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2021 Gapolanese general election

August 22, 2021 (2021-08-22)

Incumbent President Mosè Maggiacomo GeR

General elections will be held in Gapolania to elect the President and 155 members of the Senate. The elections are scheduled to take place on August 22nd 2021.

Background

The previous general election, on August 2017, saw voters elect Mosè Maggiacomo from the Justice and Restoration coalition for a second term, with the candidate gathering 53.17% of all votes in the first round, over twice as much as his rival, Namal Emenchà. Maggiacomo's presidency has been generally viewed as "good" or "very good" in polls conducted between 2017 and 2021, although after the involvement of the ruling coalition in the Arucian diplomatic scandal the approval ratings fell to a record low in the history of Maggiacomo's presidency, reaching 30%.

The government was also criticized for not fulfilling the promises it gave during the 2017 elections - commonly listed issues were: increasing gender inequality and gender pay gap, difficulties in access to education in villages and towns below 100'000 inhabitants, high risk of uneployment for citizens aged 18-30 and deteriorating quality of the environment.

A report published in February 2021 described the world democracy as "worsening", highlighting rise of authoritarianism globally and regionally, including Gapolania. Among the biggest concerns were centralization of power and corruption, as well as an increase of media cenzorship.

On 15th May 2021, one of the main parties in the government, Blue Hibiscus, announced it left the coalition and will run independently in the upcoming elections. A third largest force in the Senate, Blue Hibiscus is one of the oldest parties in the nation continuously represented in the Senate, formed after the Hibiscus Revolution. On 10th June 2021, the party's leader, Marcelo Segantù, officially presented a new political alliance, Movement for Change.

With Mosè Maggiacomo's second term coming to and end, he isn't eligible to candidate another time. On 22nd May 2021, the ruling coalition run an internal contest, which saw Clemente Nacci, the Minister of Transportation, win with 63,5% of the vote. Only 37 years old, he is currently the youngest person in Gapolania to run for the presidential office.

Electoral system

The president of Gapolania is elected using a two-round system, with a candidate required to receive more than 50% of all the votes in order to win. If no candidates receive more than a half of the votes, a runoff takes place between the top two. The president is limited to two terms, consecutive or not. Any citizen of country at least 18 years old on they day of the elections can cast a vote.

There are a total of 155 seats of the Senate, elected via 12 governorates of Gapolania and a capital domain, Nassea. The number of seats are distributed in relation to the population of the administrative unit. Seats were allocated using the Boeri method of proportional representation. There is no legal threshold, although there is a rule that the first seat can never be a remainder seat, which means that there is an effective threshold of 100% divided by the total number of seats (with 155 seats to allocate, it is currently 0.65%). There's a gender quota of 40%, meaning that 62 seats need to be filled by women. Despite several tries, ethnic minorities, such as the Chanuche are not affected by quotas - as of 2021, the Chanuche, representing nearly 10% of the total population, have only 6 seats (4% of the total seats) in the Senate.

Presidential candidates and coalitions

Thirteen candidates successfully gathered 100'000 signatures and registered their candidacy before the limit date of 22 June 2021.

