Toubaze 2021 general election
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 349 seats in the National Assembly 175 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 84.3% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General elections were held in Toubaze on 29 November 2021. The incumbent centre-left minority government led by the Democratic Party lost power to a right wing coalition led by the Liberal Party, making Resna Tenili the country's new Prime Minister. The People's National Party and the Moderates became part of the three-party government. The new National Assembly convened on 8 December, where Tenili also announced the new government. The 'Teal' government took office on 13 December 2021.
Electoral System
The 349 seats in the National Assembly are elected by proportional representation and are distributed among all parties that cross the 3% election threshold. Voters could choose between casting a personal vote for a candidate or voting for a political party. Individuals can get a seat in the National Assembly by receiving 0.5% of the vote. However, this has only ever happened twice. According to the Constitution, the 2021 election was required to be held no later than 15 December 2021, as the previous election was held on 16 December 2016. The Prime Minister is able to call the election at any date, provided that date is no later than four years from the previous election. For a new party to become eligible to participate in the election, they must be supported by a number of voters corresponding to 1/349 of all valid votes cast in the previous election.
Campaign
The election campaign started on 29 September as then Prime Minister Kelco Noim from the Democratic Party announced that elections would happen on 29 November 2021. Two days later, the Moderates, Green Alliance, and the United Socialist Party announced they would be campaigning for government positions and wouldn't support a government they weren't in. This meant that the one-party government under Noim couldn't continue as they had support from Green Alliance and 'has immediately shifted the political balance' in Toubaze as stated by political commentators. Throughout the campaign, opinion polls from TRT showed the shift towards the right that happened during the campaign.
Debates
During the campaign, there were 3 debates for all the parties. The first debate was on 9 October and mainly saw Resna Tenili take an aggressive stance against Prime Minister Kelco Noim, who didn't do too well as observed by political commentators after the debate was concluded. Commentators also noted that Tenili represented more of a "statesmanlike" appearance. The second debate took place on 4 November and this time the focus was on the People's National Party as they were going through a corruption scandal. Despite all this, the PNPs leader, Nozak Keol, was viewed as the ‘winner’ of the debate with many pointing out his swift action during the scandal and honesty about it during the debate. The Moderates also shined through during the debate, while many looked at the left-wing parties as 'dormant'. On 25 November, 4 days before the election, the Grand Debate Night took place. The left-wing parties lost yet more attention to the right-wing parties and also saw the smaller party Farmers Union gain a strong position. 'Fierce discussions between the left-wing parties during the debate didn't do them much good,' commented one political commentator after the debate.
Pich Scandal
On 11 October, the People's National Party was struck by scandal after party deputy Kauy Pich was arrested on charges of corruption and possible voting fraud in relation to his election as Mayor for Todon. Nozak Keol, leader of the party, promptly threw him out of the party and had announced that the party was cooperating with police and the authorities to properly convict Pich. The Liberal Party and Democratic Party both expressed shock at the sudden loss of integrity within the election system but also praised Keol for his quick, decisive and honest handling of the situation. Many consider this scandal the main reason for the partys loss of votes in the election.
Results
Overall, the election was a win for the right-wing parties that supported Resna Tenili, leader of the Liberal Party, as Prime Minister. It was the second year in a row where a new party got into the National Assembly, the last being Green Alliance in the previous 2016 election. While having been a party for many years, this election marked the first time the Farmers Union was able to clear the 3% threshold and secure a position in the National Assembly, the party gave their support to Tenili as Prime Minister. The biggest winner in the election was the Moderates, winning 12 seats, upping their total to 41 and making them the fourth largest party. The left-wing socialist parties had their worst election to date, with both the Toubaze Socialist Party and the United Socialist Party losing a sizeable portion of their seats along with the Democratic Party. Many commentators were surprised that the People's National Party didn't do worse, when taking into account the Pich Scandal that happened during the campaign. While still losing seats, they didn't have a 'collapse', as many had thought they would have.
The election ended the 10-year-old administration under Kelco Noim and the Democratic Party, as he didn't win a third term. A Prime Minister getting three consecutive terms has only happened 4 times in Toubaz history.
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | % | Seats | Change | ||
| LP | Liberal Party | 27.4% | 96 |  8
| |
| DP | Democratic Party | 23.4% | 82 |  12
| |
| PNP | People's National Party | 15.7% | 55 | 7
| |
| M | Moderates | 11.8% | 41 | 12
| |
| GA | Green Alliance | 7.8% | 27 | 11
| |
| TSP | Toubaze Socialist Party | 6.4% | 23 | 15
| |
| USP | United Socialist Party | 3.6% | 14 | 8
| |
| FU | Farmers Union | 3.1% | 11 | 11
| |
| FR | Fight for Rights | 0.2% | 0 |  0
| |
| PN | Party for Neutrality | 0.2% | 0 | 0
| |
| Others Individual, blank & invalid votes |
0.4% | 0 | 0
| ||
| Total | 100% | 349 | |||
Government Formation
On 1 December Resna Tenili invited the Moderates and the National People's Party to coalition talks in Taubon. During the opening talk of the new National Assembly on 8 December, Tenili announced a three-party government with himself as Prime Minister that would take office on 13 December. During the election campaign, Green Alliance had made several statements they would support Tenili as Prime Minister with only a few requirements, including a ministerial position. However, this was later rejected by Tenili. The new government got the nickname 'Teal', which came from combining the colors of all the parties which are already similar. The term was first used by TRT on 3 December during a speculation discussion about the possible outcome of the coalition talks, the other options being a minority government with the Liberal party and the 'Brother' government between the Liberal party and the People's National Party.
| Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Resna Tenili | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Liberal Party | |
| Minister of the Interior | Avos Soc | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Moderates | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Nozak Keol | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | People's National party | |
| Minister of Finance and Taxation | Preto Ovu | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Liberal Party | |
| Minister of Defence | Akra Clom | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | People's National party | |
| Minister of Justice | Veme Protoav | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Moderates | |
| Minister of Economy and Business | Ghob Brank | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | People's National party | |
| Minister of Commerce and Growth | Ri Fen | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Liberal Party | |
| Minister of Education and Health | Mu Clan | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Liberal Party | |
| Minister of Employment and Development | Ubi Og | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | People's National party | |
| Minister of Transport | Droste Pun | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Liberal Party | |
| Minister of Immigration | Vaoph Ibosu | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Moderates | |
| Minister of Culture | Fesou Paph | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | People's National party | |
| Minister of Technology, Innovation and Information | Taj Curkuv | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Liberal Party | |
| Minister of Housing, Energy and Environment | Hocro Ona | 13 December 2021 | Incumbent | Liberal Party | |