1912 Nova-País Legislative Election
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250 seats in the National Cortes 126 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 3,621,904 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 85.9% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1912 Nova-País Legislative election was held on 15th July, 1912, to elect all 250 members of the National Cortes. The election saw the opposition Liberal Party return to government after a 3 year absence, defeating the incumbent National Preservation Party. This election was the last legislative election to ever take place in Nova-País, and the penultimate election to take place with King Duarté III as head of state. This election had the greatest number of eligible voters of any election to take place in Nova-País, with 3,621,904 eligible voters of whom 85% turned out, a total of 3,111,215 votes cast. This represented approximately 15% of the entire Nova-País population.
The Liberal Party achieved its second-ever legislative majority, with a total seat count of 201, representing a majority of 150 seats. This was their greatest majority until the 1915 General Election. The majority was the largest majority achieved by a party in Nova-País since 1868. The Liberal's vote share was also exceptionally large, representing 57% of all votes cast.
The National Preservation Party suffered a bruising defeat, losing 111 seats and being forced into opposition. Their vote share also fell considerably to -----. Although their vote share remained relatively constant in New Venapli, they suffered heavily in and around Wanmachi and medium-sized cities. This was the last time the National Preservation Party would enter government in either Nova-País or País-Sukoku, and the party would only continue to decline after the introduction of universal suffrage in 1915 and the formation of País-Sukoku in 1916.
This election was significant as it was when the Social Democrat party made their electoral debut, gaining 1.1% of the vote and 0 seats. Most of the Social Democrat's vote share at this stage was made up of recent white Amnisian immigrants and converted Mathetist Sukoki. Although the People's Union grew both their seat and vote share, this was still their second worst electoral performance (after 1909). Although the People's Union earnt 17% of the popular vote, they only gained 20 seats, representing 8%. After the 1915 Election, the People's Union would dissolve and most politicians would join the Social Democrats. The banned Sukoki Nationalist Party ran a public disobedience campaign prior to the election, encouraging members and activists to attack polling stations and harass voters. Around 15,000 ballots were spoilt with some kind of Sukoki nationalist politician or slogan written over it.
Background
After five years of governance from 1904-1909, the Liberal Party lost the 1909 Legislative Elections due to disgruntled white voters, particularly in New Venapli, believed the party had broken their promises and become too focused on improving the civil rights of native Sukoki. Additionally, the National Preservation Party under Xenophobe McXenophobeface promised to curb the growing working-class immigration from Amnisian nations such as Tussia and Vabas, which was significantly hurting job prospects for the Nueva Borealian working class. After winning the 1909 Legislative Elections with a slim majority, McXenophobeface was appointed Prime Minister by King Duarté III.
The National Preservation Party was rocked by internal division over the problem of immigration, leading to them failing one of their key manifesto objectives of reducing white immigration. Instead, immigration grew between 1909-1912 thanks to much of the party's leadership, including McXenophobeface himself, being part of the party's old wing which had initially championed white immigration as a way of growing the Nueva Borealian population. When this was discovered in the press, many of the party's grassroots members chose to desert the party and others still tried to provoke McXenophobeface's retirement. This pressure from below was a key factor in McXenophobeface's ultimate downfall.
Another large problem for the 1909-1912 government was that of internal security, with the 1909 Castelo Haishi rising organised by the banned Sukoki Nationalist Party harming the adminastration's credibility early on. Rising violence from Sukoki Nationalists became an increasing issue across the period, despite the government's promises of crackdowns against nationalist movement's which furthered this violence. White voters lost faith in their ability to maintain order and prevent a full-blown civil war, whilst converted Sukoki voters were concerned that the crackdowns and escalating violence would merely intensify existing discrimination.
