Sabine Armitage
Sabine Deleaux Armitage | |
|---|---|
 Sabine Armitage | |
| 40th President of Zamastan | |
| In office September 22nd, 2022 – September 22nd, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Atticus Moreau |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Davidson |
| Congresswoman, Northern Isle-8 | |
| In office September 22nd, 2016 – September 22nd, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Christopher Barron |
| Succeeded by | Joshua Stephenson |
| Assistant Minority Leader | |
| In office September 22nd, 2020 – September 22nd, 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 November 1989 Providence, Northern Isle, Zamastan |
| Citizenship | Zamastanian |
| Nationality | Zamastanian |
| Political party | BCP |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
Sabine Deleaux Armitage (born November 21st, 1989) is a Zamastanian politician who served as the 40th President of Zamastan, having been elected in 2022, but losing reelection to Arthur Davidson in 2024. Prior to this, she served as the congresswoman from Northern Isle Province's 8th district, a seat she was elected to in 2016, and served as the Assistant Minority Leader in the 109th congress. She is a member of the Blue Conservative Party, and was a mainline a candidate for president in the 2020 election, seeking to replace Foley Sakzi who was not seeking a second term reelection. She lost the race to former-Governor of Alutia Atticus Moreau, but announced she would seek the presidency a second time in the 2022 election cycle, beating out other conservative candidates like Jean Brunelle and ultimately facing off against GLP candidate Leanne Dale.
Armitage's presidency began with an ambitious domestic agenda focused largely on economic reform, but quickly shifted to a wartime administration following the 10/1 bombings and the subsequent Terehan War. The war, along with unpopular legislation signed by the president which lowered the federal minimum wage, restricted immigration quotas, an often-combative public personality with the media, and several high-profile cabinet firings and resignations, negatively impacted her public approval. In January 2023, investigations into SanCorp unveiled a campaign finance scandal tied to the Barismont probe in which Armitage was implicated, leading to Congressional Hall pursuing a vote of no-confidence which she narrowly survived. The invasion of Haduastan prompted Armitage's administration into imposing sanctions on ACWAC nations and authorizing civilian and military aid to Haduastan.
As an early career politician, Armitage drew national recognition when she won the Blue Conservative Party's primary election for the Northern Isle's 8th congressional district on June 4th, 2016. She defeated BCP Caucus Chair Keenan Lawrence, an 8-term incumbent, in what was widely seen as the biggest upset victory in the 2016 election primaries. She went on to win the district's seat in the 2016 general election, succeeding soon-to-be Governor Christopher Barron, with her grassroots and conservative campaign recieving notable media attention. Armitage majored in international relations and economics at the University of Tofino, graduating cum laude in 2010. She previously worked part-time as a waitress, bartender, and fast-food employee before running for congress in 2016.
Armitage is a neoconservative, known for her focus on national security, support for the military, a pro-business stance, hawkish foreign policy views, and fiscal and social conservatism. However, she holds relatively liberal stances on social issues, having signaled support for gun control legislation and decriminalization of illegal substances.
Early life and education
Armitage was born into a Catholic family in Providence on November 11, 1989, the daughter of Bethany and Mell Armitage. She has a younger brother named Kiran. Her father was born in Tofino to a Janapan family and became an architect; her mother was born in Ossinia. Armitage lived with her family in an apartment in the Providence neighborhood of Arkchester until she was five, when the family moved to a house in suburban Chatt Heights. Armitage attended Chatt High School, graduating in 2007. In high school and college, Armitage went by the name of "Sandy Armitage". She came in first in the microbiology category of an International Science and Engineering Fair in 2007 with a research project on the effect of antioxidants on the lifespan of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. In a show of appreciation for her efforts, the Institute of Kelowna Laboratory named a small asteroid after her: 23238 Armitage. In high school, she took part in the National Ossinians Institute (NOI) Youth Legislative Session. She later became the NOI Secretary of State while she attended the University of Tofino.
