Gylian presidential election, 1999

Gylian presidential election, 1999

22 January 1999
Turnout	95,1%
Nominee Gianna Calderara Amanda Leloup Party PA LSDP–LND Final vote 5.204.542 5.020.492 Percentage 50,9% 49,1%
Results of the final preference distribution by region   Gianna Calderara   Amanda Leloup
President before election Gianna Calderara President after election Gianna Calderara

A presidential election was held in Gylias on 22 January 1999.

Incumbent Gianna Calderara was re-elected, defeating Amanda Leloup, jointly supported by the LSD Party and Love, Nature, Democracy. The election was seen as a highlight of the 1990s, representing a peak in the decade's atmosphere of national self-confidence and optimism.

Procedure

The election was held through instant-runoff voting.

Candidates were registered with Elections Gylias in accordance with normal procedures. They could either be nominated by a political party or electoral bloc, civic organisations, or self-nomination as independents.

Candidates

Candidate		Nominator		Office(s) held	Details
Gianna Calderara			Progressive Alliance	President of Gylias (since 1991)	Campaigned as the main leftist candidate.
Amanda Leloup			LSD Party–Love, Nature, Democracy	Governor of Nezyál (1970–1978)	Campaigned on promotion of psychedelia, free love, and sexarchism.
Margaret Roberts			National Bloc	Governor of Ḑarna (1982–1998)	Campaigned as the main conservative candidate.
Cathy French			Liberal Union	None	Campaigned as the main liberal candidate.
Françoise Chatelain			OMFLG–ACFEN	None	Campaigned on promotion of francité.
Katalin Nemes			Independent	None	Campaigned on promotion of sports.

Results

Candidate		Nominator	First count	%	Final count	%
	Gianna Calderara	PA	2.143.392	18,3%	5.204.542	50,9%
	Amanda Leloup	LSDP–LND	2.131.680	18,2%	5.020.492	49,1%
	Margaret Roberts	NB	2.037.979	17,4%
	Cathy French	Liberal Union	2.026.267	17,3%
	Françoise Chatelain	OMFLG–ACFEN	2.014.554	17,2%
	Katalin Nemes	Independent	1.171.252	10,0%
Others/write-ins			187.400	1,6%
Total			11.712.525	100%	10.225.034	100%
Registered voters and turnout			12.541.761	95,1%

Maps

First count pluralities by region

Final count majorities by region

Analysis

The 1990s were a decade of national optimism and renewed self-confidence in Gylias, and this presidential election was seen by many as their culmination. Voters were presented with a particularly appealing crop of candidates, including beloved cultural figures (Amanda Leloup and Cathy French), an acclaimed sportsperson (Katalin Nemes), one of Gylias' longest-serving governors (Margaret Roberts), and francité stalwart Françoise Chatelain, a celebrated perennial candidate contesting her record 9th presidential election.

The first count became one of the closest contests since 1986. Incumbent Gianna Calderara's first preference vote dropped by 8,5% compared to 1995.

Amanda Leloup, an esteemed cultural icon and former Governor of Nezyál jointly endorsed by the LSD Party and Love, Nature, Democracy, surprisingly finished second, only 11.712 first preference votes behind Gianna. Amanda ran a jovial campaign that had built on the previous foundation laid by Moana Pozzi and Ilona Stahler, featuring similar winking slogans, but with a stronger effect due to her lengthy career and trailblazing celebrity.

The National Bloc nominated Margaret Roberts, long-term Governor of Ḑarna and a leading representative of green conservatism. Margaret was expected to advance to the second round, making her third place finish something of a shock. Some commentators surmised that her background was a burden: her record as governor did not much excite younger voters, and as one of the older candidates she crucially lacked the glamour of Cathy French and Françoise Chatelain.

Cathy French proved a strong nominee for the Liberal Union. Although she only won pluralities in the customary liberal strongholds of Arxaþ, Alţira, and Elena, she finished fourth, only 11.712 first preference votes behind Margaret, and her tally of 17,3% was an improvement over the last LU candidate, Clarissa Rossetti's 15,8% in 1986.

The election turned out to be the swan song of Françoise Chatelain, with her all-time best showing of 17,2% and pluralities in four regions: Herlan, Tomes, Nauras, and Kausania.

One of Gylias' most acclaimed figure skaters, Katalin Nemes became the first sportsperson to run for the presidency, on a platform of promoting sports. Having run a quirky campaign that concentrated on Gylias' mountainous regions, she finished sixth with 10% of first preference votes, and pluralities in Tandar, Envadra, and Arsad — the last ironically one of Gylias' flattest regions topographically.

In the final round, Gianna generally gained transfers from Margaret's voters, while Amanda generally gained transfers from Cathy and Françoise's voters, with Katalin's voters being more evenly split. Françoise voters overwhelmingly backed Amanda in second preferences, and many Cathy voters did likewise owing to their similar cultural stature.

The result was a final round contest between the left and far-left, and a close Gianna victory by 50,9% to Amanda's 49,1% — the closest presidential re-election since 1968.

Gianna gained majorities in Margaret's regions, plus Arxaþ and Alţira, and carried the ever-unpredictable Tandar, making her Gylias' only president to carry Tandar twice, non-consecutively. Amanda gained Françoise's regions, Elena from Cathy, and Arsad from Katalin. This was the first time since 1975 that Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk voted for a PA candidate.