2022 Atovian parliamentary election

2022 Atovian parliamentary election

24–28 April 2022
All 3 seats in the House of Commons 2 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	92.8% ▲ 26.1 pp
First party Second party   Leader Tobey Wyles Newton von Uberquie Party Conservative Left-Green Leader since 8 April 2022 4 October 2019 Last election New party 30.0%, 1 seat Seats won 2 1 Seat change ▲ 2 0 Percentage 46.2% 30.8% Swing ▲ 46.2 pp ▲ 0.8 pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Thomas von Bainbridge None of These Candidates Party New Democratic None of These Candidates Leader since 21 August 2019 Last election 40.0%, 1 seat Seats won 0 Seat change ▼ 1 Percentage 23.1% 0.0% Swing ▼ 16.9 pp 0.0 pp
Prime Minister before election Thomas von Bainbridge New Democratic Elected Prime Minister Tobey Wyles Conservative

The 2022 Atovian parliamentary election took place from 24–28 April 2022 to elect the 5th House of Commons, the legislative body of the Kingdom of Atovia. The election was called in accordance with the Basic Law. All three seats were contested in this election. The members were elected by single transferable vote in a multi-seat at-large electorate.

The election resulted in the first government being formed by a party other than the New Democratic Party since May 2019. The Conservative People's Party took the most votes and won 2 seats. The Left-Green Movement came next and won the final seat. The New Democrats were pushed out of parliament entirely for the first time in party history.

The newly-elected members will meet in the next days to officially open the 5th Parliament. A speaker will then be elected, and business will begin as normal.

Background

Since the July 2020 by-election, the New Democratic Party led a coalition government with the Left-Green Movement. This coalition was expected to continue if the two parties maintained a combined majority in the House of Commons.

According to the Atovian Basic Law, parliamentary elections are to be held at least every twelve months. These elections have traditionally been held in the month of April since 2020, but there is no legal requirement for this timing. On 11 February 2022, the Minister of Internal Affairs announced the dates of the election, after which the campaign began.

Electoral system

Members of the House of Commons were elected by single transferable vote (STV) from a single at-large electorate with three seats. Voters complete a ballot, listing candidates in order of their preference. There is also an option for None of These Candidates (NoTC), which is a way for voters to show that they do not approve of some or all of the candidates on the ballot. Voters may mark as many or as few preferences as they wish. The ballots are then counted by computer under supervision of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the candidates standing for election. Each ballot is initially credited to its first-preference candidate but may be transferred on later counts using Meek's method to the next available preference where the first preference candidate is elected or eliminated.

Campaign

A campaign poster published by the NDP prior to the election

The campaign began on 11 February 2022 when the Minister of Internal Affairs announced the dates for the election. The House of Commons was prorogued two weeks before the election began, on 11 April 2022. Nomination of candidates closed on 14 April. At the end of the nomination period, there were six candidates representing all three political parties in Atovia.

The former leader of the Conservative People's Party, Erich Thaller, abruptly announced on 8 April that he would be withdrawing his candidacy in the election as well as his position as head of the newly formed party. He then left the server and has not been active publicly since. Another citizen, Esty Carpentieri, returned from a political hiatus to take part in the election under the Left-Green banner. There were also several new citizens who were registered during the campaign period who took part in the election in some way.

Polling

Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order. The highest percentage figure in each poll is displayed in bold, and its background is shaded in the leading party's color. The "lead" column shows the percentage point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. When a poll result is a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded and displayed in bold.

Polling Firm	Date	Sample Size	NDP	LGM	CPP	NoTC	Lead
2022 Parliamentary Election	24-28 April 2022	N/A	23.1%	30.8%	46.2%	0.0%	15.4%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	23 April 2022	8	25.0%	25.0%	50.0%	0.0%	25.0%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	18 April 2022	6	16.7%	33.3%	50.0%	0.0%	16.7%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	13 April 2022	4	50.0%	25.0%	25.0%	0.0%	25.0%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	8 April 2022	5	60.0%	0.0%	40.0%	0.0%	20.0%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	3 April 2022	4	75.0%	0.0%	25.0%	0.0%	50.0%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	29 March 2022	4	25.0%	25.0%	50.0%	0.0%	14.3%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	24 March 2022	2	50.0%	0.0%	50.0%	0.0%	Tie
Ministry of Internal Affairs	19 March 2022	5	40.0%	20.0%	40.0%	0.0%	Tie
Ministry of Internal Affairs	14 March 2022	8	37.5%	25.0%	37.5%	0.0%	Tie
Ministry of Internal Affairs	9 March 2022	5	60.0%	20.0%	20.0%	0.0%	40.0%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	4 March 2022	4	50.0%	0.0%	50.0%	0.0%	Tie
Ministry of Internal Affairs	27 February 2022	7	28.6%	28.6%	42.9%	0.0%	14.3%
Ministry of Internal Affairs	22 February 2022	5	40.0%	20.0%	40.0%	0.0%	Tie
Ministry of Internal Affairs	17 February 2022	11	36.4%	18.2%	45.5%	0.0%	9.1%

Results

↓
2	1
Conservative People's Party	Left-Green Movement

Polls opened at 03:28 UTC on 24 April and closed at 23:59 UTC on 28 April. The turnout was 92.8%, the best turnout on record for an election. The votes were publicly counted live by the Minister of Internal Affairs, another first for Atovian elections. The results were unsealed and read to a listening audience at 00:37 UTC on 29 April following the end of polling.

The results were widely considered to be an upset to the New Democratic Party, who lost all seats in parliament. It was a major victory for the newly-formed Conservative People's Party, as they won a majority of the seats and will go on to form a government. Overall, the former Left Coalition which had stood nearly unbroken since September 2019 was broken apart in favor of a majority Conservative government.

House of Commons – 24–28 April 2022

Party			%	Swing (pp)	Seats	Change (seats)
	Conservative People's Party		46.2	▲ 46.2	2	▲ 2
	Left-Green Movement		30.8	▲   0.8	1	0
	New Democratic Party		23.1	▼ 16.9	0	▼ 1
	None of These Candidates		0.0	0.0	0	0
Total			100.1	–	3	0
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs

First-Preference Vote
CPP			46.2%
LGM			30.8%
NDP			23.1%
NoTC			0.0%

Total Seats
CPP			66.7%
LGM			33.3%
NDP			0.0%
Vacant			0.0%