After graduating from high school, Armitage enrolled at the University of Tofino. Her father died of lung cancer in 2008 during her second year, and Armitage became involved in a lengthy probate battle to settle his estate. She has said that the experience helped her learn "first-hand how attorneys appointed by the court to administer an estate can enrich themselves at the expense of the families struggling to make sense of the bureaucracy". During college, Armitage served as an intern for BCP Senator Rene Salas in his section on foreign affairs and immigration issues. She recalled, "whenever a frantic call would come into the office because someone is looking for their husband because they have been snatched off the street by immigration services, I was the one that had to pick up that phone. I was the one that had to help that person navigate that system." Armitage graduated cum laude from the University of Tofino in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both international relations and economics.
Early work and political involvement
Political career
Congressional career
Armitage began her campaign in December 2015 while waiting tables and tending bar at a restaurant in Providence's Bettland neighborhood. "For 80 percent of this campaign, I operated out of a paper grocery bag hidden behind that bar", she told the Jade Tribune. She was campaigning against BCP Caucus Chair Keenan Lawrence, who had been undefeated since 2000. She faced a financial disadvantage, saying, "You can't really beat big money with more money. You have to beat them with a totally different game." Armitage's campaign undertook grassroots mobilization and did not take donations from corporations, a deviation from most BCP candidates.
Armitage received 57.13% of the vote (15,897) to Lawrence's 42.5% (11,761), defeating the 8-term incumbent by almost 15 percentage points in the primary on June 3rd, 2016. The result shocked many political commentators and analysts and immediately garnered nationwide attention. Tarin called it "the biggest congressional upset victory of the 2016 election so far"; the Tofino Times called her the "breakout star of the Conservative Bloc". Following her victory, she was endorsed by many prominent conservative politicians including then-Speaker of the Chamber Foley Sakzi, Larious Maxwell, Kendrick Benton, and Burhan Swanson.
In the general election, she defeated GLP Sato Kumeko with 78% of the vote (110,318) to Kumeko's 14% (17,762).
In the 109th Congress (2020-22), Armitage was selected by her party to be the Assistant Minority Leader under Minority Leader Anthony Hill, boosting her prominence within the party even further.
Presidential runs
2020
2022
Armitage recieved 201 electoral votes to Dale's 88
Sabine Armitage speaking at a campaign event, 2021
The August-September 2022 issue of Tarin magazine showcasing Sabine Armitage and Leanne Dale from the second debate.
On June 20th 2021 Armitage announced that she would be seeking the presidency for a second time. In her fiery speech, she rallied her crowd stating "it is time that we go back to the roots of our great nation, working to boost our economy, serve our people, protect our interests, and lead the world everywhere we go."[1] Boosted on the heels of her close second-place finish in the 2020 election, and having announced her candidacy relatively early for a general election, Armitage quickly maintained a far lead among prospective candidates in national polling. Barely a month following her announcement, former-Secretary of State Jean Brunelle announced his candidacy on August 4th, 2021. Brunelle's popularity had diminished extensively since his firing by former-President Cassious Castovia and inflammatory comments made by former-President Camren Ellison, and many Blue Conservative Party officials called for him to drop out. Armitage's popularity kept growing within the BCP ranks, and continued questions about Brunelle's legitimacy plagued his campaign until he dropped out on November 6th, 2021. Because no other high-profile candidates reached above 5% in polling within the BCP, all planned debates were cancelled and Armitage was declared the official candidate of the BCP on April 2nd, 2022.
With the ongoing Barismont scandal and the Kristina Leach affair causing President Moreau to step away from a reelection bid, it quickly became clear that the 2022 race would be between Armitage and GLP candidate Senator Leanne Dale, as other prospective candidates were trailing far below 5%. The two candidates virtually held neck and neck in popularity for the majority of the race, but following an underwhelming performance at the second presidential debate on July 24th, 2022, Armitage dipped into a near second place behind Dale. A similar appearance in the third debate practically tied the two candidates as the only prospective choices.
On September 20th, 2022, Armitage swept the electoral districts and won 201 to Dale's 88, effectively winning in a landslide. However, Armitage won the popular vote with 109.3 million to Dale's 107.7 million, a divide of only 1.6 million, which triggered many demonstrations and protests by left-wing groups against Armitage's election, citing possible irregularities in the vote counting and registries. The left-wing activist group New Change issued 31 legal challenges in provincial courts opposing Armitage's election, but their challenge was dismissed on September 27th by the circuit court in Delta, Zian. Despite some legal disputes, Dale conceeded that there was no outcome considerate enough to overturn results, and Armitage was sworn is as President on September 22nd.
