Elections in Secundomia

Elections were a common occurrence in the volatile Republic of Secundomia. In a 13 month span, the nation conducted 9 elections. Typically, elections were national in scale to elect the president but on occasion also elected a legislature. Local elections were also held in each of the Secundomian states. The final election in the country happened in 2011, after which point the nominal republic operated as a de facto dictatorship.

Republic of Secundomia

This article is part of the series: Elections in Secundomia

December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 May 2010 July 2010

Republic of Secundomia
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Secundomia
Government President
Constitution [1] Executive President: Parker I Presidential Cabinet Elections 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 May 2010 July 2010 September 2010 November 2010 2011 Legislative Congress Other Foreign Relations

History

Secundomia started with the intent of holding monthly elections for president. Without a legislature in place, the 2009 elections were intended to elect a president with nearly absolute power. This raised the stakes significantly and resulted in the escalation of tensions in the run-up to the election. Vitriol resulted in the departure of prominent Secundomian citizens and reform was set to reduce the tensions.

Co-Presidential system

During the 2009 Elections, the leading candidates Parker I and Luke of Secundomia decided to reach a compromise to share the presidency. This was a continuation of the co-consulate system which had been in place from the inception of the nation. This system allowed the top two vote getters to share the presidential ticket. With one citizen still constrained to a single vote, this system did not work perfectly. In the January 2009 Elections each candidate voted for themselves, and the tie was broken by only one civilian vote. Runoffs were scheduled for the remaining candidates.

Presidential system

With the inauguration of the new constitution, a sole-presidential system was developed. Spencer I became the first sole-president of the Republic of Secundomia after the February elections. A more standardized electoral system was inaugurated in March, with 2-month terms, consistent primaries and legislative elections. Incumbent Spencer was resoundingly defeated in a crowded general election by Parker I.

After Parker was re-elected in the May elections, he was forced to refuse his spot on the Citizen's Council, dissolving the body. This resulted in the cancellation of legislative elections for some time. In an attempt to avoid gridlock with low citizen participation, incumbent Parker I threw his weight behind Luke at the July Conservative Convention. The electoral alliance resulted in the first victory of the year for Luke. Spencer, unhappy with the alliance between Luke and Parker, founded the Libertarian Party. Further elections always resulted in victory for Parker I, who had consolidated power in a country largely declining in activity.

The final Secundomian elections were conducted in 2011. An intention to hold elections via the new Secundomian Forums failed with an insufficient amount of citizens registering to vote. A second failure to conduct elections via email was embarrassing for the Parker administration. Gubernatorial and congressional elections were officially suspended and Secundomia was transitioned into a Presdential Republic. Parker I won the final election under a cloud of controversy and pledged to step down after a 5-month term. Due to declining internal activity, Parker never stepped down and elections were never held again.

Electoral Process

Elections were conducted via email vote. Votes were sent in to Parker I who operated as electoral commissioner throughout the republic. Votes were conducted via private ballot, but often citizens sent their vote publicly. Parker required that citizens not just register their intent to vote but send in an email via the election thread.

National elections

National elections were largely Prior to the election, political parties would independently conduct their own primaries. The only competitive primary was in the Conservative Party, as all other parties contained one member. Parties would nominate a candidate for president as well as a slate of candidates for Citizen's Council. Independent candidates were asked next to submit their nominees. The incumbent president was also automatically nominated unless they chose to decline the position.

After the slate of candidates was nominated, Parker would put out a call for votes. A timeframe (usually a week) was allowed for citizens to register their vote with the electoral commission. Elections were settled First Past the Post, a candidate with a plurality being elected president. In the case of a tie, a runoff was announced. In one instance continuous ties resulted in a vacancy at president and an interim president was appointed. Congressional elections had a parallel process but varied based on the election. A lack of candidates resulted in the cancellation of Citizen's Council elections during later cycles.

Local elections

In the early days of Secundomia, states were mostly made up of just one member. Each member was usually simply the governor of their state, with the notable exception of Middle Secundomia. Many citizens were members of territories and thus did not vote in local elections. Regardless of population, state elections were never competitive and typically rubber stamps. In the September elections, states were required to independently submit their electoral results. States that failed to submit results (Southern Cipania, Bu Ocajin and Lower Secundomia) were dissolved into other states or made territories.

Controversy

The Secundomian election process was sometimes controversial. The lack of transparency from electoral commissioner Parker I who had a conflict of interest while often running in the election was criticized by other Secundomians, notably Spencer I. In the 2011 elections, Spencer had notified Parker in person of his intent to vote for himself but failed to submit a ballot via the email process. While Spencer claimed this should've counted, Parker did not allow the vote to stand. A compromise was reached for an extended electoral process which Parker eventually won. After this controversy, Spencer largely stepped away from Secundomia.