User:Poshyte/Sandbox7
2007 Alslandic same-sex Marriage referendum
| 2007 Alslandic same-sex Marriage referendum | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Should the United Provinces of Alsland allow marriage between same-sex couples? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location |  Alsland | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | 15 June 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Alslandic Government | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Yes
No
The 2007 Alslandic Same-Sex Marriage referendum took place on 15 June 2007 in Alsland to ask the electorate whether Alsland should legalise same-sex marriages. Prior to the referendum same-sex couples were allowed to enter civil unions and foreign marriages were recognised. The government of Jabik Nieuwenhuis promised a referendum on same-sex marriage in their manifesto for the 2005 legislative election. The referendum resulted in 59.3% of votes being cast in favour of legalising same-sex marriage. The resulting Marriage Act 2007, commonely known as the Metyller Law, was passed nearly unanimously in the Folkssenaat and was signed by head of the Federal Presidency, Onne Monsma on August 11, 2005. The act came into force on November 23 2007 the day after Jabik Nieuwenhuis was removed from office by Onne Monsma. The first same-sex marriage ceremony in Alsland occurred on November 29 2007.
Background
History
Support and Opposition
Party positions
| Position | Political parties | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Worker's Party | |
| Progressive Alliance | ||
| The Centre | ||
| ASAY | ||
| United Democratic Union | ||
| Greens and Socialists | ||
| Radical | ||
| No | Sotirian Union | |
| Justice Party | ||
| Alslandic Resistance | ||
| National Rally | ||
| No official stance | Conservative Party | |
| Sotirian Democratic Front | ||
| Swathish Movement | ||
Yes Campaign
No Campaign
Public opinion
| Date | Firm | Yes | No | Undecided | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11–14 June 2007 | ANS | 55% | 42% | 3% | 1,000 |
| 2–8 June 2007 | Hjoed | 62% | 38% | - | 1,200 |
| 25–30 May 2007 | TBD | 56% | 42% | 2% | 1,200 |
| 26–29 May 2007 | Hjoed | 60% | 40% | - | 1,000 |
| 19–24 May 2007 | TBD | 54% | 46% | - | 1,730 |
| 10–14 May 2007 | JaAlslân | 59% | 39% | 2% | 1,500 |
| 2–6 May 2007 | Yndyktinkt | 66% | 30% | 4% | 1,800 |
| 15-20 April 2007 | TBD | 52% | 45% | 3% | 1,000 |
| 4-8 April 2007 | TBD | 56% | 44% | - | 1,200 |
| 25-27 March 2007 | TBD | 57% | 40% | 3% | 1,250 |
| 20-23 March 2007 | Hjoed | 60% | 40% | - | 1,500 |
Campaign
Advertising
Abuse and vandalism
Mental health
Result
National result
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes
|
3,935,311 | 59.3 |
| No | 2,705,508 | 40.7 |
| Valid votes | 6,640,819 | 99.6 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 29,151 | 0.4 |
| Total votes | 6,669,970 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters and turnout | 7,963,944 | 83.8 |
| Yes: 3,935,311 (59.3%) |
No: 2,705,508 (40.7%) | ||
| ▲ | |||
Result by Province
| Province | Yes | No | Invalid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Delland | 950,928 | 63.2% | 541,668 | 36% | 0.8% |
| Fawkhamshire | 378,737 | 54.8% | 310,315 | 44.9% | 0.3% |
| Garz | 580,737 | 55.4% | 480,104 | 45.8% | 0.8% |
| Hamptonshire | 591,191 | 61.2% | 364,181 | 37.7% | 1.1% |
| Martiland | 284,287 | 51.8% | 260,688 | 47.5% | 0.7% |
| Middewald | 352,279 | 65.3% | 185,040 | 34.3% | 0.4% |
| Yndyk | 378,286 | 71.3% | 149,086 | 28.1% | 0.6% |
| Zittau | 418,866 | 49.8% | 420,592 | 50% | 0.2% |
Aftermath
Marriage Act 2007
Reactions
Upon the announcement that the yes campaign had won, Premier Jabik Nieuwenhuis said "The message is clear and we as a nation have decided to agree that all humans no matter who they love deserve the same rights as everyone else. I urge both campaigns to come together and work together to pass legislation ensuring same-sex marriage is legalised." Nieuwenhuis later addressed a Yes campaign rally in Yndyk congratulating staff members involved in the campaign.