Presidency
Inauguration
Inaugurated on September 22nd, 2022 at Congressional Hall, Sabine Armitage became the 40th president of Zamastan. She was sworn in by Supreme Court chief justice Roosevelt Dunn using a bible once owned by William Castovia. She was then introduced by Speaker Alisha Fletcher and Senate president pro-tempore Burhan Swanson. Among her first acts, Armitage signed a 5 billion dollar aid package for relief efforts following the Andaluni earthquake which occured the day before. She also reauthorized by executive order a previously redacted amendment to the Nationality and Maritime Borders Act, which allowed Coast Guard personnel to immediately deport illegal migrants without processing asylum claims. This action recieved much condemnation from the Congressional liberal bloc, as well as a rare rebuttal by Janapa's president Kendrick Mehans, who called the decision "quite detrimental and saddening".
Armitage's cabinet appointments began confirmation hearings and approvals shortly after her inauguration, with the first confirmation being Chantelle Carson to Secretary of State. This was the first time in Zamastanian history that the three highest-ranking offices in the country (President, Speaker, and Secretary of State) were all held by women. General Easton Granholm was named Secretary of Defense, Colt Piers was named Secretary of the Treasury, and Winston Currie was named Attorney General. The only figure carried over from the Moreau administration was Adrian Sardou, the director of the Zamastanian Intelligence Service.
Domestic affairs
Economy
On September 27th, Armitage laid out her proposals for her domestic agenda, including a long-proposed tax overhaul plan calling for tax cuts for most Zamastanians, but prompting criticism that the plan favors business and the rich and could add trillions of dollars to the deficit. Armitage asserted that the tax plan was aimed at helping working people, creating jobs and making the tax code simpler and fairer. But it faced an uphill battle in the Congress Chamber with the controlling Liberal bloc, and in the Senate with Armitage’s own Conservative Party divided over it. The plan would lower corporate and small-business income tax rates, reduce the top income tax rate for high-earning Zamastanian individuals and scrap some popular tax breaks, including one that benefits people in high-tax provinces dominated by liberal blocs. The proposal drew a swift, skeptical response from Senator Lou Guillaume, a leading Conservative “fiscal hawk,” who vowed not to vote for any federal tax package financed with borrowed money.
On January 25th, Armitage signed a bill which approved lowering the federal minimum wage to ℤ11.50 from ℤ13.00, though during the 2022 campaign she repeatedly promised that she would never pursue a plan which would decrease wages. The package revealed no tax cuts for lower and middle-income earning families, despite campaign promises, and caused an uproar as accusations of class warfare and increased wealth inequality threw further public animosity towards Armitage. Days after the signing, activists converged on provincial capitals to begin six weeks of non-violent protests calling for new programs to help the millions of Zamastanians who live in poverty, an overhaul of voting rights laws and other social change. More than 200 people were arrested or cited during the first day of the so-called Lone People's March, including the march's leaders Rev. Anthony Baggett and Rev. Liz Oaris.
Foreign affairs
Terehan War
See: Terehan War
On October 1st, 2022, a massive bomb tore through the naval facilities of Beresa, Saint Croix and Bens, sinking the ZMS Grouse and damaging dozens of other vessels, killing 988 people including 342 Zamastanian sailors. In her first televised address to the nation after her inauguration, President Armitage stated:
Sabine Armitage, 10/1 Televised Presidential Address
In response to the attack, WEDA enacted the Alabaster Treaty's Article 5 clause of mutual defense and unilaterally agreed to hunt down those responsible for the explosion. Armitage authorized the 4th and 5th fleets to split into the Cantalle Ocean, Emmiria Sea, and Croix Sea to prepare for possible military action. The aircraft carriers Levasseur and Aebutius arrived in Saint Elmenau and Leonrau to coordinate massing WEDA forces. After much deliberation, WEDA agreed to carry out strikes against Terehan's military and they began on October 9th, with Armitage authorizing Z-17 Condors and cruise missiles to disable the country's air-defense systems. Armitage said that the success of the mission was not immediately clear, adding that additional attacks would commence later and that the mission has two goals: prevent further attacks by Terehan on foreign nations and its own civilians, and degrade the Terehanian military's ability to contest a no-fly zone. President Armitage authorized limited military action against Terehan, saying "we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy." The president also notably did not confirm whether or not she would be deploying ground forces into Terehan.
