Latin general election, 2015

Latin general election, 2015

12 May 2015 (2015-05-12)
673 seats in the Senate 337 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	73.2%
First party Second party   File:Vindobonaheadshot.jpg Leader Duchess of Vindóbona Theodosius Fulvio Party Conservative and Imperial Party Progressive Party of Latium Leader since 5 August 2010 7 November 2010 Leader's seat Haenna Aurelia Aquensi Last election 341 seats, 38.2% 234 seats, 30.1% Seats before 341 259 Seats won 362 239 Seat change 22 20 Popular vote 12,552,897 9,545,112 Percentage 40.9% 31.1% Swing 2% 1%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Isaakios Kinnamos Theophanes Kamytzes Party Greek National Party Liberal Party (Latin State) Leader since 14 February 1988 8 June 2011 Leader's seat Did not stand Brigetio Last election 37 seats, 6% 18 seats, 8.2% Seats before 37 18 Seats won 42 13 Seat change 5 5 Popular vote 1,289,050 2,424,642 Percentage 4.2% 7.9% Swing 1% 1%
File:2015 Latin general election.png Colors denote the winning party, on a county-by-county basis. *Blue denotes Conservative plurality; Green denotes Progessive; Light Blue denotes Greek National; Black denotes no overall control.
Consul before election Duchess of Vindóbona Conservative and Imperial Party Consul Duchess of Vindóbona Conservative and Imperial Party

The Latin general election of 2015 was held on 8 May 2015, with 38,216,506 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the Senate. The election took place in 673 constituencies across the Latin Empire under the first-past-the-post system. Pundits projected less than 1% of a chance that there would be a hung senate. The Conservative Party, led by the Duchess of Vindóbona, won an outright majority of seats and plurality of votes, thus were able to form a government without a coalition. The Duchess of Vindóbona was appointed to her second Consulship after presenting Emperor Jason Augustus with a government.

Background

The Fixed-term Senate Act 1962 (as amended by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2009) led to the mandated dissolution of the 51st Senate on 30 April 2015 and the scheduling of the election on 12 May of the same year, the People's Assembly not having voted for an earlier date. There are local elections scheduled to take place on the same day in most of Latium, with the exception of Hellas. Voting takes place in all senatorial constituencies of the Latin Empire to elect members of the Senate (SMs) to seats in the Senate

All citizens of Latium over the age of 18 by the date of election are eligible to vote. In the general election, voting takes place in senatorial constituencies to elect Members of the Senate (SMs) to sit in the unicameral legislature, the Senate. Each senatorial constituency of the Latin Empire elects one SM to the Senate using the "first past the post" system. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the Government. If the election results in no single party having a majority, then there is a hung senate. In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition government.

Campaign finance regulations saw no change from the 2013 snap election, candidates and parties were able to raise funds on their own behalf, as were outside organizations. In the previous 2013 snap election, parties raised over £100 million, a record high in Latium.

Timetable

Thursday 29 January	Last day to file nomination papers, to register to vote, and to request a postal vote; Campaigning officially began
Thursday 12 February	Primary day
Thursday 30 April	Dissolution of the Senate
Monday 1 May	Final debate
Tuesday 12 May	Election day
Wednesday 20 May	New Senate is assembled and sworn-in
Monday 25 May	State Opening of the Senate

Contesting Parties

As of 29 January 2015, the deadline for standing for the general election, the Electoral Commission's Register of Political Parties includes 721 political parties registered in Latium. Candidates who do not belong to a registered party can use an "independent" label, or no label at all.

The Conservative Party and Progressive Party have been the two biggest parties since the 1998, and have supplied all governments and Conusls since 1991. Polls predict that these parties will receive between 65–75% of the votes and win 80–85% of seats between them and that as such the leader of one of these parties will be the Consul after the election. The Liberal-Labor Party are a recently merged, and until the 2010 election had been growing in popularity as the largest of the minor parties, though they appear to be continuing the decline. Many expect the rise of nationalist parties like the Greek National Party and the far-right Popular Social Party to quickly move in to fill the third party void. LBC News described a "two-and-a-half-party system" (Conservatives, Progressives and nationalist parties) that "appears to be growing." though many had expected the Liberal-Labor Party to begin tapering off as the PSP as begun to pick up many disaffected voters.

