2019 Ordennyan federal election

2019 Ordennyan federal election

20 June 2019
All 651 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 326 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Clas Markussen Valdemar Söderberg Michel Fallow Party GP KKF KPO Alliance Alliance for Progress People's Alliance People's Alliance Leader since 20 May 2019 17 December 2015 12 September 2015 Leader's seat Perdrix Nyburg (defeated) Västdal (List) Malmo Last election 215 seats, 31.8% 214 seats, 31.6% 80 seats, 12.3% Seats won 247 189 91 Seat change 32 25 11 Popular vote 8,860,343 6,794,017 3,219,135 Percentage 37.2% 28.5% 13.5% Swing 5.4% 3.1% 1.5%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Josephine Petersson Jean Sinclair Emmanuel Martinez Party FSP LP NDP Alliance Alliance for Progress Union of the Democratic Centre Union of the Democratic Centre Leader since 20 May 2019 22 June 2015 17 November 2018 Leader's seat Kovigen Nordenavvic (List) (Lost re-election) November City North Last election 105 seats, 17% 34 seats, 4.7% 2 seats, 2.7% Seats won 87 33 4 Seat change 18 1 2 Popular vote 3,190,655 1,100,131 681,048 Percentage 13.4% 4.6% 2.9% Swing 3.6% 0.1% 0.7%
President before election Michel Fallow Conservative Elected President Clas Markussen Green

The 2019 Ordennyan federal election took place on 20 June 2019. The electoion was called by President Michel Fallow, after a bill on holding a referendum on membership of the Euclean Community was voted down by the Chamber of Deputies, despite the four largest parties all committing to a referendum in the 2018 snap election.

Background

The 2018 federal election, called after the government lost a vote of no confidence, resulted in the Green Party becoming the largest party in Parliament, with the Conservative Capitalist Front taking second, beating the Conservatives into fourth place, to become the main centre-right force in Ordennyan politics. Despite winning more votes between them, however, the Green Party and United Socialist Party did not have enough seats to form a government, allowing a centre-right government to be formed by the Conservative Capitalist Front, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats, with the former joining the Conservative-Lib Dem alliance, Forward Ordennya. Conservative leader Michel Fallow took office as President, with KKF leader Valdemar Söderberg as Vice President and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

In the aftermath of the 2019 Euclean parliament elections, in which the KKF and KPO enjoyed a boost in support, the coalition government introduced legislation on an in/out referendum on Ordennya's membership of the Euclean Community. The Liberal Democrats, a pro-Euclean party, subsequently resigned from the government and moved to the crossbench to vote against the legislation. The legislation was voted down by 350 votes to 290 votes, a majority of 60, on May 23rd 2019. The following morning, President Fallow announced the calling of a snap federal election.

Campaign

At the beginning of the week after the election was called, the Liberal Democrats and the New Democratic Party announced the formation of a centre alliance heading into the election, to bolster their performance, called the Union of the Democratic Centre (UDC). The Green Party and United Socialist Party announced the renewal of their coalition, albeit with a shortened name as the Alliance for Progress, and the Conservative Capitalist Front and the Conservative Party formed a new bloc in the absence of the Lib Dems, called the People's Alliance.

Electoral system

Ordennya uses the mixed-member proportional representation system for the Chamber of Deputies, a system of proportional representation combined with elements of first-past-the-post voting. The House of Commons has 650 members, and these seats are distributed between the 12 Ordennyan states. This system has been in place since a referendum in 1999 changed the electoral system from alternative vote to mixed-member proportional, and has been used since the 2000 election.

Each Ordennyan voter has 2 votes: a constituency vote (first vote) and a party list vote (second vote). Based solely on the first votes, 325 members are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The second votes are used to produce a proportional number of seats for parties, based on state lists. List seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method. If a party wins fewer constituency seats in a state than its second votes would entitle it to, it receives additional seats from the relevant state list. Parties can file lists in every single state under certain conditions – for example, a fixed number of supporting signatures. Parties can receive second votes only in those states in which they have filed a state list.

Voting eligibility

In order to vote in the federal election, one must be:

• on the electoral register;
• aged 16 or over on polling day;
• an Ordennyan or Xanartopian citizen;
• a resident at an address in the Ordennyan Federation (or an Ordennyan citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in Ordennya in the last 15 years);
• not legally excluded from voting (for example a convicted person detained in prison or a mental hospital, or unlawfully at large if he/she would otherwise have been detained).

Aftermath

As soon as the full results became known, it became a apparent that the only possible coalition government would be between the Green Party and United Socialist Party, both from the Alliance for Progress. On the morning of June 21st, both Michel Fallow of the KPO and Valdemar Söderberg of the KKF resigned as leaders of their respective parties, in light of the results.

In a speech at the Green Party headquarters in Oured, Clas Markuson announced that coalition talks had commenced between the Greens and United Socialists, and that they would move for an investiture vote in Parliament as soon as the new Speaker had been elected on Monday.

On Sunday, June 23rd, the final coalition agreement between the Green Party and the United Socialists was published. Under the agreement, Clas Markuson would take office as President of Ordennya, with Josephine Petersson as Vice President and Home Secretary. Erica Oberg, the United Socialist Deputy Leader, will take the position of Foreign Secretary, and Green Party Deputy Leader Loke Mathiesen as Secretary of State for Financial & Economic Affairs, a position replacing Chancellor of the Exchequer. The United Socialists would also take a third of all cabinet positions.

In terms of policy, the coalition agreement outlines plans for long-term investment in the economy, the implementation of a progressive form of corporation tax, introducing new tax bands at the top end of the income scale, and a major investment in the revitalisation of Ordennyan infrastructure and renewable energy research, dubbed as the "Green New Deal", a policy championed by Loke Mathiesen before he entered Parliament. There are also plans for constitutional reform, including the separation of the office of President into the separate offices of President and Prime Minister.

On June 24th, Clas Markuson succeeded in his Presidential investiture vote with 334 votes in favour, 280 against, and 37 abstentions.

Investiture Clas Markuson (GP)
Ballot →		24 June 2019
Required majority →		326 out of 651 Y
	Yes • GP (247) • FSP (87)	334 / 651
	No • KKF (189) • KPO (91)	280 / 651
	Abstentions • LD (33) • NDP (4)	37 / 651
	Absentees	0 / 651