Vyvlander presidential election, 2014
| Flag of Vyvland | |||||||
| 9th presidential election in Vyvland | |||||||
| ← Previous election 2010 |
Next election → (2018) | ||||||
| 11th / 18th June 2014 | |||||||
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File:Robert Ujson.jpg | ||||||
| Party | Independent | Liberal | |||||
| Nominee | Pamela Oegelkeper | Robert Ujson | |||||
| Share | 58.3% | 41.7% | |||||
| Votes | 9,046,341 | 6,482,378 | |||||
| Incumbent President Robert Ujson Liberal |
Resulting President Pamela Oegelkeper Independent | ||||||
The 2014 presidential election in Vyvland was an election for the office of President of Vyvland, the country's head of state. The election took place in two rounds on the 11th and 18th June 2014. It was the ninth held since the office of President was established in 1986. The outcome was a defeat of the incumbent Robert Ujson by centre-right Pamela Oegelkeper following allegations of Ujson's use of a prostitute in Ainin.
The first round was won by Ujson with a clear majority, with Oegelkeper second and King Verdnand and Adulv Niyborg in close third and fourth place respectively. The first round saw an unexpected surge for left-wing candidates Franzeska Gryn of the OSSV trade union and Jorjena Smef of the United Left, following widespread strike action around the election. The satirist Jussi Kylössi also unexpectedly gained almost three percent of the vote, considerably more than any other non-serious candidate in presidential elections before or since.
Twenty-three candidates received the required nomination of either 5,000 signatures or the endorsement of a political party in Parliament. The election will be held on the 11th June, with a second round held, if necessary, one week later on the 18th. The most prominent candidates for the election were incumbent President Robert Ujson, National Party leader Willem Winkelman, and independents including prominent businessman Adulv Niyborg and lawyer and activist Pamela Oegelkeper.
Background
The incumbent President, Robert Ujson of the Liberal Party, was elected in June 2010 and thus his four-year term is due to expire in June 2014. He has been generally supported throughout his presidency, presiding over an economic recovery and a coalition in Parliament also dominated by the Liberals, which has resulted in very few disputes between him and Parliament. Ujson's foreign policy and relations have remained warm with many countries, including the entrance of a raft of new countries (controversially including Nevanmaa) into the Esquarian Community. The alliance between his Liberal Party and the Socialist Party voted for him to run as their joint candidate in April 2014.
Parties and alliances
Liberal-Socialist alliance
On 19th December, a Liberal Party national meeting voted 59% in favour of entering into an alliance with the Socialist Party, as it has done in the last three elections. One month previously, the Socialists also voted for this arrangement. Following the sequence of alternation of candidates between the two parties in previous elections, it was expected that the alliance's presidential candidate in 2010 will come from the Socialist Party, although the Socialists decided to endorse Ujson instead. Contrary to expectations, neither the Greens nor the United Left entered this alliance, with the former choosing to support Adulv Niyborg and the latter nominating their own candidate, Jorjena Smef, head of the party's Collective Leadership Committee.
Right-wing alliance
After relatively strong showings in the 2013 general election, the Conservative Party, Capitalist-Libertarian Party and National Party come into the election in a position of strength. The three parties were initially thought to have been likely to form a coalition together, or for the Conservatives to side with only the Nationals. However, due to tensions and disputes between the social libertarian Capitalists and traditionalist, conservative Nationals, the Conservatives were limited to choose just one with which to side; in this instance, the Capitalists were chosen. The two parties have declined to field their own candidate, instead voicing their support for independent candidate Pamela Oegelkeper.
National Party
The right-wing National Party has officially endorsed party leader Willem Winkelman as its official candidate. However, a significant minority of the party, many of whom dislike the modern populism of the party, have instead nominated Ans Eermaan as their candidate.
Ethnic minority parties
Various nonpartisan ethnic minority parties have united to send one candidate to the election. The Geadish People's Party and United Namorese and Islanders from the Alliance for Independence, and the Swedish Party from outside the alliance have chosen to field Andras Persson, a Swedish-speaking immigrant from Geadland with Swedish Vyvlander heritage. The partisan member parties of the Alliance for Independence are most likely to side with a mainstream candidate, but some may support Persson or field their own candidates.
Minor parties
The Monarchist Party again nominated King Verdnand for the position of President, under the explicit promise that reforms will be implemented restoring the monarchic system. At points when outgoing presidents have been involved in scandals or general unpopularity, as was the case with Erik Menjreng at the 1998 election, the party has been able to gain significant percentages of the vote, reaching 19% in 1998 and thus narrowly missing entrance into the second round. However, the party has not progressed above 8% since.
The Vyvlander Front stood its leader, Anton Eskmanteloim, as the its presidential candidate. His candidacy resulted in his removal from his Parliament seat of Pegerm, in which he will be replaced by party member Alwig Enrigs.
Candidates
First round
The first round of the election, held on the 11th June, was conclusively won by Ujson with 22% of the vote. The second-placed candidate was Oegelkeper, who won 15%. Ujson and Oegelkeper thus advanced to the second round. Left-wing candidates and satirist Jussi Kylössi made particularly unexpected results. The results are as follows:
Second round
Despite Ujson's win in the first round, he failed to maintain his winning position in the second round one week later. Much of this was due to allegations published the previous day in national tabloid newspaper Tiy Baners that he had used a prostitute while on a summit in Hartly, Ainin, which he denied. Thus, Oegelkeper went on to win the election, with twelve of the seventeen provinces voting predominantly in her favour.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pamela Oegelkeper | Independent | 9,046,341 | 58.3% | |
| Robert Ujson | Liberal Party | 6,482,378 | 41.7% | |
| Total votes | 15,528,719 | |||