2021 New Virginian general election
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The 2021 New Virginia General Election was the second election to the House of Burgesses in New Virginia.
Background
In August 2020, Dame Elizabeth Lewis became the Prime Minister of New Virginia, initially serving in an acting capacity in the Provisional Council of New Virginia prior to the 2020 election.[1][2]
Initially commanding a majority over the House of Burgesses under the Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) and a short-lived coalition with the New Virginian Patriotic League, the rise of the newly reformed National Party and the emergence of the Commonwealth Whigs diminished this and produced a hung parliament. Eryn Lewis resigned in December, leading to the House voting on a new Prime Minister. Due to the abstention of Leon Montan and the absence of Bainbridge, the vote resulted in an even tie. A re-vote ensued shortly, confirming Dame Sophia Albina as the new Prime Minister.[3][4] The Free Democrats also formed a new coalition with the Whigs, installing Thomas Bainbridge as Deputy Prime Minister.[4]
The governments majority however would remain at stake. Following the vacancy of a seat in New Franklin, a by-election was called in New Franklin.[5] In a run-up to the by-election however, a series of events would rock the Commonwealth. After a series of scandals, Bainbridge retired from politics and dissolved the Commonwealth Whigs, once again producing a hung parliament.[6][7] A vote was called in the House of Burgesses to call an early general election, which passed unanimously.[7]
Date of the election
President of New Virginia Vera Hewitt issued a proclamation confirming the dissolution of parliament, and setting the date of election on 7 February. A period of political campaigning would ensue between 26 January and 6 February.[7] On the day of election, polls were open from midnight to 8pm Eastern Standard Time.[8]
Timetable
Date | Event |
---|---|
Saturday 16 January | Passage of the motion to dissolved parliament in the House of Burgesses. |
Sunday 17 January | Parliament dissolved by President of New Virginia. Opening of nominations. |
Saturday 23 January | Nomination period closes. |
Sunday 24 January | Campaigning period begins. |
Saturday 6 February | Campaigning period ends. |
Sunday 7 February | Polling day – polls open 12am to 8pm. |
Monday 8 February | Results announced for all constituencies. First meeting of the House of Burgesses. |
Contesting political parties and candidates
- See also: Political parties in New Virginia
Most candidates were representatives of a political party. In the 2021 election, 21 candidates stood: 1 being an independent, the rest representing a political party.
Party | Party leader(s) | Leader since | Leader's seat | 2020 election | Seats at dissolution |
Contested seats | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% of votes |
Seats | |||||||
Free Democratic Party | Dame Sophia Albina | December 2020 | New Franklin at-large | 55% | 6 | 4 | 9 Seats | |
National Party | Sir Bradley van Dullahan | October 2020 | Helinium | 21.2% | 2 | 4 | 8 Seats | |
Alliance 21/The Greens | James Frisch | January 2021 | None | New party | 0 | 3 Seats |
2020-2021 BPs standing under a different political affiliation
During the 1st Parliament, the burgess for the town of Augusta, Sir Riley Hewitt switched his political affiliation to that of the National Party, shortly after its reformation from the New Virginian Patriotic League. Sir Riley Kennedy was the only BP to switch political affiliation.
Christina Nowell, an independent non-burgess similarly switched affiliation over to the National Party, contesting for a New Franklin seat as opposed to Roanoke. She however failed to be elected, similarly to the 2020 election. Another non-burgess John Gordon switched affiliation from the Nationals to the Free Democrats a single day prior to the election.
Outgoing BP | 2020 party | 2020 constituency | 2021 party | 2021 constituency | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sir Riley Hewitt | Independent | Augusta | Nationals | Augusta |
Withdrawn or disowned candidates
The following candidates withdrew from campaigning or had support from their party withdrawn after the close of nominations. None of these candidates were elected.
Candidate | Party | Constituency | Reason for withdrawal | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
James Bornstein | Alliance 21/The Greens | Roanoke at-large | Unknown | February 2021 |
Campaign
Campaign background
The Free Democratic Party and the National Party have been the two biggest political parties, with the Free Democrats having governed since the 2020 election, briefly holding a coalition with the New Virginian Patriotic League and later the Commonwealth Whig Party up until shortly prior to the dissolution of parliament.
During the 2020-2021 parliament, there were defections on all sides of the political spectrum. Independent burgess Sir Riley Hewitt would go to join the National Party in late-2020. Bainbridge would defect from the Free Democrats to form the Commonwealth Whig party, taking on two non-burgesses with him.[9] In January, the Whig party would split, with members joining the Nationals,[7] the Free Democrats and the newly formed Greens. John Gordon would defect from the Nationals to the Free Democrats shortly before the election.