Head of the Federal Presidency Onne Monsma said "The people and voters have spoken and they have made it quite clear that they wish to legalise same-sex marriage in Alsland. I look forward to working with the legislature to deliver the results of this referendum."
Talk show host Alker Groen proposed to his partner live on air after the results were announced. Groen and his partner converted their civil union to a marriage in December 2007.
Lennard Bernauer who led the No campaign said in a television interview with ANS on the day following the referendum "I'm obviously disappointed with the result but we live in a democratic society and this was a democratic vote. But any law to legalise homosexual marriage must take into account people's religious views, we cannot force churches for example to go against church teachings and practice these acts."
Journalist Gabriel Weiskopf suggested that Zittau should refuse to practice same-sex marriages following the result. Weiskopf said "the voters in Zittau do not agree with same-sex marriage being implemented and [Jabik] Nieuwenhuis should affirm this and allow for the current practice of civil unions for same-sex couples to continue in Zittau." Minister-President of Zittau Konrad Dünhaupt said that the provincial government would respect the referendum result.
The Church of Delland acknowledged the result but reaffirmed it's position that marriage was between a man and a woman. The Reformed Church of Holsteen's Moderator said "The RKH will continue to believe that marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman, any changes to the teachings of the church must be voted on by the General Assembly." The Church of Martiland and Lanekirik said "the church is deeply disappointed that the institution of marriage will no longer reflect the Sotirian interpretation that it is between a man and a woman." In 2016 the Church of Martiland and Lanekirik began allowing same-sex marriages.
Criticism
Plans to hold a referendum were criticised by several LGBT rights advocacy groups who called the decision to have the majority vote on the rights of a minority group. During initial debates on holding a referendum, Senator Emo Akkerman who is openly Bisexual said that holding a referendum could set a dangerous precedence for other countries to deny LGBT citizens their rights if a referendum is held. Akkerman voted to hold the referendum during the vote on the issue.
In 2011, Premier Jonathan Fraser criticised the move to hold a referendum saying that the process would have been much faster had the Marriage Act 2007 been voted on in the Folkssenaat where there was overwhelming support for it. Fraser was outed as Gay in 2003 and was one of the most prominent figures within the 'Yes' campaign.
List of Alslandic governments
2021 Middewald general election
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All 70 seats in the Middewald Provincial Assembly 36 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 532,389 (74.2%) 0.7% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Winning candidates in the single-member constituencies, with list seats shown in the top right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2021 Middewald general election was held on 3 September 2021 to elect all 70 members to the Middewald Provincial Assembly. The outgoing government was a coalition government between the Social Democrats in Delland (SDyD), the Conservative Party (KP) with support from the Martish Democratic Party (MDP). It was led by Eildert Van Der Werff since 2019.
Together for the Republic, a newly founded bloc won a plurality of seats. The bloc was contesting this election as a joint initiative between The Centre, the Green Party and Future Alsland who all won seats. The SDyD experienced a decline of five percentage points. The right-wing Orange Party unexpectedly won more seats than the Conservative Party which experienced a decline of seven percentage points, the election was the party's worst ever result in the Province. ASAY and the Workers Party contested the election together and did not increase their share of seats or vote share significantly. The MDP more than doubled their vote share and won an extra 3 seats.
The incumbent coalition was defeated and Eildert Van Der Werff announced her resignation as Minister-President after coalition talks fell through. Heigo Harma was confirmed as Minister-President by the Assembly on 1 October and announced the establishment of a coalition of Together for the Republic and the SDyD later that week.
Election date
The 33rd Assembly on Middewald began on 21 September 2018 following the 2018 Middewald general election. Under the Provincial constitution of Middewald, elections to the Provincial Assembly must be held during the month of September every three years. On 29 July 2020 the Middewald government confirmed the date of the election for 3 September 2021. Originally the election was to be held together with elections to the Witansmoot of Hamptonshire but a snap election was held in Hamptonshire in conjunction with the 2020 Alslandic legislative election.
Background
In the previous election, the SDyD held a plurality of seats and had entered a coalition with the KP and MDP. The election was widely seen as a referendum on the Premiership of Ottila Möller, the election was the first to be held in Alsland during her tenure as Premier. The incumbent grand coalition SDyD-KP-MDP was unpopular in Middewald throughout it's existence. On 14 February 2019, Minister-President of Middewald Ljimme Broersma resigned as Minister-President and was succeeded by the Province's Secretary of Health Eildert Van Der Werff.
Parties
The table below lists the parties represented in the 33rd Gearkomste.
