2023 Soravian presidential election

2023 Soravian presidential election

October 22, 2023
468 members of the electoral college 235 electoral votes needed to win
Opinion polls
Registered	85,975,894
Turnout	58.34% ( 1.40pp)
Nominee Alexei Kadnikov Boris Yudin Natalya Zubareva Party Patriots' Front United for the Fatherland People's Future Electoral vote 394 72 2 States carried 58 9 1 Popular vote 33,656,243 11,185,309 1,755,541 Percentage 67.1% 22.3% 3.5%
Results by seat. The number shows the amount of votes carried by the respective seat. Purple seats were won by Alexei Kadnikov, green seats by Boris Yudin, and blue seats by Natalya Zubareva.
President before election Nicolai Karpenko Patriots' Front Elected President Alexei Kadnikov Patriots' Front

The 2023 Soravian presidential election was held on October 22, 2023 to elect all 468 members of the Soravian electoral college. Five candidates ran in total, but only three carried any votes in the electoral college.

Alexei Kadnikov was the candidate for the ruling Patriots' Front., and was expected to win. Boris Yudin was the main opposition candidate, running for the united opposition party United for the Fatherland (Yedbat), while other opposition candidates included Damian Saltanov, Artem Fekhlachev, and Natalya Zubareva. Nearly all of Soravia's main media outlets and political figures endorsed Kadnikov, whilst some traditional opposition figures withdrew their candidacy to endorse Yudin and Yedbat. Some speculated a tighter-than-usual election after it was reported that the opposition were polling at record highs.

Kadnikov comfortably won the election, carrying 394 of the 468 electoral college votes and amassing 67.1% of the popular vote. The opposition candidate Yudin carried 72 electoral college votes, including historic victories in Patovatra, Koskov Oblast and Malbay Oblast, and over 11.1 million votes. Natalya Zubareva, who was widely viewed as a controlled opposition candidate, won her home region of Ilmenia to carry two electoral college votes. There have been numerous allegations of fraud and electoral irregularities during the election from several organisations.

Candidates

Candidate name, age, political party			Political offices	Campaign	Details	Registration date
Artem Fekhlachov (aged 56) Voskreshaty–New National Revival			Chairman of Voskreshaty–New National Revival (2012–) Member of the Chikanshiva City Rada (2016–2021)	(Campaign)	Fekhlachov is a Soravian businessman and television personality who founded and has led Voskreshaty–New National Revival since 2012. He was first elected to political office in 2016 as a member of the Chikanshiva City Rada. In 2021 he left his position to pursue a presidential candidacy, which his party nominated him for in January 2023. Ideologically, Fekhlachov has variously been described as a right-wing populist, neo-functionalist, corporatist and a minarchist, and his party's appearance bares notable similarities to the former Soravian Nationalist and Revivalist Party.	August 10, 2023
Alexei Kadnikov (aged 63) Patriots' Front			Mayor of Vydryche (2010–2013) Governor of Tokarev Oblast (2013–2020) Minister of the Environment, Ecology and Resources (2021–2022)	(Campaign)	Kadnikov is the son of the Soravian oligarch Klavdiy Kadnikov, who owned SMEC before it was sold to Zakhaz in the 1980s. Kadnikov has endorsed a "global" new outlook on Soravian policy, looking to solidify relationships with allies outside of Euclea. Domestically his policies are viewed as similar to prior PF candidates.	August 17, 2023
Boris Yudin (aged 49) United for the Fatherland			Member of the Grand Khural of Zalykia (2014–2022) Chairman of United Left–Protsvitannya (2016–2023)	(Campaign)	Yudin was previously leader of the centre-left party United Left–Protsvitannya, before leaving to take up the presidential nomination for United for the Fatherland, a merger between United Left–Protsvitannya and the regionalist Movement for Zalykia. Yudin is generally described as a social democrat or social liberal.	June 30, 2023
Damian Saltanov (aged 41) Damian Saltanov Bloc			Chairman of the Damian Saltanov Bloc (2022–)		Saltanov is a former boxing world champion. Having retired in 2014, he has gained notoriety in Soravia and online for his promotion of alternative forms of living. Saltanov claims to live on a boat on the river Sarpa and is a Badi convert. He promotes fads such as anti-vaccine activism and the carnivore diet, and his proposed policies include a complete abolition of taxes.	June 9, 2023

Campaigns

Damian Saltanov

On October 19, Saltanov accused "Senro-communists" of attempting to "sterilise" Soravian children through the Internet and anime.

Boris Yudin

Yudin has campaigned on a platform of democratising and liberalising Soravia. He refers to his platform and ideology as "politics of the 21st century" (Soravian: Політика для 21 століття; Polityka dlya 21 stolittya).

On October 15, Yudin was reportedly seen on an Aeronovo flight between Samistopol and Nizhnebersutsk, the capital of George Ruset Land, leading some to speculate that he had potentially won the territory's vote. It was later found to be a hoax, after Yudin was seen campaigning in Samistopol later that day. Kadnikov later won the region's electoral college vote.

Yudin received endorsements from politicians including the Mayor of Aalmsted Analiisa Aleksdohter.

Aftermath

Kadnikov was congratulated on his victory by numerous countries, including Etruria and Vinalia.