On October 15th, Armitage and Congressional Hall pushed through a motion to declare war on Terehan in a 192-113 vote along ideological lines, but passed with support of moderate Liberal bloc members. The declaration read: "that the state of war between Zamastan and the Islamic Emirate of Terehan is hereby formally declared; and the President is hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire military forces of the United States and the resources of the Government to carry on war against the Islamic Emirate of Terehan; and, to bring the conflict to a successful termination, all the resources of the country are hereby pledged by Congressional Hall of the Republic of Zamastan."
List of international trips
SanCorp scandal
On January 10th, 2023, the arrest of SanCorp executive chairman Darren Hunderson unveiled worrisome connections to high-ranking officials in the Armitage administration, and a deepening connection to the Barismont scandal which infamously resulted in the downfall of President Atticus Moreau. According to prosecutors, in December 2022, Hunderson, who had managed to build up a solid and mutually productive working and personal relationship with Secretary of Commerce Grayson Parker, was entrusted with arranging a back channel to the official Zamastan-Yuan trade summit, the idea being to allow for an open and honest exchange of requests and information that couldn't be discussed in the formal setting of an official summit. According to prosecutors, Secretary Parker's level of trust in Hunderson was such that the billionaire was even allowed to enlist Li Feng, his Yuaneze business partner with ties to the Yuaneze Standing Committee, as the person on the other side of the back channel. For the Zamastanian side of the back channel, prosecutors say Hunderson chose Secretary of Energy Ian Woodward, with whom he had a "gentleman's agreement" about working together.
The summit was of major importance to President Armitage's early domestic agenda that identified foreign investment into infrastructure as one of the keys to reducing the deficit, with one particular project singled out as priority one item — the Port Espira Bridge, linking Port Espira, Point Tarin and Vicecino, Jade over the Paians Sound, which the Zamastanian government's Committee on Foreign Investment had been planning to let a Yuaneze company build in return for a 25-year toll collecting contract.
Hunderson and Feng, for their part, had their own project on the summit agenda — a rare earth elements refinery in Yuan that the Yuaneze government had been keen to offer to Hunderson as a 40-year lease. However, there was another key item they wanted to introduce through the back channel — a request for Zamastan to continue with its currency manipulation lawsuit against Yuan in front of the Coalition Trade Organization (CTO), a suit that Zamastan had given numerous indications it's ready to drop at the successful conclusion of the summit. The idea on their part was that keeping the external pressure of a possible unfavorable CTO ruling would benefit Feng's open currency efforts within the Yuaneze Standing Committee, which, if successful, would result in an interest rate spike in Yuan — an event both Hunderson and Feng would see an enormous financial benefit from.
Finally, despite having a broadly defined verbal agreement on cooperation with the SanCorp CEO, Woodward therefore went into the back channel and suspected Hunderson and Feng's financial gain in this and, furthermore, didn't even believe Feng had the full support of the Yuaneze Standing Committee for his open currency efforts. Woodward decided to antagonize both Hunderson and Feng by first not relaying their CTO lawsuit related request to Secretary of State Chantelle Carson at the official summit in Tofino, but relaying the exact opposite and, second, leaking the Zamastanian government's intent of dropping the suit to Aaron Gulme of the Jade Tribune. The news made the Tribune's online edition within an hour.
According to a deposition, Secretary of Commerce Grayson Parker was furious at the latest development, since the Yuaneze side had just decided to take the bridge project off the table in reaction to the announcement of the CTO suit being dropped. President Armitage, who has been leading to remove TIDI from foreign policy objectives of Zamastan, wanted the project back on the table by any means necessary. President Armitage, according to Hunderson, called Secretary of Commerce Grayson Parker and made an on-the-spot decision to end all back-channeling for the time being, ordering both Woodward and Hunderson to stop talking to Feng until the bridge project was back on the table. Despite now being under direct orders from the President about stopping further back channeling efforts with Feng, another meeting between Woodward and the Yuaneze businessman got arranged. It ended in acrimony as Woodward reportedly refused to give an inch to Hunderson and Feng.
