December 2021 Sotirian Democratic Union leadership election

December 2021 Sotirian Democratic Union leadership election
Turnout	79.6%
Leader before election; Reginald Wilton-Smyth;	Elected Leader ; Tristan Gardner;

The December 2021 Sotirian Democratic Union leadership election was held between 2 and 22 December 2021 to elect the leader of the Sotirian Democratic Union, after the resignation of incumbent leader Reginald Wilton-Smyth following the party's poor performance in the 2021 election.

Despite being blamed for the results of the election, the party was unable to force Wilton-Smyth's resignation due to his victory in the previous leadership election, as SDU party rules prevent a leader being ousted if they were elected less than a year prior. His resignation was widely expected, however. He did not stand down until 20 November.

Nominations opened on 26 November. Claus Ashford announced his candidacy on 26 November, and was seen as an ally of Wilton-Smyth. he was followed by Rob Walker on 27 November, Daniel Green on 29 November, Tristan Gardner and Betty Traynor on 30 November and Nassaar Harroun on 1 December. Nominations closed on 1 December, with all six candidates securing the neccessary nominations.

Gardner and Ashford were the final round candidates. Gardner was elected leader on second and third preferences, with 57.4% of the vote after votes from Harroun, Traynor and Green had been transferred. He was declared party leader on 22 December.

Background

The defeat of the Sotirian Democrat-Reform coalition in 2021 was widely attributed to the leadership of Wilton-Smyth. Following party pressure to resign and allow "new blood" to lead the party, Wilton-Smyth stepped down on 20 November.

Procedure

Sotirian Democratic Union party rules dictate that a resigning leader has to have their resignation accepted by the organising committee, and the committee is responsible for organising a subsequent leadership election. The 'scope' of the contest, however, must be open (involving the membership) after a resignation, unlike the closed leadership election involving onthe parliamentary party which happened in March. In such an open contest, all members who are not in arrears are eligible to vote in the leadership election. Candidates had to secure the backing of eiter 10% (20 MPs) of the federal parliamentary party or 50 MPs from state parliamentary parties and be nominated between 26 November and 1 December.

Voting in the leadership election used instant-runoff voting, meaning that electors could give a first and second preference to candidates. If no candidate secured a majority of the vote in the first round, then the lowest-scoring candidate is eliminated and their votes are re-distributed to their second preference. This continues until a candidate has a majority of the vote.

Timetable

Key dates in the leadership election are listed below:

20 November	Reginald Wilton Smyth steps down
21 November	SDU organising commitee accepts resignation
24 November	SDU organising commitee sets timetable
26 November	Nominations open
1 December	Nominations close
4 December	Voting begins
21 December	Voting ends
22 December	Results announced

Campaign

Candidates

Declared

Candidate	Most senior office	Party faction	Announced
Claus Ashford	Leader of the Chamber of Commons (2019–2021) Other offices held MP for Dearldon and Hansey (since 2012) Minister for the Cabinet Office (2017–2019) Shadow Leader of the Chamber of Commons (2021)	None (Widely regarded as an ally of Reginald Wilton-Smyth)	26 November
Daniel Green	Chief Whip (2016–2021) Other offices held MP for Arvorne list (since 2007) Shadow Under-Secretary to the Treasury (2011–2012) Under-Secretary to the Treasury (2012–2014) Opposition Chief Whip (2021)	Grahamite	29 November
Tristan Gardner	Secretary of State for Local Government and the National Languages (2016–2018) Other offices held MP for Perch East (since 2008) Minister for Flurian Communities (2012–2016)	Sotirian Democratic	30 November
Rob Walker	Minister for Universities (2018–2019) Other offices held Mayor of Grimingham (2013–2017) MP for Midland list (since 2018)	Populist	27 November
Betty Traynor	Attorney General (2019–2021) Other offices held MP for Midland list (since 2016) Vice Attorney General (2018–2019) Shadow Attorney General (2021)	None	30 November
Nassaar Harroun	Chair of the National Economic Development Organisation (2016–2020) Other offices held MP for Scitterland list (since 2012)	National Democratic	1 December

Declined

Andrew Anquetil, Secretary of State for the Treasury from 2018 to 2021 (endorsed Ashford)
Surya Sharma, Secretary of State for Local Government and the National Languages from 2018 to 2021 (endorsed Gardner)
Jonathan Mortimer, Secretary of State for Health and Social Affairs from 2017 to 2021 (endorsed Green)
John Talbot, Secretary of State for Defence from 2018 to 2021 (endorsed Walker)
Brian Davison, Secretary of State for Transport from 2018 to 2021 (endorsed Ashford)
Reece Hafocer, First Minister of Midland since 2016 (endorsed Walker)

Endorsements

Betty Traynor

Nassaar Harroun

Results

Candidate	First round		Second round		Third round		Fourth round		Final round
Candidate	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Tristan Gardner	0	31.7	0	31.9	0	34.1	0	38.1	0	60.4
Claus Ashford	0	23.5	0	24.2	0	26.0	0	31.3	0	39.6
Rob Walker	0	24.8	0	25.1	0	26.2	0	30.6	Eliminated
Daniel Green	0	11.3	0	12.9	0	13.7	Eliminated
Betty Traynor	0	5.6	0	5.9	Eliminated
Nassaar Harroun	0	3.1	Eliminated
Total	0	100.0	0	100.0	0	100.0	0	100.0	0	100.0

December 2021 Sotirian Democratic Union leadership election

Contents

Background