2019 Ordennyan federal election
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All 651 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 326 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2019 Ordennyan federal election took place on 20 June 2019. The election was called by President Michel Fallow, after a budget that included deep cuts on public spending was voted down by the Chamber of Deputies, despite the four largest parties all committing to cutting public expenditure in the 2018 snap election.
Background
The 2018 federal election, called after the government lost a vote of no confidence, resulted in the Green Party becoming the largest party in Parliament, with the Ordennyan People's Party taking second, beating the Conservatives into fourth place, to become the main centre-right force in Ordennyan politics. Despite winning more votes between them, however, the Green Party and Labour Party did not have enough seats to form a government, allowing a centre-right government to be formed by the People's Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberals, with the former joining the Conservative-Liberal alliance, Forward Ordennya. Conservative leader Michel Fallow took office as President, with OFP leader Valdemar Söderberg as Vice President and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In the aftermath of the 2019 local elections, in which the OFP and KP enjoyed a boost in support, the coalition government introduced a budget which included deeper cuts to public spending than had been previously agreed by the government. The Liberals, who had campaigned in the October election against further cuts, subsequently resigned from the government and moved to the crossbench to vote against the budget. The budget was voted down by 350 votes to 290 votes, a majority of 60, on May 23rd 2019. The following morning, President Fallow announced the calling of a snap federal election.
Campaign
At the beginning of the week after the election was called, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party announced the formation of a centre alliance heading into the election, to bolster their performance, called the Union of the Democratic Centre (UDC). The Green Party and Labour Party announced the renewal of their coalition, albeit with a shortened name as the Alliance for Progress, and the People's Party and the Conservative Party formed a new bloc in the absence of the Lib Dems, called the People's Alliance.
Electoral system
Ordennya uses the mixed-member proportional representation system for the Chamber of Deputies, a system of proportional representation combined with elements of first-past-the-post voting. The House of Commons has 650 members, and these seats are distributed between the 12 Ordennyan states. This system has been in place since a referendum in 1999 changed the electoral system from alternative vote to mixed-member proportional, and has been used since the 2000 election.
Each Ordennyan voter has 2 votes: a constituency vote (first vote) and a party list vote (second vote). Based solely on the first votes, 325 members are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The second votes are used to produce a proportional number of seats for parties, based on state lists. List seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method. If a party wins fewer constituency seats in a state than its second votes would entitle it to, it receives additional seats from the relevant state list. Parties can file lists in every single state under certain conditions – for example, a fixed number of supporting signatures. Parties can receive second votes only in those states in which they have filed a state list.
Voting eligibility
In order to vote in the federal election, one must be:
- on the electoral register;
- aged 16 or over on polling day;
- an Ordennyan;
- a resident at an address in the Ordennyan Federation (or an Ordennyan citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in Ordennya in the last 15 years);
- not legally excluded from voting (for example a convicted person detained in prison or a mental hospital, or unlawfully at large if he/she would otherwise have been detained).
Aftermath
As soon as the full results became known, it became a apparent that the only possible coalition government would be between the Green Party and United Socialist Party, both from the Alliance for Progress. On the morning of June 21st, both Michel Fallow of the KP and Valdemar Söderberg of the OFP resigned as leaders of their respective parties, in light of the results.
In a speech at the Green Party headquarters in Oured, Clas Markuson announced that coalition talks had commenced between the Greens and Labour, and that they would move for an investiture vote in Parliament as soon as the new Speaker had been elected on Monday.
On Sunday, June 23rd, the final coalition agreement between the Green Party and the Labour was published. Under the agreement, Clas Markuson would take office as President of Ordennya, with Josephine Petersson as Vice President and Home Secretary. Erica Oberg, the Labour Deputy Leader, will take the position of Foreign Secretary, and Green Party Deputy Leader Loke Mathiesen as Secretary of State for Financial & Economic Affairs. Labour would also take a third of all cabinet positions.
In terms of policy, the coalition agreement outlines plans for long-term investment in the economy, a reversal of the previous government's policy of cuts, the implementation of a progressive form of corporation tax, introducing new tax bands at the top end of the income scale, and a major investment in the revitalisation of Ordennyan infrastructure and renewable energy research, dubbed as the "Green New Deal", a policy championed by Loke Mathiesen before he entered Parliament. There are also plans for constitutional reform, including the separation of the office of President into the separate offices of President and Prime Minister.
On June 24th, Clas Markuson succeeded in his Presidential investiture vote with 334 votes in favour, 280 against, and 37 abstentions.
| Investiture Clas Markuson (GP) | ||
| Ballot → | 24 June 2019 | |
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| Required majority → | 326 out of 651 
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334 / 651
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280 / 651
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37 / 651
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| Absentees | 0 / 651
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