2017 Cavian general elections
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All 389 seats in Parliament 195 seats needed for majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 961,144,081 (83.5%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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File:OCMM.png Constituency majority results(above) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2017 Cavian general election on 1 December 2017 elected the 144th Parliament of Cavia since the reformed government was implemented in 1442. 349 local constituencies will elect one Parliament member to represent them in the National Assembly, with 40 general constituencies electing a member to the Cavian Senate. Together the 389 MPs form the Cavian Parliament. The direct vote of the people elected the Prime Minister, the leader of each political party.
The form of voting utilized in this election for the second time in the Cavian general elections is ranked-choice voting, implemented in 2013 over the more-disproportionate first-past-the-post voting system. 22 political boundaries were also redrawn to combat gerrymandering using the shortest-splitline algorithm.
The election process began with official campaigning of the parties seven weeks before Election Day, on Friday, October 13. Fifteen parties campaigned to gather enough Preliminary Round votes to enter the Final Round. The top six parties entered, which were the same parties in the 2013 election. The current monarch, King Oscar I, closed the 143rd Parliament on Friday, November 3, with debates scheduled on three days, November 6th, 8th, and 10th. These debates were to inform the public on their party's platforms. Final Round voting was held on Friday, December 1st, lasting until the evening of December 2nd. The final results were announced the following morning with a Public Address by King Oscar I.
The largest winners of the election were the liberal-centrist Green Party, with their party chief Mochi Williams elected to the office. The Green Party also gained 168 seats. Following them were the conservative Peace Coalition, who failed to retain the Prime Minister office after the eight-year term-limit barred extremely popular former Prime Minister Terry Chesley from a third campaign. The Peace Coalition gained 130 seats, losing 12 seats, the most of any party, to fellow conservative Monarchy and National Party candidates.
The liberal Citizen's Party came in third with a 61-seat allotment, with conservative Monarchy and National Party candidates receiving a total of 20 and 8 votes respectively. New party United Workers, formed for the 2013 election, gained ground in the Bluesea Enclave, and gained 4 seats. Besides the fact that there were no changes in party standings, no new parties entered the six-party Final Round, which alarmed many government critics, saying the ranking system employed in voting favored the major parties due to their influence.
Election background
According to the 1442 Constitution, general elections for Parliament and Prime Minister are held on a four-year basis. Due to this, campaigning started six weeks before Election Day on October 13th, with Parliament being dissolved three weeks later. The Preliminary Round, which decides the six main parties in Parliament out of the fifteen campaigning, was held on Saturday, November 4th, two days before the first television debate. Debates were held from November 6th to November 10th. With the six largest parties decided and their platforms decided, the workforce was suspended on Friday, December 1st to Saturday, December 2nd to allow the population to vote. Results were released the following morning, Sunday, December 3rd(commonly known as Results Sunday) via a Public Address on the Front Palace Walk by the reigning monarch, King Oscar I.
Two types of constituencies exist within Cavia, local and general. There are 349 local constituencies existing within the nation. Each local constituency elects one member to the National Assembly, the lower house in Parliament. 40 general constituencies also exist, which engulf but do not overlap local constituencies. General constituencies can contain two, three or sometimes even seven local constituencies. Each general constituency elects one member to the Senate, Parliament's upper house, for a total of 40 Senate members and a grand total of 389 Members of Parliament(MPs).
Voter eligibility
Some voting restrictions apply in Cavia, as outlined by the Voting Guidelines Act of 1447, that bar certain individuals from partaking in the general elections. These restrictions mean that a voter has to be(on election day):
- registered within the Cavian Voting Registry;
- 20 years of age or above;
- holding a valid Cavian ID Card or valid Cavian Immigration 3rd Tier Card, both with a proper address owned by the card holder;
- not a convicted felon or other legal restriction barring the citizen from voting
The Cavian Voting Registry accepted new applications up until November 30th. If a registered person was 19 years of age at the time of registry but 20 years f age on before Election Day, their application would be accepted. Due to Amendments IV and V passed in 2015, Cavian ID Cards or 3rd Tier Cards may not have a date of expiration on or before Results Sunday.
Important dates
| Begin campaigning | Friday, October 13th |
|---|---|
| Parliament dissolved | Friday, November 3rd |
| Preliminary Round voting | Saturday, November 4th |
| Official television debates | Monday, November 6th, Wednesday, November 8th, Friday, November 10th |
| Final Round voting | Friday, December 1st, Saturday, December 2nd |
| Results released | Sunday, December 3rd |
Contesting political parties
Before the election, 44 local parties existed, which ran in local or provincial politics. However, on the campaign submission deadline of Thursday, October 12th, just fifteen parties submitted applications to campaign in the national election, The three best-performing parties are considered to be the largest below. Not all campaigning parties are listed below.
Main parties
- Green Party- Led by Mochi Williams(majority leader), the party has consistently been the largest by Parliament representation since 1997(barring 2009 and 2013), and is liberal-centrist. The party has not held a complete majority(half plus one) since the 2009 general election.
- Peace Coalition- Led by James Lee(opposition leader), the party took the 2009 and 2013 elections due to strong support for their strong conservative, economy-driven policies. However, their current party leader failed to retain the Prime Minister position and the most number of Parliament seats.
- Citizen's Party- Led by Jeremy Tann(third party leader), the Citizen's Party fluctuated from third to fourth spot after its foundation in 1989, until 1993, in which it started to consistently rank as the third party. Due to its centrist views, the party does not have as many followers as the main left or right-wing parties.
Other parties
- Monarchy Party- Led by Leela Ottsen, the party is the oldest in Cavia, however it has lost popularity due to switching to leftist views around the 1970s. Ever since it has been relegated to a minor party, consistently making the Final Round ballot.
- National Party- Led by Stanley Adams, former Peace Coalition leader, the National Party was one of the older opposition parties that also entered decline due to switching views, in this case to conservative-centrist.
- United Workers- Led by Darron Millis, this relatively new party has far-left communist ideology, and due to Bearilean-Cavians living in the Bluesea Enclave, have been gaining Parliament representation, with their first Final Round representation in 2013.
- Cavia First Coalition- Led by Eli Jespers, the CFC have been known as the radical-right group in Cavian politics. Due to this, they have a relatively small number of supporters, and have only made the Final Ballot twice since its formation in 1985.
- Conservative Party- Led by Daniel Motts, as the name suggests, the party is conservative-centrist, and is the newest party to apply for the general election. Formed in 2016, the party did surprisingly well in Oscar City constituencies, and placed eighth overall.
Party policies and platforms
Green Party
- Expansion of civil rights, specifically recreational drug legalization
- Larger education reform to benefit poorer students
- Open immigration policies
- Greater government transparency
- Official pacifism in ongoing conflicts
Peace Coalition
- Restructuring of tax code and brackets
- Looser environmental policy
- Ban on homosexual marraige
- Greater defense and services budget
Citizen's Party
- Switch to progressive tax code
- Larger safety/welfare net
- Increase on environmental standards
- Expansion of civil rights, specifically loosening gun control
Results
| 168 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 59 | 130 |
| GP | MP | UW | NP | CP | PC |