On December 26th, a three-way call with Hunderson, Parker, and Woodward, Hunderson confronted Woodward with the fact he met Feng despite the President's orders not to do so. Secretary Parker brought President Armitage into the call, and a verbal fight which has since been leaked ensued. An audibly exasperated President Armitage decided to pull out of the anticipated trade talks with Yuan entirely, and after having his attempt at laying the groundwork for securing an even bigger financial windfall from his Yuaneze business activities via organizing a back channel to the trade summit scuttled, Hunderson found himself completely frozen out by President Armitage. Realizing Zamastan's energy dependence on samarium, a metal imported from Yuan, Yuan raised the price, resulting immediately in the spike in energy prices across Zamastan, with consumers already paying triple the standard rate for electricity and a projected five-fold increase by the end of 2023.
As President Armitage considered her strategy towards Yuan in a cabinet meeting, Woodward reportedly advocated remaining tough on Yuan in present circumstances. He suggested the President issue an executive order of purchasing the samarium through a third party, stockpiling it for defense purposes, while quietly selling the remaining amount to Zamastanian nuclear power companies at a cut price — a subsidy for the nuclear industry in order to avert the energy crisis. President Armitage agreed after getting assurances of possessing enough resources for a moderate samarium stockpile. The third party conduit — Haduastan — was chosen by the Secretary of State Chantelle Carson.
The subsidy plan didn't sit well with Hunderson since the continuation of the trade war with Yuan meant even his co-venture with Li Feng — rare earth metals refinery in Yuan — previously a foregone conclusion for Shanghan's approval, was now on hold. Not to mention looking at having his profits undercut should he accept the subsidies. Anticipating Hunderson's disapproval, SanCorp CEO Eston Danton visited Secretary Ian Woodward. Then, when talks reportedly collapsed, SanCorp to implement the subsidy plan along with a few other nuclear providers, while most of the providers did agree to go along with it. The recent depositions in federal court indicate Hunderson was colluding with the few holdout providers over this and voiced as much to the president. Woodward implemented a Department of Energy quota hitting SanCorp's distribution channel by adding an anti-trust agreement as an amendment to an emergency energy bill, thereby breaking-up the regional supply and distribution monopolies. President Armitage protested that such a motion would be immediately challenged in courts, but Woodward was adamant that the threat alone would do the trick, and President Armitage tentatively agreed. Hunderson's response was a threat to fight the amendment in the Supreme Court.
With the relationship between parties failing, Woodward, reportedly without President Armitage's knowledge, invited Hunderson to his Jade Harbor residence, then directly accused Hunderson of engaging in illegal activity by deliberately keeping electric prices at inflated rates, which Hunderson brushed off as only responding to free market. At this point, Hunderson has stated that his relationship with the administration collapsed completely, and decided to transfer a huge portion of the campaign money for the upcoming local elections away from the Conservative Party and towards the Liberal Party. The way this decision manifested was in a series of television attack ads, as well as realization upon investigation that one of the biggest donors in this donation was Cao Xuegang, a central figure in the Barismont scandal.
Upon dispatching federal authorities to investigate further, the uncovery that the majority of Conservative Party donations had actually been originating from SanCorp, specifically Hunderson, and now possibly Feng. As the scandal unfolded, Hunderson came to testify before Congressional Hall. During his testimony, Hunderson admitted that over a ten year period, he "orchestrated" and "facilitated" an illicit campaign contribution scheme and that Secretaries Ian Woodward and Grayson Parker "knew about it." Hunderson, who neglected an opportunity from President Armitage to have his testimony immune from incrimination, has now been arrested.
The scandal's rapid developments caused outrage throughout Congressional Hall, with calls demanding Secretaries Woodward and Parker resign, and calls for an investigation into the extent of President Armitage's knowledge of the scandal also being brought to the forefront. On January 14th, Armitage fired Parker, Woodward, and Secretary of Defense Easton Granholm, and denied all wrongdoing. Liberal congressional leadership signed a collective open letter calling for Armitage's resignation, amplified by their also near-unanimous calls for a vote-of-no-confidence. Majority Leader Joyce Hess and Majority Whip Sidqi Kamali held a joint press conference in which they stated they were penning an opinion for an inquiry, for which they would follow with an immediate vote-of-no-confidence if it is discovered that the President was aware of the scandal as Hunderson alleged. Speaker Alisha Fletcher (GLP) has notably veered away from condemning the President herself, though she did call the alleged finance breaches a "deeply concerning implication of foreign interference into our national election integrity." Fletcher also stated that "anyone involved must face justice," but did not specifically name Armitage.
