2020 Scalizagastian federal election

2020 Scalizagastian federal election

August 22, 2020
All 516 seats in the Parliament of Scalizagasti 260 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Sarah Millard Michel Garon Thomas Smith Party Social Democratic Party Revolutionary Republican Party Green Party of Scalizagasti Leader since 26 January 2015 21 December 2015 3 November 2007 Leader's seat Bewundal East Maldati South Torlu Last election 154 seats, 26.5% 160 seats, 28.0% 83 seats, 14.0% Seats before 154 160 83 Seats won 231 111 60 Seat change 77 49 23 Percentage 42.1% 19.8% 10.1% Swing 15.6pp 8.2pp 3.9pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Les Erlosto Moe Trellos Ester Nortust Party New Scalizagasti Party Liberal-Conservative Alliance Labour and Socialist Party Leader since 16 September 2018 8 August 2017 1 June 2010 Leader's seat Jurein North Islander Group Outer Blicamy Last election 54 seats, 9.3% 21 seats, 5.3% 20 seats, 4.2% Seats before 54 21 20 Seats won 50 19 17 Seat change 4 2 3 Percentage 9.0% 4.7% 3.3% Swing 0.3pp 0.6pp 0.9pp   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Leader Steve Pertillo Guy Manderson Curtis Soeder Party Patriotic Defense Movement Progressive People's Party Aulden Democratic Party Leader since 18 March 2015 9 June 2012 19 January 2008 Leader's seat Palgaroca Interior (lost re-election) Saroya Region Badger Valley Last election 14 seats, 3.6% 6 seats, 2.3% 3 seats, 2.1% Seats before 14 6 3 Seats won 14 8 5 Seat change 0 2 2 Percentage 3.5% 2.4% 1.8% Swing 0.1pp 0.1pp 0.3pp
Prime Minister before election Sarah Millard SDP Prime Minister after election Sarah Millard SDP

The 2020 Scalizagastian federal election was held on August 22, 2020, to elect 516 members of the Parliament of Scalizagasti. Prior to the election, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), led by Prime Minister Sarah Millard, governed Scalizagasti in a coalition with the Greens, Labour and Socialist Party (LSP), and the Progressive People's Party (PPP). It was the second election for Millard as SDP leader and first election as the incumbent Prime Minister.

With 42.1% of the popular vote and 231 seats, the SDP won one of the largest parliamentary victories in Scalizagastian history. Up 77 seats from 2016, Prime Minister Millard formed government with a SDP-Green coalition, no longer needing the LSP and PPP as they did previously. The large gains by the SDP mostly came at the expense of the Revolutionary Republican Party (RRP) and Greens, dropping by 8 and 4 points of support respectively. The RRP dropped to second place with 111 seats and the Greens remained third with 60 seats. With exception to the SDP and PPP, every party dropped in support, although marginal regional gains allowed the Aulden Democratic Party (ADP) to pick up 2 additional seats. All ten parties which had a presence after the 2016 election returned to Parliament.

Background

Following the 2016 federal election, the SDP managed to form a governing coalition with the Greens, LSP, and PPP, despite only winning 154 seats to the RRP's 160. The 2016 election gave the left-wing parties (SDP, Greens, and LSP) a large enough seat share to govern with support from the agrarian centrist Progressives. As the largest party, the RRP was given the first opportunity to negotiate a coalition, but the SDP-Green-LSP-PPP coalition presented their agreement in the middle of coalition talks, forcing the President to recall Parliament before the RRP had finished their negotiations.

The 2016 election also led to the collapse of Scalizagasti's right-wing parties. The New Scalizagasti Party (NSP), Liberal-Conservative Alliance (LCA), and Patriotic Defense Movement (PDM) all suffered severe defeats from earlier elections, where they managed to consistently form government for over a decade. Anger over austerity measures enacted by the conservative government led to success for the centrist RRP, centre-left SDP, and left-wing Greens.

