2022 Vishwamitran general election
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20 seats in the Lok Sabha 11 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A general election was held in Vishwamitra in three phases between 30 October and 6 November 2022 to elect 20 members of the Lok Sabha, the unicameral national legislature. The results were counted and announced on 7 November.
The ruling National People's Congress secured 65% of the total seats having won 13 seats of the Lok Sabha, four seats less than its performance in the November 2021 general election. The newly-established Vishwamitran National Party won 5 seats, winning more than the required 10% of the seats to claim the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Background
According to the Constitution of Vishwamitra, the Lok Sabha shall stand dissolved no later than every one year from the first sitting of Parliament. The previous election was held in November 2021 and the first sitting of the parliament was held later that month. On 3 October 2022, the Uparashtradhyaksh Bishnu Chetry as regent pro-tempore dissolved the 14th Lok Sabha on the advice of the union council of ministers.
Earlier, the election commission had announced the schedule for the election on 16 September 2022.
Electoral system
All 20 elected MPs are elected from single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. Voters must be full Vishwamitran citizens, an ordinary resident of the polling area of the constituency and registered to vote (name included in the electoral rolls), possess a valid citizens ID code issued by the Department of Citizenship or an equivalent.
Election schedule
The election schedule was announced by Election Commission (ECV) on 16 September 2022 and the model code of conduct came to force with the notification coming into effect on 3 October 2022. Subsequently, the Uparashtradhyaksh Bishnu Chetry acting as regent in the absence of Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya approved the dissolution of the 14th Lok Sabha and appointed serving prime minister Farhaz Hazarika and his council of ministers to continue on a caretaker basis.
The following was the schedule for the election as declared by the election commission on 16 September 2022.
Schedule | Date |
---|---|
Date of issuance of election notification | 16 September 2022 |
Date from which the notification shall be effective | 3 October 2022 |
Date of dissolution of the XIIIth Parliament | |
Date of appointment of caretaker government | |
Last date of registration of political parties | 12 October 2022 |
Date from which nominations are to be submitted | 15 October 2022 |
Last date of submitting nominations | 22 October 2022 |
Scrutiny of nominations | 27 October 2022 |
Last date of withdrawal of nominations | 28 October 2022 |
Date of election | 30 October–6 November 2022 |
Declaration of results | 7 November 2022 |
Date before which election must be completed | 20 November 2022 |
The voting for the election was scheduled to be held in three phases.
State/Territory | Total constituencies |
Election dates and number of constituencies | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | ||||||
30 October | 5 November | 6 November | ||||||
Purvanchal | 6 | 6 | ||||||
Beltola | 3 | 3 | ||||||
Uttaranchal | 2 | 2 | ||||||
Madhya Prant | 2 | 2 | ||||||
Kamrupa | 3 | 3 | ||||||
Basistha | 3 | 3 | ||||||
Chandrabans | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Constituencies | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
Campaign
Intense campaigning for the election began in October 2022 with the contesting political parties putting a lot of effort to win the support of the people. Among the most active campaigners included Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia, Farhaz Hazarika, Suryadeva Kapei, Manggala Alif Prasetia of the National People's Congress; while Rory Leonard, Devin Purcell, Toyotomi Tatsumi of the Vishwamitran National Party.
Parties and candidates
The National People's Congress (NPC) and the Vishwamitran National Party (VNP) were the two parties which contested the election while two independent candidates were also in fray. The NPC which was the ruling party prior to the election contest 19 seats and supported independent candidate Arsal Abbas Mirza in one seat while the VNP contested in 9 seats.
Parties | States/Territory | Seats contested | Seats won | |
---|---|---|---|---|
National People's Congress | Purvanchal | 6 | 4 | |
Beltola | 2 | 1 | ||
Uttaranchal | 2 | 1 | ||
Madhya Prant | 2 | 2 | ||
Kamrupa | 2 | 2 | ||
Basistha | 3 | 2 | ||
Chandrabans | 1 | 1 | ||
Vishwamitran National Party | Purvanchal | 4 | 2 | |
Beltola | 1 | 1 | ||
Uttaranchal | 2 | 1 | ||
Madhya Prant | 1 | 0 | ||
Basistha | 1 | 1 | ||
Independent | Beltola | 1 | 1 | |
Kamrupa | 1 | 1 |
Results
Candidates were unopposed elected from several constituencies upon the scrutiny of the nominations. Upon the scrutiny, 10 candidates of the National People's Congress were declared elect on 27 October 2022. 2 candidates of the Vishwamitran National Party were also later declared unopposed elect after NPC candidates Rafe Burfield and W. Pranit Singh withdrew their nominations from their second seats. Meanwhile, the nomination of one candidate of the Vishwamitran National Party was rejected on grounds that the candidate had used a pseudonym to submit his nomination which was not registered with the authority. Election to Radisson and Dhirenpara constituency was held on 30 October 2022, to Brikshasthana on 5 November, and to Rajagriha, Boragaon and Kalapani on 6 November 2022.