Though the motion of a vote-of-no-confidence was likely to pass the lower chamber, controlled by a solid liberal majority coalition, its fate in the conservative-controlled Senate was less likely. Some members of the conservative leadership, though a select few will possibly be implicated in this campaign finance scandal, are standing by President Armitage, most notably President pro-tempore Burhan Swanson and Majority Leader Kendrick Benton. However, Majority Whip Evie-Grace Edwards stated that "the unveilings of this scandal are deeply concerning, and though its largely speculative and hearsay at this point... if the President had knowledge of this, participation in it, and tried to cover it up with a quid-pro-quo, that is obstruction of justice and deserves a vote-of-no-confidence."
Rescuing himself from the administration's woes, Attorney General Winston Currie announced on January 15th that he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate campaign finance breaches by the Armitage administration and the BCP as a whole, a move which may speed up an inquiry should it be announced as it is expected to be.
For her part, Armitage has vowed that she has done nothing wrong, and stated in a press briefing in which she took no questions that she "will remain in office for the entirity of (her) term, and into the next." However, an unforeseen shakeup occured following her sacking of the secretaries, as Secretary of Transportation Kurt Heddle and Secretary of Natural Resources Avery Gutthers both announced their resignations, signaling a deepening rift among the cabinet members who remain. The continuation of the Armitage administration appeared unstable, as Armitage was now forced to navigate an increasingly difficult series of roadblocks, legislative stops, and now a determined opposition to remove her from office.
Vote of no-confidence
On January 25th, the Congress Chamber voted along coalition lines in a measure of no-confidence towards President Sabine Armitage amid the rapidly unraveling scandal. In the third-ever successful vote of no-confidence in the country's history, the Congress voted 211-94, with 23 conservative lawmakers voting with the entirety of the 188 Liberal bloc members. The vote of no-confidence would now move to a Conservative-led Senate, where although the prospects for an acquital was higher than the Chamber, Armitage still faced harsh criticism from her own party. Her fate was not certain, though President pro-tempore Burhan Swanson promised to conduct a thurough bipartisan investigation and trial before the measure of no-confidence goes to a vote.
President Armitage was at a meeting with local officials in Aurelia, Titania province to observe flood damage from recent torrential rainfall when the vote began. Armitage was seen on live news cameras in a local school ushering herself into an adjourning room where she watched the votes come in. Following the twenty or-so minutes of voting, Armitage emerged and responded to reporters' questions of her reaction to the vote by saying "I guess we'll see what the senators have to say."
On January 26th, Attorney General Winston Currie formally recused himself from the investigation into Armitage and stated that special prosecutor Troy Speaks had found "sufficient evidence placing fault at the feet of President Armitage," and stated that the evidence would be submitted and presented in the Senate trials which are set to begin next week.
While many presidents have been faced with unsuccessful votes of no-confidence in the Chamber, President Armitage became the third President to face a vote of no-confidence in the Senate. President William Castovia, who in 1878 was faced with charges of "obstruction of justice" when he ordered the attorney general to end an investigation into a massacre of Parabocan farmers during the Great Cardoza War. Castovia was acquited by the Senate and continued his presidency until 1882. President Anya Bishop was removed from office in November 2019 with charges of "forceful suppression of free speech" when she ordered military forces into a standoff with protestors in the PoverTea movement, resulting in the deaths of three demonstrators. Bishop remains the only president removed from office. Both houses of Congressional Hall during Bishop's vote of no-confidence were led by conservative coalitions, which threw the outcome of Armitage's upcoming trial into more uncertainty.
