Akashian presidential election, 2015

Akashian presidential election, 2015

27 June 2015 (first round) 4 July 2015 (second round)
Turnout	86,5% (first round) 84,1% (second round)
Candidate Kyōichi Hirayama Liana Ferrari Party SP URP Popular vote 3.765.262 3.744.236 Percentage 50,1% 49,9%
File:Akashi-election-president-2015.png Most voted candidate by province (second round)
President before election Kyōichi Hirayama SP President after election Kyōichi Hirayama SP

A presidential election was held in Akashi on 27 June and 4 July 2015.

Narrowly elected five years earlier, incumbent Kyōichi Hirayama once again faced a formidable challenger: United Reform Party leader and former finance minister Liana Ferrari, known for her strong conservative socialist credentials and extravagant public image. At the time she declared her candidacy, Liana was in a "wilderness period", after the URP had been badly mauled in 2010 and 2014, and saw the campaign as a way to "reintroduce" herself to the public.

Other notable candidates included Future Party leader Momoka Nishimura, who became the youngest Akashian to run for the presidency, Moderate People's Party candidate Nari Matsutani, who felt the public was still quite fed up with Liana, Communist Party candidate Fujiko Chino, and the independent Kenji Suda. The field was notably female-dominated, with Kyōichi and Kenji being the only male candidates.

The first round saw Kyōichi's plurality decline by 4%, and he finished only 2% ahead of Liana. There were also strong performances from Fujiko, Nari, and Momoka, meaning that 5 out of 6 candidates won at least 1 million votes. Another dramatic showdown was expected in the second round, and there was speculation whether Liana could succeed where her mentor Keiko Nakayama failed in 2010 and win the presidency.

Kyōichi won the second round with a slightly larger margin of 50,1% to Liana's 49,1% — a difference of only some 21.000 votes. The electoral map was little changed: Liana won majorities in 3 out of 5 provinces, while Kyōichi held Kobi and managed to win Shimachi.

Despite her loss, Liana credited the presidential campaign as launching her "second act" in public life, showing a more sedate and less showboating public image than she'd had as finance minister.

Result

Presidential election, 27 June and 4 July 2015
Candidate		Party	1st round		2nd round
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Kyōichi Hirayama	Socialist Party	1.907.779	24,7%	3.765.262	50,1%
	Liana Ferrari	United Reform Party	1.737.855	22,5%	3.744.236	49,9%
	Fujiko Chino	Communist Party	1.081.332	14,0%
	Nari Matsutani	Moderate People's Party	1.065.884	13,8%
	Momoka Nishimura	Future Party	1.034.989	13,4%
	Kenji Suda	Independent	895.961	11,6%
Total			7.723.800	100%	7.509.498	100%
Registered voters and turnout			8.929.249	86,5%		84,1%