Party-wise results
Party | Vote % | Seats won | Seat change | |
---|---|---|---|---|
National People's Congress | 65% | 13 | ▼4 | |
Vishwamitran National Party | 20% | 5 | New | |
Independents | 10% | 2 | N/A | |
Total | 100% | 20 | - |
Constituency-wise results
Note: In the case of the gain by parties in several constituencies, the results of November 2021 general election and subsequent bye-elections were considered.
Maligaon
National People's Congress President Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia was elected unopposed from the Maligaon constituency of Purvanchal state.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC win |
Rajagriha
Former acting prime minister Prince Abhiraj of the National People's Congress defeated Kevin Doan of the Vishwamitran National Party in Rajagriha constituency of Purvanchal state and was elected to the Lok Sabha.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Prince Abhiraj | 15 | 68.2% | N/A | |
VNP | Kevin Doan | 7 | 31.8% | N/A | |
Majority | 8 | 36.4% | N/A | ||
NPC win |
National Capital Constituency
Therence Raphael Pagsisihan of the Vishwamitran National Party was elected unopposed from National Capital Constituency of Purvanchal state after Rafe Burfield of the National People's Congress withdrew his candidacy.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VNP | Therence Raphael Pagsisihan | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
VNP gain from NPC |
Boragaon
Devin Purcell of the Vishwamitran National Party defeated Fardeen Hazarika of the National People's Congress in Boragaon constituency of Purvanchal state and was elected to the Lok Sabha.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VNP | Devin Purcell | 12 | 54.5% | N/A | |
NPC | Fardeen Hazarika | 10 | 45.5% | N/A | |
Majority | 2 | 9% | N/A | ||
VNP gain from NPC |
Kalapani
President of the National People's Congress Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia defeated two-time MP and President of the Vishwamitran National Party Rory Leonard in the Kalapani constituency of Purvanchal state and was elected to the Lok Sabha.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia | 14 | 63.6% | N/A | |
VNP | Rory Leonard | 8 | 36.4% | N/A | |
Majority | 6 | 27.2% | N/A | ||
NPC hold |
Rashtra Niwas
Crown Princess Sarala of Purvanchal of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in Maligaon constituency of Purvanchal state.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Princess Sarala | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC hold |
Brikshasthana
Former prime minister Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu of the Vishwamitran National Party defeated Suryadeva Kapei of the National People's Congress in Brikshasthana constituency of Beltola state and was elected to the Lok Sabha.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VNP | Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu | 3 | 60% | N/A | |
NPC | Suryadeva Kapei | 2 | 40% | N/A | |
Majority | 1 | 20% | N/A | ||
VNP win |
Bhetapara
Former Lok Sabha speaker and sitting Bhetapara MP Tyler Mullins who contested as an independent candidate was elected unopposed in Bhetapara constituency of Beltola state for a second consecutive term in office.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent (Vishwamitra) | Tyler Mullins | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
IND gain from NPC |
Basant Bahar
Union minister W. Pranit Singh of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in Basant Bahar constituency of Beltola state.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | W. Pranit Singh | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC hold |
Gotanagar
Christian Laudani of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in Gotanagar constituency of Uttaranchal state after the nomination paper of Ludwig Collins, the candidate of the Vishwamitran National Party was rejected by the Election Commission during the scrutiny.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Christian Laudani | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC win |
Radisson
Dr. Toyotomi Tatsumi of the Vishwamitran National Party defeated National Development minister and sitting Noonmati MP Arnab Deka of the National People's Congress in Radisson constituency of Uttaranchal state and was elected to the Lok Sabha.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VNP | Dr. Toyotomi Tatsumi | 5 | 55.6% | N/A | |
NPC | Arnab Deka | 4 | 44.4% | N/A | |
Majority | 1 | 11.2% | N/A | ||
VNP win |
Noonmati
Union minister Matthew Tonna of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in Noonmati constituency of Madhya Prant state.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Matthew Tonna | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC hold |
Dhirenpara
Johannes Mattias Toome of the National People's Congress defeated Juan Cisneros of the Vishwamitran National Party in Dhirenpara constituency of Madhya Prant state. The NPC had won the constituency after three consecutive loses since 2020.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Johannes Mattias Toome | 5 | 62.5% | N/A | |
VNP | Juan Cisneros | 3 | 37.5% | N/A | |
Majority | 2 | 25% | N/A | ||
NPC win |
Dadara
Union minister Arsal Abbas Mirza who contested as an independent candidate with support of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in Dadara constituency of Kamrupa state.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent (Vishwamitra) | Arsal Abbas Mirza | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
IND win |
National List
Former union minister Abayat Ibtiyaz of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in National List constituency of Kamrupa state.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Abayat Ibtiyaz | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC hold |
Chandril
Union minister and sitting Chandril MP Rafe Burfield of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in Chandril constituency of Kamrupa state for a second consecutive term.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Rafe Burfield | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC gain from IND |
Basistha City
Prime Minister Farhaz Hazarika of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in Basistha City constituency of Basistha state for a second term. He earlier represented the constituency in the 13th Lok Sabha and was also elected from the constituency to the 14th Lok Sabha but resigned later.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Farhaz Hazarika | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC win |
Basistha Rural
Manggala Alif Prasetia of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed in Basistha Rural constituency of Basistha state.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Manggala Alif Prasetia | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC hold |
Basistha Central
Reuben Isze of the Vishwamitran National Party was elected unopposed from Basistha Central of Basistha state after W. Pranit Singh of the National People's Congress withdrew his candidacy.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VNP | Reuben Isze | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
VNP gain from IND |
Chandrabans
Chief Minister of Purvanchal and sitting MP Princess Bishakha of the National People's Congress was elected unopposed from Chandrabans territorial constituency for a third consecutive term.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NPC | Princess Bishakha | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
Majority | N/A | 100% | N/A | ||
NPC hold |
Aftermath
On 9 November 2022, Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya issued a gazette notification and summoned the first sitting of the 15th Lok Sabha to be held on 10 November 2022. Accordingly, he appointed Matthew Tonna as the protem speaker to preside over the first sitting and oversee the election of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the deputy speaker. The two political parties also issued notifications regarding the appointment of floor leaders.