The economy was another front where the adminastration faltered. Whilst the Liberal Party had taken steps to make business easier and enhance free trade, these were controversially reversed by new government. Their continuing hard-line against Sukoki rebels led to economic sanctions and many businesses refusing to operate in the country, creating greater instability. McXenophobeface and his factional loyalists began espousing rhetoric against international businesses and even encouraged 'Mathetist autarky', whereby they reimposed restrictions on Sukoki employees and tried to encourage a self-sufficient economy. This rhetoric and their policies were poorly recieved all over Nova-País, even in their traditional base of New Venapli thanks to New Venapli's stance as an international city. On 28th June 1912, against the backdrop of growing political unrest in the National Preservation Party against McXenophobeface's premiership and a failing economy, King Duarté III dismissed Xenophobe McXenophobeface as Prime Minister and called for fresh legislative elections the next day, scheduled for 15th July.
Electoral system
Only 15% of Nova-País population were permitted to vote in 1912. In a bid to prevent widespread unrest from recent white immigrants and prevent an alliance with Sukoki nationalists, King Duarté III supported a backbench-sponsored amendment to the 1912 Election act which allowed immigrants from a select group of countries, including the Holy Tussian Empire, Hansa, and Vabas, to vote if they had been residents for the past 8 years. Whilst voting differed based on racial and religious background, nobody women were permitted to vote and nor was anybody under the age of 21. Any white citizen who fulfilled those requirements was granted the right to vote, provided they had not been convicted of treason. Sukoki natives who had converted to Mathetism, known as Converti, were granted the right to vote provided they had not committed serious crimes. The final group included were wealthy Sukoki who passed an incredibly high income or wealth bracket, however they were not able to vote if they had committed treason in the past. This last group were primarily aristocrats and made up an estimated 4% of total voters. King Duarté lacked the ability to cast a vote, as he was not included on the electoral register.
The electoral system was a Simple Plurality System and split into 250 constituencies with between 8,000 and 16,000 voters in each constituency. Whilst a minor redrawing of electoral boundaries in the prevoius year had gone some way to amending the population changes of recent years, the sudden introduction of tens of thousands of immigrants to voting rights led to several urban constituencies, particularly in New Venapli, having a far greater number of voters than others.
Campaign positions
National Preservation Party
The National Preservation Party largely ran a fear campaign against the Liberal Party, whom they considered their greatest rival. This centred on the proposals of several radical Liberal politicians for native enfranchisement and total racial equality. The National Preservation Party argued that native people who did not accept Nova-País values (monarchism, mathetism, an appreciation for Amnisian culture) would vote to essentially destroy the nation, and would take revenge against white and converti citizens at the same time. The Castelo Haishi rising of 1909 served to elevate the fears of many enfranchised peoples, especially due to the Sukoki Nationalist Party's proposal of total wealth redistribution and a restoration of the 'Sukoki nation'. Although these messages attracted some measure of support, many voters who were afraid of Sukoki nationalism chose to desert the party for the Liberals and their promise of an equal and tolerant society where a new constitution would be drafted to establish a weak government and protect minority rights.
On immigration, National Preservation also lost support to the resergent People's Union. In order to combat the growth of Sukoki nationalism, many figures such as Xenophobe McXenophobeface had encouraged white immigration from poorer Amnisian nations such as Tussia and Vabas. However, this was controversial due to the large volume of immigrants, causing difficulty in terms of integration, as well as alternative sects of Mathetism which some converti began to fall prey to. Furthermore, much of National Preservation's grassroots were the white working class, who felt their own jobs were at risk from immigrants who would work for more competitive wages. The split in the party widened after McXenophobeface's retirement, with Racist von Racistface struggling to reconcile the two sides. von Racistface's credibility suffered from his inability to choose a side, leaving undecided voters to feel that von Racistface did not care about immigration as a vital issue. Therefore more voters still deserted the party for the People's Union, particularly around New Venapli, causing a large spoiler effect.
