Akashian Constituent Assembly election, 1940
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122 of 245 seats in the Constituent Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 82,1% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in Akashi on 6 April 1940. Half of the Assembly was elected through party-list proportional representation in a nationwide district, while the other half were independent delegates chosen through single non-transferable voting.
Background
The Constituent Assembly (Miranian: 憲法議会 Kenpō gikai; Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌰ᚴ𐌾𐍉𐌼𐌹𐍄𐍉𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 𐌲𐌰𐌵𐌿𐌼𐌸𐍃 Alakjōmitōneis gaqumþs) was convened by Yurika Ehara after the Akashian Civil War to write a new constitution.
A decree regulating the electoral procedure and powers of the Constituent Assembly was issued in March 1940, and the election scheduled for next month. The decree specified one deputy per 10.000 inhabitants, leading to a total of 245 seats.
There was an emphasis on preventing parties from monopolising the constitutional drafting process, to avoid the issues that had caused the civil war. As a result, voters had two votes: one for party lists, and one for independent delegates. The independent delegates included well-known Akashian civic figures, such as university professors, public intellectuals, activists, journalists, and writers.
Quotas were instituted to ensure half the Assembly's members would be women, while Goths were reserved 20% of seats — double their share as a percentage of the population.
Results
| Constituent Assembly election, 6 April 1940 | ||||
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
| National Union | 786.114 | 47,9% | 60 | |
| Socialist Party | 356.131 | 21,7% | 27 | |
| Liberal Party | 169.039 | 10,3% | 13 | |
| Agrarian Party | 137.857 | 8,4% | 10 | |
| Conservative National Party | 85.504 | 5,2% | 5 | |
| Communist Party | 57.276 | 3,5% | 4 | |
| Social Credit Party | 49.235 | 3,0% | 3 | |
| Independents | N/A | N/A | 123 | |
| Total | 1.641.157 | 100% | 245 | |
| Registered voters and turnout | 1.998.973 | 82,1% | ||
Aftermath
The Assembly presented a draft of the constitution in October, which was approved by voters in a referendum. Notable provisions included:
- Creation of a presidential system, with the President directly elected by voters
- Creation of a National Assembly, elected through nationwide proportional representation
- Replacing previous administrative divisions with provinces and prefectures
- Declaring Akashi a state founded on popular sovereignty and "the union of Miranians and Goths"
- Declaring Akashi's national resources public property
Supplementary presidential and provincial elections were held in the last months of 1940, before the constitution came into force on 1 January 1941. The Constituent Assembly sat for another year, handling other aspects of state reorganisation, before a general election was called in 1942.