December 2019 Brillian legislative election

December 2019 Brillian legislative election

7 December 2019
All 200 seats in the National Assembly of Brilliania 101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	91.8% ( 3.5%)
Majority party Minority party Third party   File:Donath Anna 002.jpg Leader Sabin-Heren Incsaurpe Kemen Ercila Amaia Ziganda Party Marist Union Hegoak Elkarrekin Leader since 21 August 1999 7 September 2019 26 October 2019 Last election 47 seats, 22.5% 41 seats, 19.9% 47 seats, 22.8% Seats before 44 62 47 Seats won 69 44 33 Seat change 25 4 14 Popular vote 4,184,032 2,643,264 1,990,938 Percentage 33.1% 20.9% 15.8% Swing 13.4% 1.0% 7.0%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader None Kíra Váradi Hiru Szamendi Party Pirate OROSz Movement United Hicak Marism Leader since n/a 7 June 2019 2014 Last election 3 seats, 2.8% 10 seats, 4.7% 19 seats, 9.3% Seats before 3 10 33 Seats won 26 13 8 Seat change 23 3 11 Popular vote 1,590,392 800,694 509,977 Percentage 12.6% 6.3% 4.0% Swing 9.8% 1.6% 5.3%   Seventh party   Leader Inyigo Oliberi Party Men's March Leader since 25 August 2018 Last election Did not exist Seats before Did not exist Seats won 7 Seat change New Popular vote 409,203 Percentage 3.2% Swing New
Prime Minister before election Dorina Szilágyi EE Elected Prime Minister Sabin-Heren Incsaurpe BM

A snap legislative election was held in Brilliania on 7 December 2019 to elect all 200 members to the National Assembly.

The election was called by First Citizen Endrike Karagori after the collapse of Garaipenerancs on 4 November 2019, caused by Karagori switching allegiance from Elkarrekin Egységben to the Marist Union.

The incumbent government, led by Dorina Szilágyi, consisted of a four-party left-wing coalition led by Elkarrekin Egységben, joined by the Marist Union and OROSz Movement. The parties in the government were all members of Garaipenerancs. The coalition was defeated in a motion of no confidence after coalition members Elkarrekin and OROSz voted in favour of withdrawing confidence in the government.

Sabin-Heren Incsaurpe's Marist Union won a large plurality in parliament and became the Prime Minister for the second time, having previously served between 2003 and 2006.

Overview

Electoral method

The 200 seats of the unicameral National Assembly are apportioned using semi-open list party-list proportional representation in a single 200-seat constituency with a threshold of 3%. As the sole chamber, the National Assembly co-operates with the First Citizen and the governing cabinet to draft and agree on law proposals. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage, with any Brillian citizen above the age of 16 being able to vote. Brillian citizens in foreign countries, as well as incarcerated citizens and those unable to reach a voting booth are allowed to apply for a postal ballot. Since the intduction of an amended Electoral Law, electoral law provides that a party may apply for ballot access if it gathers at least 5.000 valid signatures and a deposit of 40.000 Fl. Due to the amendments, the amount of participating parties decreased from 41 to 28 and the amount of people entitled to the right to vote has increased by over half a million. The election was held at the same time as provincial elections.

Terms

The term of the National Assembly generally lasts for four years, unles it is dissolved or extended by presidential decree. The election decree must be issued in the Brillian State Informant at least a month prior to the elections. Elections are generally held on Saturdays.

The First Citizen may dissolve the National Assembly prior to the end of its term, thereby calling a snap election. A snap election may not be called if a motion of no confidence or a state of emergency is in progress. They are also allowed to lengthen the term of the National Assembly during periods of national distress or mourning periods.

Voting

Legislative ballots in Brilliania provide voters with two ways to vote. A voter may either select the party, or vote for a candidate representing a party. In an amendment to the electoral law, the design of the ballot was changed and the possibility to vote directly for the party was introduced. It is a common practice to put the party leader at the top of the list as the list leader.

Amended electoral law

In May, the National Assembly voted in favour of four amendments to the Electoral Law. This is the first election in which the amended Electoral Law is in effect. Parties now have to recieve at least 5.000 valid signatures and pay 40.000 Florrin as a deposit. The age of voting has been lowered to 16 years, giving 500.000 16- and 17-year olds the right to vote for the first time in Brillian history. Another change regarded the ballot design: a voter is now allowed to vote for the party without selecting a preferred candidate, instead of having to vote for the list leader.

Campaign

Subjects

Vikuna-Orosz Proposal

The Vikuna-Orosz Proposal is a proposed amendment to the Fourth Constitution of the Republic, which provides for the addition of 60 seats to the National Assembly intended for the increased representation of provincially recognised minorities. The proposal was made by Second Citizen Alcsai Vikuna and Minister for Iparinan Affairs Ancsorics Orosz on 2 August 2019, recieving assent by the National Assembly with 165 members in favour on 23 August 2019. A referendum on the proposal will be held in 2020.

Secure Education Bill

The Secure Education Bill is a series of domestic security bills drafted after the Szaran school stabbing in December 2018. The proposals, involving the introduction of the Ecselecu Unit-developed monitoring system Eskoregi, have been met with widespread critisism by teachers, students and privacy organisations and parties including the Pirate Party.