Policy Positions
Culture
The Free Democrats supported the preservation and promotion of local cultures.[8] The Greens took a similar position, promoting multiculturalism on the basis of it being a founding principle of the commonwealth.[10]
In contrast, the Nationals wished to bind local cultures into a single unifying national culture, intending to create and appoint a dedicated Minister of Culture.[11] The policies of the nationals were criticised by the Free Democrats in a campaign statement, stating that "They want to strip our diverse cantons of their cultural autonomy. The Nationals even call our thriving local cultures a source of weakness".[12] Similarly, the greens stated their strict opposition to the notion of "cultural imperialism".[10]
Economy
The Free Democrats supported initiatives to help citizens start up businesses and circulate the uncia through a national currency exchange in order to build a "dynamic economy".[12]
The National Party supported the independence of the bank from the government. Additionally, they sought to remove restrictions that would "hurt economic growth".[11]
The Greens opted for a simple policy, promising to keep the structure of the bank the same unless necessary. They also promised to support worker co-operatives, except those involved in damaging the environment.[10]
Electoral Reform
The Nationals supported electoral reform, decrying the first past the post system used in the nation. The party supported the implementation of proportional representation within the at-large cantonal seats.[11] The Greens took a similar stance, promising to pass a bill to revamp the electoral system, alongside supporting direct democratic initiatives and referendi to give the citizenry an increased voice in New Virginia politics.[10]
Opinion polling
Adammic Online Broadcasting conducted an exit poll alongside their live election coverage, predicting the number of seats for each party.[8][13]
Parties | Seats | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
Free Democratic Party | 7 | ▲ 3 | |
National Party | 6 | ▲ 2 | |
Alliance 21/The Greens | 0 | New party | |
Independent | 0 | ▼ 2 | |
Free Democrat 1 seat majority |
Results
Summary
7 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Free Democrats | Nationals | Greens | Independent |
![](/images/en/images/images/thumb/b/b0/NewVirginia2021.svg/300px-NewVirginia2021.svg.png)
A summarised results of the parties that competed in the election is as follows:
Party | Leader | BPs | Votes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Of total | Of total | |||||||
Free Democratic Party | Dame Sophia Albina | 7 | 53.8% | 7 / 13
|
122 | 49.59% | ||
National Party | Sir Bradley van Dullahan | 6 | 46.2% | 6 / 13
|
78 | 31.71% | ||
Alliance 21/The Greens | James Frisch | 0 | 0.0% | 0 / 13
|
41 | 16.67% | ||
Independent | Sammy Pike-Hegar | 0 | 0.0% | 0 / 13
|
4 | 1.63% |
Full results
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Political party | Leader | Candidates | BPs | Votes | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Gained | Lost | Net | Of total (%) |
Total | Of total (%) |
Change (%) | |||||||
Dame Sophia Albina | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1 | ▲1 | 53.8 | 122 | 49.59 | -5.41 | |||||
National Party | Sir Bradley van Dullahan | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | ▲2 | 42.2 | 78 | 31.71 | +10.51 | ||||
James Frisch | 3 | 41 | 16.67 | +16.67 | ||||||||||
Independent | Sammy Pike-Hegar | 1 | 4 | 1.63 | -22.17 |
Constituencies
Cities and towns
Augusta
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Party (New Virginia) | Sir Riley Hewitt | 3 | 100.0 | 0 | |
Majority | 3 | 100.0 | 0 | ||
Turnout | 3 | 100.0 | 0 | ||
NP hold |
Helinium
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Party (New Virginia) | Sir Bradley van Dullahan | 2 | 100.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 2 | 100.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 2 | 100.0 | N/A | ||
NP win |
New Richmond
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | Sir Charles Kitchen | 13 | 100.0 | 0 | |
Majority | 13 | 100.0 | 0 | ||
Turnout | 13 | 100.0 | 0 | ||
FDP hold |
San Scoglio
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Party (New Virginia) | Sir Edward Jacobs | 4 | 100.0 | 0 | |
Majority | 4 | 100.0 | 0 | ||
Turnout | 4 | 100.0 | 0 | ||
NP hold |
Shoreline
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | Dame Elizabeth Lewis | 11 | 100.0 | 0 | |
Majority | 11 | 100.0 | 0 | ||
Turnout | 11 | 100.0 | 0 | ||
FDP hold |
Cantons
New Franklin
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | Dame Sophia Albina | 19 | 16.8 | -47.2 | |
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | Sir James Stewart | 17 | 15 | -12.4 | |
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | Leon Montan | 16 | 14.2 | -22.2 | |
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | Sir Simon White | 15 | 13.3 | — | |
Alliance 21/The Greens (New Virginia) | James Frisch | 14 | 12.4 | — | |
Alliance 21/The Greens (New Virginia) | Newton von Uberquie | 12 | 11 | — | |
National Party (New Virginia) | Christina Nowell | 9 | 8 | -1 | |
National Party (New Virginia) | Varuna Sriraya | 7 | 6.2 | — | |
Independent | Sammy Pike-Hegar | 4 | 4 | — | |
Majority | 2 | 1.8 | -14.1 | ||
Turnout | 46 | 88.5 | -11.5 | ||
FDP hold | |||||
FDP hold | |||||
FDP win | |||||
FDP win |
Roanoke
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Party (New Virginia) | Cristian Dobrev | 19 | 17 | — | |
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | John Brown | 19 | 17 | — | |
National Party (New Virginia) | Abrams Wiucki-Dunswed | 17 | 15.2 | — | |
National Party (New Virginia) | Sertor Valentinus | 17 | 15.2 | -60.66 | |
Alliance 21/The Greens (New Virginia) | Daniel Hamilton | 15 | 13.4 | — | |
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | John Gordon | 13 | 11.6 | — | |
Free Democratic Party (New Virginia) | Matthew Xia | 12 | 10.7 | — | |
Majority | 0 | 0 | -6.8 | ||
Turnout | 38 | 79.2 | -20.8 | ||
NP hold | |||||
NP gain from [[Free Democrats|{{Template:Free Democrats/meta/shortname}}]] | |||||
NP win | |||||
FDP hold |
Seats changing hands
During the general election, a single seat changed hands from the Free Democratic Party to the National Party.
Seats which changed allegiance
Footnotes
References
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