User:Gapolania/Sandbox1
 | |||
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
General elections will be held in Gapolania to elect the President, heads of the governorates and communes and 155 members of the Senate. The elections are scheduled to take place on August 22nd.
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 Template:Uneployment for citizens aged 18-30 and deteriorating quality of the environment.
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, formed after the Hibiscus Revolution. On 10th June 2021, the party's leader, Marcelo Segantù, officially presented a new political alliance, Movement for Change, created together with parties like Abbastanza! (Enough) - previously a part of the Justice and Restoration, Democratic Alliance and United Gapolania.
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.
Civic Union, the second largest group in the Senate, advanced its leader, Elisa Perranazu, for the elections on 25th May. It was believed that the coalition would put forward a joint candidate with the New Left alliance, yet both coalitions did not reach an agreement and chose separate runs. The New Left announced its candidate, Battista Bernardi, on 27th May.