The NSP and LCA were the only parties to switch leaders between the elections. Moe Trellos, a former Garor City councillor, was elected as leader of the LCA on 8 August 2017. Les Erlosto, MP for Jurein North, was elected as leader of the NSP on 16 September 2018.

During the 2020 CAVID-19 outbreak in the Great Experiment, the SDP's quick and effective response boosted their popularity, eventually skyrocketing them to over 50% support. Prime Minister Millard enjoyed a net personal popularity rate of +58 points (76 positive/18 negative/6 no opinion). Ultimately, the Rally 'round the flag effect created by the CAVID-19 pandemic allowed the SDP to gain immense support during the election.

Electoral System

The 516 members of Parliament are elected by open party-list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method, with a 3% threshold for parties and a 1.5% threshold for independents.

480 seats are elected in 46 geographical electoral districts, ranging anywhere from 5 to 19 seats per electorate. The other 36 seats are elected through a national list, where each of Scalizagasti's six recognized ethnic groups (officially documented in the census) vote for 6 seats each. If a party wins 260 or more seats, they can govern without forming any coalition. However, this is incredibly rare due to Scalizagasti's proportional electoral system adopted in the early 20th century.

Changes from 2016

As part of the coalition demands by the Green Party, numerous reforms were undertaken in preparation for the 2020 election. Most notably, the voting age was lowered from 18 to 16 years of age. Permanent residents were also given the right to vote, given that they lived in Scalizagasti for at least five years. Minor parties (those with fewer than 16 seats in Parliament) and any extraparliamentary party which earned at least 2% of the vote were allocated 1.5 hours of free advertising on Scalizagasti National Media Corporation. Previously, only major parties were granted free advertising space equalling 3 hours each.

Election Date

The date of the election, 13 August 2020, was set by President Paul Kruig following the dissolution of Parliament.

Unless an early election is called by the government or no government can be formed following the failure of a confidence vote, a general election is held every four years. The last election was held on 22 August 2016. According to the 2000 Election Law, unless an early election is called, the general election must be held in August.

Polls close in electorates at 7:00 PM local time, and results are usually released a few hours later. However, recounts and other unexpected issues have previously caused vote count delays for up to 24 hours.

Results

WIP

Party		Popular Vote		Seats
		%	Change	Total	Change
	Social Democratic Party (SDP)	42.1	+15.6	154	+77
	Revolutionary Republican Party (RRP)	19.8	-8.2	111	-49
	Green Party (GRN)	10.1	-3.9	60	-23
	New Scalizagasti Party (NSP)	9.0	-0.3	50	-4
	Liberal-Conservative Alliance (LCA)	4.7	-0.6	19	-2
	Labour and Socialist Party (LSP)	3.3	-0.9	17	-3
	Patriotic Defense Movement (PDM)	3.5	-0.1	14	0
	Progressive People's Party (PPP)	2.4	+0.1	8	+2
	Aulden Democratic Party (ADP)	1.8	-0.3	5	+2
	Sontalirdenna (SON)	0.3	-0.1	1	0
	Others	3.1	-0.9	0	0
	Reform Party (REF)	-	-	-	-
	Pirate Party (PIR)	-	-	-	-
	Birthday Party (BIRP)	-	-	-	-
	Ecologist Party of Scalizagasti (EPS)	-	-	-	-
	Holispet First (HSF)	-	-	-	-
	Islander Independence Party (IIP)	-	-	-	-
	Citizen's Party (CIT)	-	-	-	-
	Animal Rights Party (ARP)	-	-	-	-
	Communist Party of Scalizagasti (CPS)	-	-	-	-
	Liahuan Heavenly Sutai Faith Party (LHSFP)	-	-	-	-
	Imperial Restoration Party (IRP)	-	-	-	-
	Scalizagastian Feminist Party (SFP)	-	-	-	-
	Vegan and Vegetarian Party (VVP)	-	-	-	-
	The Family Party (FAM)	-	-	-	-
bgcolor="C0C0C0"	Independents	-	-	-	-
Total		100	–	516	–

Aftermath

WIP