2015 Weranian federal election

2019 Weranian general election

22 May 2015
All 545 seats to the Volkstag 273 seats are needed for a majority in the Volkstag
Turnout	32,985,790 (73.11%) 1.62%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Viktor Oberhauser Günter Schaefer Veronika Althammer Party SRPO NKP PMZ Leader since 24th September 2014 15th June 2013 31st March 2015 Last election 190 seats, 33.08% 135 seats, 23.59% 95 seats, 14.64% Seats won 157 138 88 Seat change 33 3 7 Popular vote 9,175,847 9,086,742 4,257,483 Percentage 27.12% 26.85% 12.58% Swing 5.96% 3.26% 2.06%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Käthe Schickdanze Peter Lötzsch Aneta Umbraite Party DA OSAI SDT Leader since 18th October 2014 17th May 2012 11th March 2009 Last election 22 seats, 4.42% 26 seats, 5.90% 20 seats, 2.03% Seats won 41 35 29 Seat change 19 9 9 Popular vote 2,557,493 2,385,637 858,472 Percentage 7.56% 7.05% 2.54% Swing 3.09% 1.15% 0.51   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Leader Valentina Kaltenbrunner (Spitzenkandidat) Albrecht Ströher Arvydas Ražauskas Party Grüns OVFP NNK Leader since 12th November 2008 16th August 2006 20th March 1999 Last election 26 seats, 3.69% 12 seats, 2.93% 10 seats, 2.10% Seats won 28 15 10 Seat change 2 3 Popular vote 1,268,372 1,245,738 754,847 Percentage 3.75% 3.68% 2.23% Swing 0.06% 0.75% 0.13%
File:2015 werania election map2.png States coloured by largest party.
Chancellor before election Viktor Oberhauser SPRO Elected Chancellor Otto von Hößlin NKP

The 44^th general election was held in the Weranian Confederation for the Volkstag (the lower house of the Bundestag) on the 22^nd May 2015. All 545 members of the Volkstag were elected under a single non-transferable vote system in multi-member electoral districts. The election saw the governing Social Democratic Radical Party-Modern Centre Party emerge as the largest bloc but losing its absolute majority. Gains were made by almost all parties outside the governing coalition although none of them were particularly large. The election resulted in the continuation of the SRPO-PMZ government with support from two minor parties, the Weranic Section of the Workers' International and the Sotirian Democratic Homeland.

The election was called at the expiration of the previous Volkstag's term from 2011 to 2015. The five main parties - the SRPO, NKP, PMZ, DA and OSAI - had all changed their leaders during the parliamentary term, most dramatically when SRPO leader and incumbent Chancellor Ellis Koopmann had been ousted by her Foreign Minister, Viktor Oberhauser.

Despite the changes in leaders the election was widely regarded as one of the dullest in recent history. The outgoing government largely defended their economic record which had seen Werania through an economic recovery since the 2005 Euclean financial crisis. The opposition NKP after its disastrous result in the 2011 election was not seen as ready to hold government again. The NKP attempted to capitalise on the disunity within the government - particularly with the ouster of Koopmann - to regain lost ground, but its own internal infighting meant it's leader Günter Schaefer was not perceived as a credible candidate for Chancellor. The lack of support for the NKP meant smaller parties attempted to portray themselves as the main opposition force but none managed to stand out. The themes of the election included the economy, government infighting and corruption, migration and the Euclean Community although the campaigns lacked a consistent narrative.

The governing coalition lost only a handful of seats but enough to deprive it of a majority, forcing them to work with smaller parties who benefited from both the government's lukewarm popularity and the NKP's lack thereof. This was only the third time in Weranian history that a centre-left government was re-elected to a second term (after the 1954 and 1987 elections).

Turnout was 73.11%, a small decline from 74.73% in the last election.

Electoral process

Werania has since 1908 used an single non-transferable vote in multi-member districts to send 545 representatives to the Volkstag. the exception is Ostry, which elects a single representative on the basis of first-past-the-post. The current electoral boundaries were approved in 2010 by the Electoral Board, with boundaries being decided every 10 years based on census data. Should a party have 273 or more representative in the Volkstag, it has an absolute majority and could thus govern autonomously, without a coalition partner. The constitution can be amended with a supermajority of two-thirds, or 360 deputies.

Voters have to registrar to vote by the 20 April. In order to be eligible to vote one must be over the age of 18, be a citizen of Werania, have a permanent address in Werania and not be currently in prison.

Each party by convention nominates a single "chancellor candidate" (spitzenkandidat) that leads the party in debates, even if the party has multiple leaders. However only the largest parties spitzenkandidats - the NKP and SRPO - are considered to be likely to become Chancellor.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	Social Democratic Radical Party	9,175,847	5.96	157	33
	National Consolidation Party	9,086,742	26.81	138	3
	Modern Centre Party	4,257,483	12.58	88	7
	Democratic Alternative	2,557,493	7.56	41	19
	Weranic Section of the Workers' International	2,385,637	7.05	35	9
	Sotirian Democratic Homeland	858,472	2.54	29	9
	Green Party	1,268,372	3.75	28	2
	Weranic Völkisch Freedom Party	1,245,738	3.68	15	3
	National Coalition for Independence	754,847	2.23	10	-
	Aldman People's Party	248,593	0.73	2	-
	The Way of Courage	184,736	0.55	1	1
	United Party	15,473	0.05	1	-
	Reform Conservative Party	806,749	2.38	0	6
	Others	345,637	1.02	0	0
Invalid/blank votes		653,523	–	–	–
Total		36,209,580	100	545	0
Registered voters/turnout		46,474,226	78.95	–	–