Healthcare

The Brillian healthcare system has been recently marked for being insufficiently prepared for mental health problems. Most mental healthcare facilities are privately ran and underfunded, causing high rates of untreated mental disorders. Parties to the left of the political spectrum therefore support the addition of mental healthcare into the National Fund, which was founded in June 2019 by a vast majority in the Bacar. Most notably, Our Homeland is the only major party opposing the proposal of the Mental Care in the National Fund Bill.

Parties

Party		Ideology	Political position	Leader	March 2019 result
	Elkarrekin Egységben	Green politics, Civil libertarianism	Big tent	Amaia Ziganda	47 / 200
	Marist Union	Marist democracy	Centre-right to Right-wing	Sabin-Heren Incsaurpe	44 / 200 Three members of the Pirate Party were elected on the Marist Union's lists, but formed a seperate faction.
	Hegoak	Liberal conservatism	Centre-right	Kemen Ercila	41 / 200 21 members of Nation Without Arrogance, formerly part of Our Homeland, joined the party after a merger.
	Our Homeland	Brillian nationalism	Right-wing to Far-right	Haran Eleszalde	36 / 200 The party collapsed after the election of Haran Eleszalde as party leader.
	United Hicak Marism	Traditionalist conservatism	Right-wing to Far-right	Hiru Szamendi	19 / 200 14 members of Our Homeland joined the party after a merger.
	Nation, Realism, Education, Freedom	Patriotic leftism	Far-left to left-wing	Kíra Varadi	10 / 200

Campaign controversies

Our Homeland

After the death of party leader Ane Mentarrine, a snap leadership election was held during an emergency congress of Our Homeland. The election was hotly contested by hardliner Haran Eleszalde and moderate Kemen Ercila. Eleszalde won with a majority of 2 votes, although the transparency of the election was questioned. After the party refused to give Ercila transparency, he left Our Homeland to form Nation Without Arrogance.

United Hicak Marism

United Hicak Marism was sued by LGBT rights organisation United Rainbow in October for releasing a campaign advertisements criticising the LGBT community for "intoctrinating the Brillian youth". The Szaranegertu Court of Appeal sentenced United Hicak Marism to a fine of 22.000 Florrin for inciting hate and a decreasal of its alloted time on TV political advertising blocks.

Men's March for Traditions

The election was also marked by the participation of mens rights activist Inyigo Oliberi, which is a highly controversial figure which has called for the imprisonment of what he calls "immoderately dressed women" and the execution of people who cheat. Several of Oliberi's remarks resulted in fines by the Federal Election Agency, including a remark about his wife. In total, the party was fined five times, with the total penalty equalling 200.000 Fl.

Debates

Due to the short campaigning period, just three major debates were held. The Irrapub organised two debates, on 11 and 18 November 2019, and Hegoak invited their opponents for a husting-style debate on 21 November.

Results

The results for the election were marked by the further downfall of United Hicak Marism, which lost 25 seats compared to its total prior to dissolution.

The Marist Union was the winner of the election, which gained 25 seats and became the largest party for the first time since 2009. It profited from the popularity of First Citizen Endrike Karagori, which defected to the party in October.

Men's March for Traditions participated in its first election, and recieved enough votes to recieve 7 Political Servants despite the controversial statements made by its leader Inyigo Oliberi.

The election caused a halt of political chaos in Brilliania, caused by the collapse of the left-wing alliance Garaipenerancs. The power vacuum in Elkarrekin Egységben caused by the defection of its party leader resulted in internal troubles for the party and the loss of 14 of its seats.

File:National Assembly of Brilliania 14-12-2019.svg
Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Marist Union	4,184,032	33.1	69	25
Hegoak	2,643,264	20.9	44	3
Elkarrekin Egységben	1,990,938	15.8	33	14
Pirate Party	1,590,932	12.6	26	New
Nation, Realism, Education, Freedom	800,694	6.3	13	3
United Hicak Marism -	509,974	4.0	8	11
Inyigo Oliberi's List - Men's March for Traditions	409,203	3.2	7	New
Error 404: Ballot not found	209,404	1.7	0	0
Revolutionise - New Socialist Party	65,940	0.5	0	New
Tractor League	49,032	0.5	0	0
Citizens of the Republic	16,954	0.2	0	New
Brilliania is Not For Sale Movement	12,943	0.1	0	0
Rise Up, Brilliania!	9,843	0.1	0	0
All-Brillian Fatherland Party	9,750	0.1	0	0
Hunting, Fishing and Traditions	9,000	0.1	0	0
Feminists In Unity	8,594	0.1	0	New
Politics++	6,000	0.1	0	0
Do Not Give Up Party	5,943	0.1	0	0
Party of the Poor	4,942	0.0	0	0
Miari Legacy List	1,958	0.0	0	0
New Nation Ecological Party	1,924	0.0	0	0
Free Democratic Party	1,293	0.0	0	0
Healthcare List	1,268	0.0	0	New
National Initiative for Safety	750	0.0	0	New
New Democracy in Unity	485	0.0	0	New
Our Community	396	0.0	0	0
End the Reign	333	0.0	0	0
Aurics Marieszkurrena Natural Family Leader Party	199	0.0	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	83,954	–	–	–
Total	12,629,675	100	200	0
Registered voters/turnout	13,758,188	91.8	–	–
Source: Federal Electon Committee (HABAFED)