Presidential candidate (political party)		Vice-presidential candidate (political party)	Coalition	Coalition parties	Ideology	Prior political office
	Clemente Necci PSdG	Alessandro Bagliari MN	Justice and Restoration	Supportist Party of Gapolania (PSdG) National Movement (MN) Sotirian Democratic Party (PDS) Patriotic Front of Gapolania (FPdG) Agrarian Party (PAG) Assembly of God (AdD) Supportist Alliance (AlSp) Gapolania First (GapP)	Gapolanese nationalism National conservatism Right-wing populism Social conservatism	Minister of Transportation (since 2016)
	Justice and Restoration coalition was formed in 2011 as an aftermath of the journalists' investigation uncovering several scandals involving the corruption of the left-wing ruling party and the president Andrè Bellini. The political alliance stormed its first elections in 2013, receiving a total of over 52% of all the votes and forming a majority in the Senate - the first ever right-wing government since the Marco Furiginioni's presidency backed by the Supportist Party. Clemente Necci was chosen as the presidential candidate following the vote conducted on 22nd May. Currently finishing his term as the Minister of Transportation, he is a graduate of the University of Nassea with a degree in Administration. The youngest candidate to participate in the elections, Necci's political views are described as "conservative, often on the edge of neo-functionalism.
	Marcelo Segantù BLU	Enrico Lucini AB	Movement for Change	Blue Hibiscus (BLU) Enough! (AB) Democratic Alliance (AlDe) United Gapolania (UNI) Forward (AND) Bacchia's Movement (MdB) Freedom and Unity (LeU)	Anti-corruption Developmentalism Liberal conservatism Economic liberalism	Senator (since 2013)
	Movement for Change is a new political alliance, created after the Blue Hibiscus party withdrew from the government coalition. Involving several centre-right and centre parties, its' primary goal is to simulate the original Blue Hibiscus movement, formed during the events of the Asterian Spring, which consolidated many parties to oppose the radical right government. On 10th June 2021 it was announced that the Blue Hibiscus leader, Marcelo Segantù, will be the coalition's presidential candidate - an experienced politician serving as a Senator since 2013 (with previous presence in Astia's regional councial from 2005), Segantù's proposed policies include citizens' evaluation of the government's budget and spendings, free public media and financial and infrastructural support for the working class.
	Elisa Perranazu LIB	Laura Totèn-Alvinacci Independent	Civic Union	Freedom Party (LIB) Tommorow (DOM) Popular Front (FP) Federal Party (PF) Movement for Reaction (MPLR) Participation and Mobility (PeM) Pensioners' Party (PP) Liberal Party (RL) Democratic Front of Gapolania (FDdG) Victory Party (VIC) Reformist Party (PRef) Golden Liberty (LdO)	Social liberalism Progressivism	Senator (since 2017)
	The Civic Union is a coalition of Gapolanese liberal and libertarian parties which saw its emergence in 2013, gaining support from left-of-centre groups that distrusted the socialist parties after the scandals. The alliance is highly voted on in the largest cities of the west coast and in Nassea, however it fails to gain support in the smaller towns and in the villages. Elisa Perranazu, the coalition's leader since its creation, was announced as its presidential candidate on 15th May 2021 - Perranazu previously participated in the 2017 general elections, where she finished second, with 17,33% of all the votes (a difference of over 35 p.p. to Mosè Maggiacomo, who won in the first round). A Senator and urban activist, Perranazu aims for a "free, liberal society where citizens are equal to each other".
	Battista Bernardi OR	Enrico Nanwì CH	New Left	Socialist Party (PS) Red Umbrella (OR) Greens (VER) Charra (CH) Labour Party (PDL) Alliance of Socialists (AdS) Reformed Left (SRef) Awakening (RIS) Farmers' Union (CGA) Social Democratic Initiative (ISd) Radical Action Movement (MdAR) United Socialist Movement (MSU) Gowsa Socialist Party (GOW) Gapolanese Workers' Front (LAV)	Democratic socialism Feminism Green politics Minority rights Social democracy	none (lawyer)
	DESCRIPTION
	Awkan Oënki WAL	Lanchò Pichun CH	Wallmapuwene	Wallmapuwene (WAL) Chanuche National Movement (MNdC) TOPI (TOPI)	Chanuche nationalism Minority rights Socialism	Mayor of Chauante (2008-2018)
	DESCRIPTION
	Giacomo Naùri FNZ	Sebastian Cavastri FNZ	National Front	National Front (FNZ) Initiative for the National Protection (IPN) Pride (ORG) United Right (UD)	Gapolanese nationalism National conservatism Neo-functionalism	none (economist)
	DESCRIPTION
	Gennaro Di Donato Independent	Anna Valmeri AS	Socialist Alternative	Socialist Alternative (AS) Community Movement (MoCo) United Plantation Workers' Party (PULP) New Socialist Movement (NMS) Dabu Socialist Party (DABU)	Communalism Democratic socialism Land reform movement	Senator (2013-2017)
	DESCRIPTION
	Eloisa Femia LVC	Aurelio Mancini LVC	Your Home	Your Home (LVC) Urban Action (AU)	Green politics Liberalism	none (urban activist)
	DESCRIPTION
	Basilio Marotta NOI	Ettore Dubèc NOI	Noi!	Noi! (NOI)	Agrarianism Populism Social liberalism	Councilman in Belcasera (2006-2014)
	DESCRIPTION
	Vincent Gunsà MR	Giuseppe Mer-Avita SGIL	Revolutionary March	Revolutionary March (MR) Gapolanese Section of the Workers' International (SGIL) Radical Socialist Party of Gapolania (PRSG)	Far-left politics Council socialism Radicalism Revolutionarism	none (sociologist)
	DESCRIPTION
	Siyqen Achuni APA	Camilo Sani Independent	Interior	Autonomy for Appalasta (APA) Regional Party of Appalasta (PRdA) Misano-Alessandrou Federal Party (PFMA) Semara Party (SEM) San Nicomede Islanders' Initiative (ISNI)	Appalasta autonomism Green politics Misano-Alessandrou autonomism Regionalism	none (sociologist)
	DESCRIPTION
	Marco Fellegrini Independent	Sebastian Pinandù NuCo	Together	New Conservative Movement (NuCo) Gapolanese Youth (GiGa) Renewal Party (PaRi)	Conservatism Economic liberalism	Councilman in Nassea (2006-2018)
	DESCRIPTION
	Antonio Dovale Independent	Natalia Chìm Independent	Gapolania+	Inclusive and Openess (IeO) The Ramp (RAM)	Liberal democracy Single issue politics	Senator (1997-2005)
	DESCRIPTION