The National People's Congress appointed Farhaz Hazarika and the Rafe Burfield as its floor leader and deputy leader respectively and also as the leader and the deputy leader of the house respectively given its securing majority of the seats. On the other hand, the Vishwamitran National Party appointed Radisson MP Toyotomi Tatsumi as its floor leader and as the leader of the opposition and former prime minister Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu as its deputy leader. On 10 November 2022, Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia, who won from two seats - Maligaon and Kalapani chose to resign from the Maligaon parliamentary seat.
The election of the speaker and the deputy speaker took place on 10 November 2022 in which Independent MP Tyler Mullins was elected the Speaker while Devin Purcell of the Vishwamitran National Party was elected as the deputy speaker. Both of them were elected unopposed to their respective positions. Following the election of the speaker, Mullins asked the leader of the house if his party would be willing to form the government as it commands the majority of the house. Thereupon, the deputy leader of the house Rafe Burfield responded and accepted the offer and thus the speaker notified that the Congress was eligible to form the government and subsequently informed the Rashtradhyaksh.
Government formation
Having won the majority of the seats, the National People's Congress also received support from the two independent MPs - Arsal Abbas Mirza and Tyler Mullins. After receiving the instrument of command from the Lok Sabha, the Rashtradhyaksh recognized that the National People's Congress commanded the majority of the house and thus, exercising his powers vested by the Constitution, appointed the leader of the house Farhaz Hazarika as the prime minister on 11 November 2022.
The Rashtradhyaksh, further appointed Sarala, Crown Princess of Purvanchal as the deputy prime minister and five other cabinet ministers - Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia, Matthew Tonna, Rafe Burfield, W. Pranit Singh and Arsal Abbas Mirza. Among the four ministers of state were Manggala Alif Prasetia, Johannes Mattias Toome, Christian Laudani and Suryadeva Kapei. Both W. Pranit Singh and Arsal Abbas Mirza were ministers of state in Farhaz Hazarika's previous cabinets. All the ministers excluding Mirza belong to the ruling National People's Congress. Of the 11 members of the council of ministers, four ministers are first-time MPs including Mirza, Prasetia, Toome and Laudani, while Kapei is not a member of the parliament and is constitutionally needed to be elected to the Lok Sabha within the next six months, failing to do so will need him to resign from his position as minister.
Subsequent by-elections
The first by-election of the 15th Lok Sabha was necessitated from the Maligaon constituency which was held by Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia who had resigned the seat after being elected from Kalapani constituency. Suryadeva Kapei, union minister of the ruling party won from the constituency.
In January 2023, Matthew Tonna resigned from his seat, while in May 2023 Reuben Isze resigned from his seat. The vacancies were filled in May 2023 in by-elections in which independent candidates were elected to office. Rory Leonard and Chandrachur Basu were elected from Noonmati and Basistha City constituencies respectively. Both of them, later joined the opposition Vishwamitran National Party.
State | Constituency | Name of elected M.P. | Party affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Purvanchal | Maligaon | Arthur Lacey-Scott-FitzLacia (resigned on 10 November 2022) | National People's Congress | |
Suryadeva Kapei (elected on 27 November 2022) | National People's Congress | |||
Madhya Prant | Noonmati | Matthew Tonna (resigned on 18 January 2023) | National People's Congress | |
Rory Leonard (elected on 31 May 2023)[a] | Independent | |||
Basistha | Basistha City | Reuben I of Salanda (resigned on 17 May 2023) | Vishwamitran National Party | |
Chandrachur Basu (elected on 31 May 2023)[a] | Independent |