1899 Inglaterran Provisional Election

1899 Inglaterran Provisional Election

1 January 1899
All 16 provinces and 6 territories 13 votes needed to win
Candidate Joeri Wasindone Jens Larsson Party Confederalist Dominionist Electoral vote 13 6 Percentage 68.4% 31.6%
Joeri Wasindone      Jens Larsson
Chancellor before election Joeri Wasindone Confederalist As Governor-General Elected Chancellor Joeri Wasindone Confederalist

The 1899 Inglaterran provisional election of January 1, 1899, was the last election held in Inglaterra as a Niagaran colony, held during the Christmas Convention, where representatives of the internal provinces of the former Dominion of Inglaterra met from 25 December, 1898 until 3 January, 1899. Confederalist Joeri Wasindone defeated Dominionist Jens Larsson by 13 votes to 6 in the election for chancellor of a reformed government that would last until 1905. This reformed government quickly became a provisional one, as Inglaterra would declare independence in June.

Background

The Trans-Frigan canal, which was primarily constructed using Inglaterran laborers and resources under the authority of Niagaran engineers and administrators, had become a major wedge issue between Inglaterra and Niagara. In 1897 Inglaterra's parliament elected Joeri Wasindone of the Social Republican Party as governor-general, who promised to seek Inglaterran control of the canal. On 11 January, 1898, Inglaterra formally requested control of the canal. However, on 19 January Niagara would refuse. In response, Governor-General Wasindone declared a convention to meet in December of 1898. This convention, known as the Christmas Convention for starting on 25 December, ostensibly met to discuss reforms to Inglaterra' governing system but quickly became an independence convention.

In addition to the concrete issue of the canal, cultural differences, including the divergence of Frigan from mainstream Niagaran dialects and the creole language of Inglaterran formed a cultural divide between Inglaterra and Niagara. In addition, Inglaterrans felt that they were often mistreated and not taken seriously by imperial authorities. Many Inglaterran soldiers felt that Niagaran commanding officers were cruel and hateful towards Inglaterran soldiers.

Despite not declaring independence, which would come during the June Convention, the Christmas Convention set up the framework for independence, including the elimination of the governor-general and replacement by a chancellor, in violation of Inglaterra' dominion status.

Election

Campaign

Joeri Wasindone and Jens Larsson ran simple campaigns aimed at attracting the mideastern provinces, which were considered swing provinces. The eastern and primarily Inglaterran speaking provinces with a distinct cultural identity faced economic losses from the nonownership of the canal and therefore favored independence and Wasindone. However, the western and primarily Frigan-speaking provinces were much closer to Niagara both in culture and economics and therefore favored reconciliation and compromise with Niagara. The swing provinces of the mideast, which were mostly bilingual, effectively held the power in electing the new chancellor.

Electoral College

The voting system, in absence of a popular election, was done by provincial and territorial delegations. The densely populated provinces, of which there were 13, each received a single vote. The sparsely populated territories, of which there were 6, each received a half vote. This made for a total of 19 votes, of which 13 were required for victory.