Akashian general election, 2014

Akashian general election, 2014

28 June 2014
400 seats in the National Assembly 201 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	88,8%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Kōko Kaga Hiroshi Sone Rise Takashima Party SP MPP CP Last election 210 seats 39,0% PR 42,6% STV 36 seats 19,6% PR 10,3% STV 50 seats 14,8% PR 11,7% STV Seats won 100 72 55 Seat change 110 36 5 PR vote 1.610.851 1.272.965 974.369 % and swing 20,5% 18,5% 16,2% 5,6% 12,4% 2,4% STV vote 1.612.429 1.455.119 983.189 % and swing 20,5% 22,1% 18,5% 8,2% 12,5% 0,8%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Kazunori Takata Liana Ferrari Momoka Nishimura Party GP URP FP Last election 25 seats 7,7% PR 7,9% STV 21 seats 7,5% PR 7,4% STV 27 seats 8,5% PR 8,2% STV Seats won 40 37 29 Seat change 15 16 2 PR vote 801.497 754.350 652.198 % and swing 10,2% 2,5% 9,6% 2,1% 8,3% 0,2% STV vote 810.147 668.568 613.510 % and swing 10,3% 2,4% 8,5% 1,1% 7,8% 0,4%
Most voted party by province
Prime Minister before election Kōko Kaga SP Prime Minister after election Kōko Kaga SP

A general election was held in Akashi on 28 June 2014. The Kōko Kaga government was re-elected with a minority.

While Kōko remained popular going into the election, the "Kōkomania" that had propelled the Socialist Party to a landslide victory four years before had dissipated, and it was expected that the party would lose its majority and have to form a coalition.

The centre-right leadership remained unchanged. Hiroshi Sone was not blamed for the Moderate People's Party's poor result during the "red wave" and sought to fight another election to prove himself as party leader. Liana Ferrari weathered the humiliating blow largely through her tight grip on the United Reform Party, which squelched potential leadership challenges.

With the Socialists being the incumbents, one party leader that attracted greater attention was Momoka Nishimura of the Future Party. Like Kōko, she held the distinction of being her party's youngest leader, and proved an astute campaigner, nudging the party closer to the left and pirate politics.

Results

General election, 28 June 2014
Party		Party list			Constituency			Total seats	+/-
		PR	%	+/−	STV	%	+/−
	Socialist Party	1.610.851	20,5%	-18,5%	1.612.429	20,5%	-22,1%	100	-110
	Moderate People's Party	1.272.965	16,2%	+5,6%	1.455.119	18,5%	+8,2%	72	+36
	Communist Party	974.369	12,4%	-2,4%	983.189	12,5%	+0,8%	55	+5
	Green Party	801.497	10,2%	+2,5%	810.147	10,3%	+2,4%	40	+15
	United Reform Party	754.350	9,6%	+2,1%	668.568	8,5%	+1,1%	37	+16
	Future Party	652.198	8,3%	-0,2%	613.510	7,8%	-0,4%	29	+2
	National Cooperative Party	636.483	8,1%	+1,6%	605.644	7,7%	+1,0%	26	+6
	National Union	534.331	6,8%	+5,0%	464.065	2,0%	+3,0%	17	+12
	Conservative National Party	212.161	2,7%	+1,5%	204.503	2,6%	+1,9%	7	+7
	Akashi Renewal Party	180.730	2,3%	+1,2%	196.638	2,5%	+1,7%	6	+6
	Independents	227.877	2,9%	+1,6%	251.696	3,2%	+1,5%	11	+5
Total		7.857.811	100%	—	7.865.509	100%	—	400	—
Registered voters and turnout		8.848.886	88,8%	—	8.848.886	88,9%

Bloc strength
Bloc	Parties	Seats
Crimson bloc	CP, GP	95
Pale crimson bloc	SP, NU	117
Light yellow bloc	NCP, FP	55
Light blue bloc	MPP, URP	109
Dark blue bloc	CNP, ARP	13

• Government: Socialist Party–Green Party–National Cooperative Party–National Union coalition.

Predictably, the SP lost its anomalous majority. Even with a loss of 18–22% of the vote and 110 seats, they held onto a plurality of 100 seats. This was achieved mainly by finishing a close second in the provinces they lost — Takao to the MPP, Kobi to the CP, and Shimachi to the GP — and retaining pluralities in Kagi and Matō.

The SP's tide receding allowed virtually all parties to make gains and claim success on the night. The light blue bloc increased its tally by 52 seats, narrowing the gap with the pale crimson bloc to only 8 seats. Similarly strong gains were made by the GP and NU, many of whose voters had temporarily switched to the SP during the "red wave" of 2010.

In the new legislature, the crimson and pale crimson blocs combined had a majority. However, Kōko was conscious of the parliamentary dynamics that hindered Shinobu Furukawa's last term, and thus sought to keep good relations with the light yellow bloc as well. She formed a coalition with the GP, NCP, and NU, which at 183 seats was technically a minority, but could count on either CP or FP support to achieve a majority.