Main Parties

• Conservative Party: led by Duchess of Vindóbona, Consul. The Conservatives performed a massive turn around following the 2013 snap election, which was the first under Vindóbona's leadership, gaining 87 seats. Though the party's majority did not come without its problems, as the Conservative government attempted to defund certain governing provisions of the NHS, along with enacting a set of morality laws, which included reinstated sodomy laws as well as other morality laws. Overall, Vindóbona has enjoyed very high popularity and approval numbers since she took over as Consul.
• Progressive Party: led by Theodosius Fulvio. The Progressives first entered electoral politics in 1991, holding their first government in 1998 until 2001, then again later in 2001 until 2013. The party has quickly grown to replace the Liberal Party as one of the major parties along with the Conservatives. The Progressives under Fulvio campaigned on expanding the promises of Consul Olteanu as well as expanded plans for energy reform.

Third & Minor Parties

• Greek National Party: lead by Isaakios Kinnamos. The Greek Nationals (EEK) have served as the official third party in the Senate since the 2013 general election, and have been lead by Kinnamos since the late 1980s. In his time as leader, Kinnamos has turned the EEK from a ardent nationalist party into a centrist party that advocates Hellenic devolution above all else. Recent attempts at Hellenic devolution have been repeatedly rejected by Consul Vindoóbona and previously former Consul Olteanu before her. The most recent attempt was in 1963 where voters in the Greek speaking counties voted down a devolution referendum.
• Liberal-Labor Party: lead by G. Atilius Lixandroiu. Originally the Liberal Party was among the largest in Latium, holding the Consulship exclusively from 1970 until 1990. The party has seen a rapid decline in voters since the split with the Progressives, and have continually been losing seats. Since their merger with the original Labor party, the Liberals have managed to hold their status as the top third party with a large shift to the center.
• Popular Social Party: lead by Valerian Manescu. The Popular Social Party (PSP) has been gradually gaining support among former Latin First and even some Conservative voters. The PSP is a populist party, advocating Latin nationalism, particularly Second Wave politics. The party enjoyed its best electoral success in the 2013 snap election, and are projected to make gains again.
• Libertarian Party: lead by G. Silvano Tasso. The Libertarians originally formed out of disaffected Conservative Senators and voters following the 1998 "Group of Ten" scandal and the resignation of Consul Seius. The party often holds the fourth or fifth most seats in the Senate, often hovering around 7-10, though many are speculating they will see a loss of seats due to the popularity of Consul Vindóbona.

Polling

Date	Polling firm	First choice
		Conservatives	Progressives	Popular Social	Liberal-Labor	EEK	Liberty Union

12 May	Final result	40.9%	31.1%	15.9%	7.9%	4.2%	1.3%
1 May	Foforía	43%	31%	10%	6%	3%	2%
21 April	LBC News	38%	32%	15%	7%	2%	1%
18 March	LBC News	40%	29%	19%	6%	4%	3%
23 February	Foforía	35%	27%	20%	7%	3%	3%
12 February	LBC News	45%	27%	9%	3%	3%	3%
29 January	LBC News	49%	28%	11%	5%	4%	2%

Election

Results

After all 673 constituencies had been declared, the results were:

Party		Leader	SMs			Votes
				Of total			Of total
Conservative Party		Duchess of Vindóbona	362	53%	357 / 673	12,552,897	40.9%	40.9 / 100
Progressive Party		Theodosius Fulvio	239	35.5%	239 / 673	9,545,112	31.1%	31.1 / 100
Greek National Party		Isaakios Kinnamos	42	6.24%	42 / 673	1,289,050	4.2%	4.2 / 100
Liberal Party		Theophanes Kamytzes	13	1.7%	12 / 673	2,424,642	7.9%	7.9 / 100
Popular Social Party		Valerian Manescu	4	.59%	4 / 673	4,879,977	15.9%	15.9 / 100
Libertarian Party		G. Silvano Tasso	2	.29%	2 / 673	210,249	1.3%	1.3 / 100
Catholic Democratic Alliance		John Florianus	2	.29%	2 / 673	249,331	.95%	.95 / 100
Democratic Labor		Nicola Volusenna	1	.148%	1 / 673	112,578	2.05%	2.05 / 100
Green Party		Constantine Eliades	1	.148%	1 / 673	80,645	.386%	.386 / 100
United Communities Party		Jordanes Banqueria	1	.148%	1 / 673	63,097	.242%	.242 / 100
Independent		n/a	6	.59%	1 / 673	22,891	.087%	.087 / 100