Liberal Party
Although today considered a masterclass in political campaigning, in 1912 many considered the Liberal Party's political stances to be confused and contradictory. However, although at first glance many of these policies seemed at odds with one another, in total they created a cohesive manifesto of which many elements can be seen in País-Sukoku's 1915 constitution, such as racial equality, a smaller state, and New Venapli's devolution. Whilst Pizarro Isenté himself nor the Liberal manifesto never clearly endorsed enfranchisement for all Sukoki or even all women, they stated that they would create a commission which would look at whether reaching a compromise with Sukoki Nationalists was possible and, if so, whether it would benefit the country as a whole. This guarantee of caution in enfranchisement allayed the fears of many voters, whilst also creating hope amongst progressives who believed the commission would conclude that racial equality would benefit the nation. Nevertheless, the Liberal Party still promised to lower the wealth voting requirements for native Sukoki who had not converted to mathetism, as well as granting wealthy white women the right to vote.
Due to their classical liberal beliefs, the Liberal Party supported both a small state and open borders. However, the unpopularity of these open borders and increasing pressure from voters from 1909-1912 led to the party being forced to compromise. New Venapli was the greatest target of Amnisian immigration, and as such they promised to devolve several powers to New Venapli including control over their own borders, giving them the ability to give residency permits, employment permits, and even manage local voting power. This led to a profound shift in New Venapli's voting patterns, as beforehand the city had consistently voted for the pro-white, aristocratic National Preservation Party. However, the growth of New Venapli's middle class, which supported the Liberal's economic policies, combined with the promise of devolution and a split working class vote (between the People's Union, Social Democrats, and National Preservation) meant nearly two-thirds of New Venapli's seats swung to the Liberal Party. New Venapli's loyalty to the Liberals only intensified in following elections and has continued up until the present day.
Whilst racial equality and New Venapli's devolution are the two most obvious changes which can be seen in modern País-Sukoku, several of their other manifesto promises have carried through to the modern day. Their commitment to continuing the limited military, bordering on a disarmed one, and international neutrality even amidst growing tensions between the Lexa Accords and Hanseatic Empire has remained a staple of País-Sukoku's foreign policy. Additionally, the Liberal's stance on judicial reform- strengthening courts to protect individuals from unjust trial and create greater police accountability- has gone a long way to creating País-Sukoku's famously weak state throughout the 20th century. Although a modern observer may be puzzled by the confused web of policy ideas: empowering the white-dominated New Venapli whilst bringing racial equality, or the contemporary Liberal Party which is traditionally seen as tough on crime wishing to restrict police power; it is clearly evident that the Liberal's 1912 electoral campaign created the fundamental basis of modern País-Sukoku.
People's Union
Since 1899, the People's Union had been forced into the third position in successive elections behind both National Preservation and the Liberal Party. Whilst previously champions of the suffrage movement and white working class, electoral reforms which gradually empowered all white citizens to vote left the party without a strong cause, especially as racial equality grew more significant over the years. The People's Union had attempted to rebrand themselves as a social democratic party in the first decade of the 1900s by focusing on protectionist economics and welfare, however these were unpopular ideas at the time with most people increasingly favouring free trade and laissez-faire capitalism. The 1909 represented the party's worst ever electoral performance due to National Preservation promising both interventionist economics whilst taking a reactionary stance on race-relations, something the People's Union failed to. Increasingly the People's Union suffered by being the third party and tactical voting behaviour.
In 1912, the People's Union were able to grow their support by promising both protectionist policies and a stop to immigration. Much of the Nueva Borealian working class, who still endorsed protectionism but were frustrated by McXenophobeface's inability to implement it, switched their support back to the Union. Additionally, their promise to implement the strictest border controls yet drew widespread praise from many Nueva Borealians and second-to-third generation immigrants who were concerned about their job prospects and integration problems. Had the People's Union chosen a more consistent stance on race, it is possible they would have finished second. However, with rising questions around Sukoki nationalism the party's silence on the issue meant many reactionary and protectionist voters chose to remain with National Preservation. This led to a deadly split vote between National Preservation and the People's Union, dooming both parties to defeat in the face of the Liberal wave.