Campaign
The campaign officially began on 1 August 2021 when the 33rd Provincial Assembly was dissolved by President Hepke Veltman. Minister-President Eildert Van Der Werff was able to secure the support of many federal officials in the government. On 3 August the SDyD campaign officially began when the Provincial Manifesto was launched. Shortly after this Van Der Werff was endorsed by Bonne Zijlstra and Ottila Möller.
Originally, opinion polls suggested the election would be a close race between the KP and Together. Polls conducted before the campaign had consistently shown the Conservative Party ahead of the SDyD and Together. On 16 August, audio recordings appeared to show the KP's Minister-President candidate Formert Meinsma accepting a bribe from a logging company. At first the allegations were denied and were claimed to be manipulated. However the recording's authenticity was validated and soon after many National Bloc figures rescinded their endorsements from Meinsma. Meinsma continued to deny the allegations throughout the campaign. As it was already too late to replace Meinsma as a candidate the Conservative Party issued a statement saying Meinsma would not accept the role of Minister-President and would stand down as an MA if he was found to have accepted a bribe by the police.
Two TV debates were held during the campaign. Polling after the debates showed most voters believed MDP leader Triin Keskula preformed the best out of the candidates.
Opinion polling
Graphical summary
Minister-President polling
Polling conducted during the campaign on who the preferred Minister-President would be
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size |
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Other/Unsure/None of the above | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harma TGFR |
Van Der Werff SDyD |
De Graaf OP - FDU |
Meinsma KP | |||||
| ANS | 29-31 Aug 2021 | 1000 | 41 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 32 | 18 |
| TBD | 21-24 Aug 2021 | 1000 | 40 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 29 | 20 |
| TBD | 15-16 Aug 2021 | 800 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 29 | 23 | 1 |
| TBD | 10-13 Aug 2021 | 800 | 32 | 15 | 4 | 30 | 19 | 2 |
| TBD | 9-12 Aug 2021 | 800 | 30 | 14 | 2 | 31 | 23 | 1 |
| TBD | 6-8 Aug 2021 | 800 | 30 | 11 | 3 | 30 | 26 | Tie |
Preferred coalition
Results
Aftermath
Government formation
Impact on Federal politics
Notes
Linkse
The Left De Linkse Die Linke þe Linc Vasak | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation |
|
| President | Jabik Nieuwenhuis |
| Founder | Jabik Nieuwenhuis |
| Founded | 2022 |
| Preceded by | Workers Party |
| Newspaper | The Worker |
| Youth wing | KFJS |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| European Parliament group | Mixed Radical Left |
| Colours | Red |
| Folkssenaat | 8 / 231
|
| Euclean Parliament | 1 / 24
|
The Left Party (Dellish: De Linkse, Weranian: Die Linke, Swathish: þe Linc, Kirenian: Vasak) is a political party in Alsland. It was founded in March 2022 by members of the former Workers Party and defectors from the Progressive Alliance. A Socialist party, it has been described as Left-wing but claims to also represent the Centre-left. In it's political program the party claims to wish to create a Democratic Socialist society and supports the nationalisation of large businesses.
The party has representation in every provincial legislature in Alsland. It has 8 seats in the Folkssenaat and 1 seat in the Euclean Parliament. The party is the direct successor of the Workers Party. Currently 3 of it's Senators and it's 1 MEP defected or were expelled from the Progressive Alliance.
Ideology
The party supports expanding the current welfare state which it claims has been damaged from decades of mismanagement. The party contains a wide variety of ideologies, officially it adheres to a mixture of Social Democracy, Eco-socialism and Democratic Socialism although some minor groups within the party have called for the party to adopt a Left-wing populist platform. The party claims to be the one true party representing the Centre-left following what it calls the Progressive Alliance abandoning the centre-left. After it's founding the party adopted an explicitly Pro-EC position, some members have called for the party to seek membership in the Socialist Alternative for Euclea. Following it's creation the Progressive Alliance said it would attempt to block any attempts of the party to join the SAE. The party has been domestically compared to the Weranian SAPO party. The party opposes the 2022 Deportation powers bill which it has called "explicitly racist", in June 2022 when it was being debated in the Folkssenaat the party ordered it's Senators to walk out in protest.
History
Formation (2022)
The party was formed in March 2022 after the Workers Party dissolved itself. At it's launch conference Jabik Nieuwenhuis was elected as it's interim leader and stated: "Our goal is to give the Alslandic centre-left and left a proper voice in the Folkssenaat that will stand up for all people."