Akashian general election, 1999

Akashian general election, 1999

25 December 1999
400 seats in the National Assembly 201 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	84,2%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ran Tsukuda Kōsaku Ayuzawa Shinobu Furukawa Party MPP SP CP Last election 84 seats 22,0% PR 20,5% STV 72 seats 16,7% PR 14,4% STV 69 seats 12,2% PR 12,7% STV Seats won 100 77 43 Seat change 16 5 26 PR vote 1.328.546 999.573 702.232 % and swing 21,0% 1,0% 15,8% 0,9% 11,1% 1,1% STV vote 1.319.079 1.319.079 751.055 % and swing 20,9% 0,4% 13,3% 1,1% 11,9% 0,8%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Liana Ferrari Toshizaku Imai Ei Katsuragi Party URP NCP GP Last election 32 seats 9,8% PR 8,8% STV 43 seats 10,8% PR 11,1% STV 38 seats 10,2% PR 8,9% STV Seats won 41 38 32 Seat change 9 5 6 PR vote 676.926 607.335 556.724 % and swing 10,7% 0,9% 9,6% 1,2% 8,8% 1,4% STV vote 738.432 643.761 504.911 % and swing 11,7% 2,9% 10,2% 0,9% 8,0% 0,9%
Most voted party by province
Prime Minister before election Shinobu Furukawa CP Prime Minister after election Ran Tsukuda MPP

A general election was held in Akashi on 25 December 1999. This was a snap election caused by the Shinobu Furukawa government losing a budget vote. According to the Constitution, the new National Assembly was only elected to complete the term of its predecessor. It is Akashi's last snap election, and the last not held in June.

The Shinobu Furukawa had tenuously held onto power since the previous general election, but the parliamentary mathematics and increasingly fractious relations within the coalition made it unlikely to secure re-election. The Socialist Party was also emerging from its eclipse period, causing a simultaneous decline in the Communist Party's support after it had seized the mantle of left leadership for most of the decade.

With the snap election coming so soon after the last election, Ran Tsukuda led a centre-right campaign focused on the theme of stable government. Ran asked voters to give the Moderate People's Party and its ally the United Reform Party the support necessary for it to govern with centrist support, and to vigorously oppose the far-right. In one campaign speech, Ran said, "Tonight, I ask all Akashians to make sure that our country is not held hostage by the lunatics of the right."

The New Frontier Party suffered a loss in support as a result of its realignment to the light yellow bloc, and faced competition from the newly-founded Future Party.

Results

General election, 25 December 1999
Party		Party list			Constituency			Total seats	+/-
		PR	%	+/−	STV	%	+/−
	Moderate People's Party	1.328.546	21,0%	-1,0%	1.319.079	20,9%	+0,4%	100	+16
	Socialist Party	999.573	15,8%	-0,9%	839.414	13,3%	-1,1%	77	+5
	Communist Party	702.232	11,1%	-1,1%	751.055	11,9%	-0,8%	43	-26
	United Reform Party	676.926	10,7%	+0,9%	738.432	11,7%	+2,9%	41	+9
	National Cooperative Party	607.335	9,6%	-1,2%	643.761	10,2%	-0,9%	38	-5
	Green Party	556.724	8,8%	-1,4%	504.911	8,0%	-0,9%	32	-6
	Future Party	531.418	8,4%	+8,4%	479.665	7,6%	+7,6%	27	+27
	National Union	316.321	5,0%	-0,5%	271.389	4,3%	-1,3%	14	-2
	New Frontier Party	189.792	3,0%	-1,0%	195.653	3,1%	-2,4%	8	-10
	Conservative National Party	151.834	2,4%	+0,4%	189.342	3,0%	-0,2%	6	+1
	Akashi Renewal Party	139.181	2,2%	+0,3%	176.719	2,8%	+0,2%	5	±0
	Independents	126.528	2,0%	+0,5%	201.964	3,2%	-0,2%	9	±0
Total		6.326.411	100%	—	6.311.384	100%	—	400	—
Registered voters and turnout		7.513.552	84,2%	—	7.513.552	84,0%

Bloc strength
Bloc	Parties	Seats
Crimson bloc	CP, GP	75
Pale crimson bloc	SP, NU	91
Light yellow bloc	NCP, FP, NFP	73
Light blue bloc	MPP, URP	141
Dark blue bloc	CNP, ARP	11

• Government: Moderate People's Party–United Reform Party–National Cooperative Party coalition.

The light blue bloc was the winner of the election, although its modest gain of 16 seats disappointed supporters who expected a stronger mandate. The MPP increased its seat count by 16, while the URP leapt into 4th place, gaining 9 seats.

The SP saw a mild drop in support but gained 5 seats. The CP lost 26 seats, failing to repeat its anomalously good showing in constituencies from the previous year. For the first time since 1986, the pale crimson bloc was larger than the crimson bloc.

The FP turned in a strong showing comparable to the NFP's own electoral debut, winning 7–8% of the vote and 27 seats. The NFP failed to match the challenge, collapsing to merely 8 seats.

The provincial electoral map saw only a minor change in that the MPP managed to win a plurality in Kagi, which had previously gone to the SP. This was sufficient to push the centre-right into a leading position.

Ran formed a coalition with the NCP, whose kingmaker status during the previous legislature had made them the centre of other parties' attention. Although her coalition technically had a minority of 179 seats, she relied on the support of the FP, which brought it to a majority, and if necessary the NFP and independents.