On February 8th, an extremely narrow vote divided entirely by party lines, the Senate acquitted Armitage on campaign finance breach charges in a vote of no-confidence carried on by the Congress two weeks before. The astonishing outcome of the vote, 52-51-1, was the result of 3 Conservative Party senators breaking from their bloc and voting with the liberals. Ultimately, the vote came down to what could have been a tie, in which case a continuation of the trial would have ensued, but widely-regarded flip vote senator Rory Armstrong of the Christian Union Party abstained, giving a one-vote majority to the Conservatives. The Liberal minority bloc in the senate, hopeful after the sweep vote in the Congress Chamber, criticized the senate leadership in Burhan Swanson and Kendrick Benton of rushing the trial, despite the Justice Department and special prosecutor Troy Speaks having not concluded their investigation.
"This is unfortunate that the majority bloc decided to hurry along an investigation into possible election fraud, of which we have sufficient evidence placed at the feet of the president, while the justice department has not even finalized their intensive work," said Minority Leader, Sen. Mohammad Sadoul. "It's quite shameful, given all the facts we have, that we did not even allow for the testifying of key cabinet officials who have been charged with finance crimes, nor the ability to hear under oath the testimony of the president herself. I hope that the special prosecutor is able to finish his investigation completely, and that should such recommendations of additional charges be presented, the president will be held accountable."
For the conservative leadership, though, they said the trial's rushed nature was the fault of liberal lawmakers in the lower house. Senator Jonathan Kaur (BCP) stated "if my colleagues want to talk about rushed trials, let's talk about rushed accusations. Of course the accusations surrounding President Armitage and SanCorp are concerning, but that's why we needed to wait for a full investigation by the justice department. Instead, my esteemed liberal friends in the Congress Chamber decided to hurry along with a vote of no-confidence and force the senate's hand to rush a vote ourselves. A prolonged trial here distracts from real problems facing the Zamastanian people, and whether or not the president did anything wrong is absolutely reasonable to question, but until we have all the facts it is not up to us to determine her fate."
President Armitage, visiting a newly unveiled shipyard in St John, Northern Isle, recieved news of the acquital and spoke to the press, jokingly quipping "that was fast." The president went on to say "the senate did the right thing today and cleared me, rightfully so, of any wrongdoing. This entire process is a charade by the liberal bloc to force me to step down, and I'm glad we were able to shut it down without resorting to a long, unneccesary process which would have degraded the integrity of the finest legislative body in the world."
The three Conservative Party senators who broke with their bloc and voted in favor of no-confidence were Majority Whip Evie-Grace Edwards, Sen. Houston Bennett, and Sen. Terrance Kline. Additionally, Sen. Morgan Gibson of the Christian Union Party also voted in favor of no-confidence. There were calls by some senators in the majority bloc to remove Senator Edwards from her position as whip, with Sen. William Holbrook saying "her entire position is built around rallying votes for our coalition, and in the instance where it requires rallying for our president, she not only fails to do so, but she breaks from our party unity."
Senator Edwards dismissed Holbrook's criticism, posting a thread on her Owler account that "I will always pursue justice over rushed judgement. I am dissappointed in my party for having rushed clearance... Perhaps I would have voted against no-confidence if we had a proper trial which properly cleared the president, but alas we will need to wait for the justice department now."
Political positions
Armitage is considered a moderate Blue Conservative. Since she her 2020 reelection to congress, some have deemed her voting record "more moderate" than that of her previous years in the legislature. In 2021, the Tofino Times gave Armitage a composite score of 66% conservative and 34% liberal. Armitage is a neoconservative, known for her focus on national security, support for the military, a pro-business stance, hawkish foreign policy views, and fiscal and social conservatism. However, she holds relatively liberal stances on social issues, having signaled support for gun control legislation and decriminalization of illegal substances.
Armitage supports pulling back firearm restrictions, but has stated that she believes comprehensive background checks and longer waiting periods are required before someone is allowed to purchase a gun. She supported President Anya Bishop's ban on assault-weapons in 2019.
Armitage supports the Third Trimester Abortion Ban, which restricts abortion access beginning at the 28th week of pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest, or immediate and severe health effects for the mother. Armitage states that while she is personally opposed to abortion, she does not believe in restricting access beyond the third trimester. Her rational for supporting the ban, which has been in place in Zamastan since 1999, cites the statistical rarity of third trimester abortions and the exception clause which allows women to get abortions in the third trimester if their health is at risk.
