Midrasian consular election, 2017
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 68,186,043 (66.2%) | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
The Midrasian consular election of 2017 on 14 September 2013 elected the 46th Consul of Midrasia since the Constitution of 1791. The election was took place against a backdrop of protests against incumbent Charles Vauban, resulting in the Consul being challenged by several candidates from the Reform Bloc and forcing primary elections. This process eventually saw Vauban resign, leading Melcion Portas to win the Reformist nomination and the subsequent election against Chartist candidate Lucatiel Lorett. Concurrent with the consular election, Senate, Assembly, and many local elections were also held on 14th of September.
The election was conducted using the popular vote, with the candidate with the most votes being declared the winner. Melcion Portas won the election in a near-landslide, with 36,888,649 votes (54.1%) to Lorett's 30,150,652 (45.9%).
Following the conclusion of Charles' Vauban's term in office, elections were scheduled to take place in September 2017. Vauban was the first to announce his candidacy for the Reform Bloc, seeking a second term in office. Being the sitting Consul, Vauban initially went unchallenged by the rest of his party. Nominations for Chartist candidate were opened in August 2016, leading a number of candidates including Lucatiel Lorett, Isaac Joubert, Claude Foucault and Giuseppe Nicolando to declare their intentions to run. The Chartist primaries saw Lorett eventually win out over her rivals, despite a strong challenge from Midrasia First representative Claude Foucault.
In October of 2016 however, stories of corruption allegations levelled at the then Consul Charles Vauban began to appear across a number of publications, particularly Le Picayune, running the headline: "Favours from Mr Vauban". The resultant media frenzy, and parliaments announcement of an investigation into the Consul, saw a number of challengers from the Reform Bloc appear, forcing Vauban into a primary. With mounting pressure of an official investigation, and with a number of parties backing Progressive challenger Melcion Portas, Vauban inevitably announced his withdrawal from the election in May 2017, leading Portas to gain the official nomination.
Melcion Portas and running mate Jacques Magule were officially inaugurated as Consul and Vice Consul respctively on 1 January 2017.
Election date and process
- See also: Elections in Midrasia
As of the electoral reforms of 1902, Midrasian consular elections are held on a fixed-term basis of every four years utilising the popular vote to elect the winning candidate. Elections to the Senate and Public Assembly were also scheduled to take place on the same day. As such, upon the conclusion of Charles Vauban's four-year term, an election was officially scheduled for September 14 2017, with parliament being officially dissolved by the monarch on August 10, exactly one month before polling day.
Primary elections were scheduled to take place beforehand, with each political bloc running elections on a regional level to determine the winner. In the case of the Reform Bloc, the candidate with the most votes in each primary election is declared the winner, however within the Chartist Bloc, the candidate who wins the most regions is declared the winner.
Voter eligibility
To vote in the general election, one had to be:
- on the Electoral register;
- aged 18 or over on polling day;
- a Midrasian or Mydramonde citizen;
- a resident at an address in Midrasia and;
- not legally excluded from voting
Individuals had to be registered to vote by midnight of 31 August. A person who has two homes (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) may be registered to vote at both addresses, as long as they are not in the same electoral area, but can vote in only one constituency at the general election.
Timetable
The key dates were:
| 1 April | Last day to file official nomination papers, beginning of 'informal' campaigning |
| 10 August | Formal dissolution of Parliament and beginning of 'official' campaigning |
| 24 August | First live TV debate |
| 31 August | Last day to register to vote, and to request a postal vote |
| 1 September | Main party leaders debate |
| 8 September | Second live TV debate |
| 14 September | Polling day |
| 18 September | Parliament re-assembled |
| 20 September | State opening of Parliament |
| 1 January | Inauguration ceremony |
Background
Nominations
Chartist Bloc
Nominee
| Candidate | Most recent position | Campaign | Total Votes | Contests won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:MDRUDA.png Lucatiel Lorett |
Assembly Minority Leader (2014–2017) |
<imgur w="120">fX2h5Ij.png</imgur> | 51.02% 13,456,728 |
10 CND, GLT, JDS, MJL, MYD, PIE, RHO, TOU, VAE, VIU | |
Withdrawn candidates
| Candidate | Most recent position | Campaign Withdrawal Date |
Total Votes | Contests won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <imgur w="120">fwS1wTw.png</imgur> Claude Foucault |
Chairperson of Midrasia First (2006–present) |
<imgur w="120">vbLzyJO.png</imgur> Withdrew: March 15 |
38.7% 10,207,279 |
3 AVA, ELS, EST | |
 Guiseppe Nicolando |
Chairperson of Liberty (2010–present) |
<imgur w="120"></imgur> Withdrew: February 11 |
6.78% 1,788,252 |
1 RIV | |
 Olwen Danielou |
Secretary of State for Education (2010–2014) |
<imgur w="120"></imgur> Withdrew: January 18 |
3.2% 844,018 |
1 PAD | |
 Isaac Joubert |
Minority Whip (2015–present) |
<imgur w="120">5nzCsrB.png</imgur> Withdrew: November 27 |
0.25% 65,939 |
||
Reform Bloc
Nominee
| Candidate | Most recent position | Campaign | Total Votes | Contests won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <imgur w="120">YpZ0JYy.png</imgur> Melcion Portas |
Secretary of State for Trade (2014–2015) |
<imgur w="80"></imgur> | 59.21% 17,332,765 |
15 AVA, CND, ELS, EST, GLT, JDS, MJL, MYD, PAD, PIE, RHO, RIV, TOU, VAE, VIU | |
Withdrawn candidates
| Candidate | Most recent position | Campaign Withdrawal Date |
Total Votes | Contests won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Charles Vauban |
Consul of Midrasia (2014–2017) |
<imgur w="80"></imgur> Withdrew: March 17 |
40.32% 11,803,025 |
||
 Jean-Paul Dumonde |
Chairperson of the Socialist Party (2009–present) |
<imgur w="80"></imgur> Withdrew: January 3 |
0.42% 122,948 |
||