban, resulting in the Consul being challenged by several candidates from the Reform Bloc and forcing primary elections. This process eventually saw Vauban resign, leading Melcion Portas to win the Reformist nomination and the subsequent election against Chartist candidate Lucatiel Lorett. Concurrent with the consular election, Senate, Assembly, and many local elections were also held on 14th of September.

The election was conducted using the popular vote, with the candidate with the most votes being declared the winner. Melcion Portas won the election in a near-landslide, with 36,888,649 votes (54.1%) to Lorett's 30,150,652 (45.9%).

Following the conclusion of Charles' Vauban's term in office, elections were scheduled to take place in September 2017. Vauban was the first to announce his candidacy for the Reform Bloc, seeking a second term in office. Being the sitting Consul, Vauban initially went unchallenged by the rest of his party. Nominations for Chartist candidate were opened in August 2016, leading a number of candidates including Lucatiel Lorett, Isaac Joubert, Claude Foucault and Giuseppe Nicolando to declare their intentions to run. The Chartist primaries saw Lorett eventually win out over her rivals, despite a strong challenge from Midrasia First representative Claude Foucault.

In October of 2016 however, stories of corruption allegations levelled at the then Consul Charles Vauban began to appear across a number of publications, particularly Le Picayune, running the headline: "Favours from Mr Vauban". The resultant media frenzy, and parliaments announcement of an investigation into the Consul, saw a number of challengers from the Reform Bloc appear, forcing Vauban into a primary. With mounting pressure of an official investigation, and with a number of parties backing Progressive challenger Melcion Portas, Vauban inevitably announced his withdrawal from the election in May 2017, leading Portas to gain the official nomination.

Melcion Portas and running mate Jacques Magule were officially inaugurated as Consul and Vice Consul respctively on 1 January 2017.

Election date and process

See also: Elections in Midrasia

As of the electoral reforms of 1902, Midrasian consular elections are held on a fixed-term basis of every four years utilising the popular vote to elect the winning candidate. Elections to the Senate and Public Assembly were also scheduled to take place on the same day. As such, upon the conclusion of Charles Vauban's four-year term, an election was officially scheduled for September 14 2017, with parliament being officially dissolved by the monarch on August 10, exactly one month before polling day.

Primary elections were scheduled to take place beforehand, with each political bloc running elections on a regional level to determine the winner. In the case of the Reform Bloc, the candidate with the most votes in each primary election is declared the winner, however within the Chartist Bloc, the candidate who wins the most regions is declared the winner.

Voter eligibility

To vote in the general election, one had to be:

• on the Electoral register;
• aged 18 or over on polling day;
• a Midrasian or Mydramonde citizen;
• a resident at an address in Midrasia and;
• not legally excluded from voting

Individuals had to be registered to vote by midnight of 31 August. A person who has two homes (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) may be registered to vote at both addresses, as long as they are not in the same electoral area, but can vote in only one constituency at the general election.

Timetable

The key dates were:

1 April	Last day to file official nomination papers, beginning of 'informal' campaigning
10 August	Formal dissolution of Parliament and beginning of 'official' campaigning
24 August	First live TV debate
31 August	Last day to register to vote, and to request a postal vote
1 September	Main party leaders debate
8 September	Second live TV debate
14 September	Polling day
18 September	Parliament re-assembled
20 September	State opening of Parliament
1 January	Inauguration ceremony

Nominations

Chartist Bloc

Nominee

Candidate		Most recent position	Campaign	Total Votes	Contests won
File:MDRUDA.png Lucatiel Lorett		Assembly Minority Leader (2014–2017)	<imgur w="120">fX2h5Ij.png</imgur>	51.02% 13,456,728	10 CND, GLT, JDS, MJL, MYD, PIE, RHO, TOU, VAE, VIU

Withdrawn candidates

Candidate		Most recent position	Campaign Withdrawal Date	Total Votes	Contests won
<imgur w="120">fwS1wTw.png</imgur> Claude Foucault		Chairperson of Midrasia First (2006–present)	<imgur w="120">vbLzyJO.png</imgur> Withdrew: March 15	38.7% 10,207,279	3 AVA, ELS, EST
Guiseppe Nicolando		Chairperson of Liberty (2010–present)	<imgur w="120"></imgur> Withdrew: February 11	6.78% 1,788,252	1 RIV
Olwen Danielou		Secretary of State for Education (2010–2014)	<imgur w="120"></imgur> Withdrew: January 18	3.2% 844,018	1 PAD
Isaac Joubert		Minority Whip (2015–present)	<imgur w="120">5nzCsrB.png</imgur> Withdrew: November 27	0.25% 65,939

Reform Bloc

Nominee

Candidate		Most recent position	Campaign	Total Votes	Contests won
<imgur w="120">YpZ0JYy.png</imgur> Melcion Portas		Secretary of State for Trade (2014–2015)	<imgur w="80"></imgur>	59.21% 17,332,765	15 AVA, CND, ELS, EST, GLT, JDS, MJL, MYD, PAD, PIE, RHO, RIV, TOU, VAE, VIU

Withdrawn candidates

Candidate		Most recent position	Campaign Withdrawal Date	Total Votes	Contests won
Charles Vauban		Consul of Midrasia (2014–2017)	<imgur w="80"></imgur> Withdrew: March 17	40.32% 11,803,025
Jean-Paul Dumonde		Chairperson of the Socialist Party (2009–present)	<imgur w="80"></imgur> Withdrew: January 3	0.42% 122,948