Armitage supports sweeping tax reform policy and has presented on several occassions a bill which would bring the federal tax rate down nearly 30%. She also supports capping a national minimum-wage at Z$12 an hour, which is higher than the current minimum wage of Z$10 but significantly lower than other proposals.
Though she states her belief in man-made climate change and the threat it poses to humanity, Armitage favors rolling back environmental regulations to allow for a less restricted and more competitive market. She has denounced "environmental hardliners" as "fear-mongerers", but has said that companies should take personal prioritization in seeking reductions in the emission of greenhouse gasses without government interference. Armitage has stated that she wants Zamastan to become fully energy independent through the use of nuclear power plants instead of wind and solar reliance, and has laid out proposals for private company-led goals to reach a complete phase out of non-renewable energy sources by 2055 which wouldn't require federal intervention.
While supporting continued WEDA membership, Armitage made clear in the 2022 campaign that she believed Zamastan's involvement in WEDA should be drastically decreased due to what she interpreted as unfair cooperation and full dependability by its member states on Zamastan's military and funding. Armitage's vote to reject Siniapore's bid to join WEDA joined a chorus of conservative represenatives who were ultimately successful in blocking the south Ausianan nation's bid in the wake of the Jinchon Sea crisis. Armitage maintains that Zamastan should remain in WEDA, but must be more assertive towards other members to take a larger share of funding requirements. Armitage opposed the inclusion of Qolaysia, Saint Croix and Bens, Janapa, and Shoassau into the organization. She shifted her outlook on this following the 10/1 attacks and the military action in Terehan, and following the invasion of Haduastan she invoked executive orders to supply military aid to Haduastan alongside WEDA.
Armitage has expressed support for cutting the rate of acceptance for refugee and asylum seekers by 50%, and would rather "create a pathway to citizenship for more immigrants through a solidified process". She later clarified that this does not mean increasing the rate of deportations. She was a key figure in the drafting of the Nationality and Maritime Borders Act, which makes it illegal for migrants to enter into the country via maritime routes. Critics have pointed out that the rates of detained migrants and recorded crossings continued to climb despite the new law, and the bill was widely seen as a failure of cooperation between Moreau's administration and the Conservative opposition bloc.
Armitage is against the legalization of recreational marijuana under federal legislation, but has stated that provinces can determine the legality and decriminalization for themselves. When recreational marijuana was legalized in May of 2022, Armitage voted against it and has stated she would like the Supreme Court to reverse the decision based on "scientific evidence of health complications from chronic marijuana use", and allow provinces to decide its status for themselves.
Armitage supported the 2020 military intervention in Ossinia, and called on President Moreau to conduct airtrikes against Syraranto during the civil war (airstrikes were eventually undertaken for two weeks in March of 2022). Armitage also lobbied for airstrikes against Zalluabed after an accidental missile strike on the ZMS Monserrati during the Hisrea War, which left her largely isolated among Zamastanian politicians in a call for military action. Armitage has also repeatedly called for harsher responses to Yuaneze aggression over the status of Gangkou, praising the sinking of the Huangshan during the Jinchon Sea crisis.
Armitage opposes the 2013 Zalluabed nuclear deal and has stated she will withdraw from the agreement if elected President. The deal was initially signed by Cassious Castovia but was later abandoned by Anya Bishop in 2019, and then restored under Atticus Moreau in 2022.
Armitage has supported the use of torture. After the Zamastanian Intelligence Service's use of torture methods were detailed in the Carrigan Leaks in 2019, Armitage defended the use of waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and 'no-touch' torture like sensory deprivation, self-inflicted pain, and psychological stress. However, she has denounced the use of electric shock and strategic starvation.
Personal life
After the death of Armitage's father in 2008, her mother and grandmother moved to Tregueux from Janapa due to financial hardship. She still has family in Janapa, where her grandfather was living in a nursing home before he died in the aftermath of Hurricane Jude. Armitage said that "to be Janapan and Ossinian is to be the descendant of slaves, native, colonizers, refugees, and many others. We are all of these things and something else all at once — we are humans descendant from tribulation."
| Geography |
|  | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Politics |
| ||||||||||
| Economy | |||||||||||
| Society |
| ||||||||||
| Demographics | |||||||||||
| Conflicts | |||||||||||
- ↑ "Sabine Armitage Announces Candidacy for 2022 The Tofino Times, 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.