Elysiumite senatorial election, October 2021

October 2021 Elysiumite senatorial election
All 26 seats of the Grand Senate ; 14 needed for a majority / 13+speaker
Turnout	41% ▲ 2

The 14th Grand Senate general election of Elysium was held from 15 to 17 October 2021, where the offices of all twenty-seven Grand Senate seats and the premiership were up for election. Under recent reforms at the Amendment Convention, the senatorial elections occurred for exactly forty-eight hours. It was the last election of the Republican era due to a referenda on the same ballot, asking citizens if they wished to restore the monarchy, passing. Eight polls occurred, all of which were from The Unionist; all polls were won by the Progressives.

The incumbent Progressive Prime Minister and his SDP Deputy, Adam Johnston and James Christian, ran for re-election. ND leader Elliot Doe was renominated for Prime Minister by the National Democrats and the Patriots' Front. The Pirate Party did not have a nominating convention and Johann Kümmel maintained his leadership of the party; he stated during the campaign that he supported the Johnston government. The new Libertarian Socialist party, originally the NRLE, unanimously nominated Atticus Corvin to be their leader upon May Cambridge leaving Elysium. The Patriots' Front once more nominated Yummera as their leader, but Elliot Doe for Prime Minister.

This election was the first time since the reforms in the 13th Grand Senate that abolished the single member constituencies for multimember constituencies, meaning that all citizens of a Commonwealth elected mutual Grand Senators. The Grand Senate was greatly reduced in size since the last Grand Senate election due to the recommendations of Speaker Spooky Johnston for such actions.

Background

The October 2021 election was the fifth Grand Senate election in Elysium since the transition from a monarchy into a republic. They were originally set to take place a day later, for twenty-four hours; the Grand Senate chose to expand elections to forty-eight hours, thus extending the elections and resulting in the elections occuring a day earlier.

The first party to hold a nominating convention was the Progressives & Agrarian Socialist, in which Adam Johnston was once again nominated by a closed-door convention of party leaders. On 15 August, the initial convention of the Social Democratic Party of Elysium, a merger of the Liberal Party and SD&MP, unanimously nominated James Christian to lead the party. On 30 August, the Nationalist Democrats held a nominating convention of ND delegates, in which incumbent Elliot Doe beat challenger Caden F. Mes with 80% of support from the convention. Later, on 20 September, the NDs nominated Moustapha Hoteit to be Deputy Leader of the party, uniting Kylite democrats and bourbon democrats. The various smaller parties did not hold nominating conventions and rather, in each party, members drafted another member to act as their candidate.

The primary questions raised in the campaign leading up to the election was whether Elysium ought to restore the monarchy or remain a republic, with the republic just passing its first birthday. Most Progressive, mainstream Social Democrats, the ND's NewBlue Caucus, the Pirates and LSE all endorsed remaining a republic. The mainstream National Democrats in the United Democratic Caucus, led by Elliot Doe, endorsed monarchy; the monarchists were joined by the Progressive Whig Caucus, the SDP's monarchist faction, and various independent politicians. Civil service reforms were also a large focus of the campaign, alongside the possibility of implementing term limits. No parties, which existed prior to this election, released a new manifesto.

Electoral system

Elysium uses a multi-member constituency system; each constituency elects their Grand Senators using a system of party voting to determine who gets the seats. Seats are distribued to parties proportionally through the D'Hondt method. Each Commonwealth and Province acted as its own multi-member constituency, ranging from five seats in Elyria to one in Kaiserhof, making it the only single seat constituency. The seats in the Grand Senate were reduced to twenty-five.

All votes, with exceptions of spoiled ballots and votes for independent candidates, are tabulated to a nation-wide party vote. These votes are used to elect 30% of the seats in the Grand Senate with a system of proportional representation. These seats are given out to parties based on which one has the most unproportionable low number of seats.

Campaign and candidates

Progressive Party & Agrarian Socialist

The Progressives nominated the incumbent Prime Minister Adam Johnston to be the leader of the Progressive Party once more. Leader of the Agrarian Socialist Party, Jackson Bree, and numerous other local Progressives attempted to draft Commerce Minister Jayden Attlee to run against Adam Johnston, but Mr. Attlee refused this proposal. While Jackson Bree stated he was uncomfortable with the Prime Minister seeking a seventh consecutive term, he did not break the alliance between the two parties.

The Progressives remained neutral on the monarchy issue in order to keep the party united and focused primarily on attacking the Nationalist Democrats for their alliance with the Patriots' Front. The Progressive Party also campaigned on its opposition to the free market policies of Chancellor Tau Barclay and claiming both "we tried libertarianism, we tried conservativism...[and] progressivism works", citing high amounts of activity, an increase in population, and major reforms such as the republic being delivered in the Johnston ministry. In a later policy, the party also cited the turn toward more responsible foreign policy as another success of the Progressives. Upon Nordhaus and Kaiserhof entering Elysium, the party received a polling bump and added these to a list of their top five achievements, alongside the establishment of the republic, a LGBTQ+ bill of rights, the implementation of workplace democracy and the ongoing constitutional convention. Between 13 August and 1 September, the Progressives only released two new pieces of campaign material, which its leadership later regretted.

In early September, the Progressive Party used the additions of workplace democracy and a pledge to protect Elysium's nationalized Agricultural Corporation to prove the party's good track record with the economy. In the final weeks of the campaign, Commerce Minister Jayden Attlee released the Private Corporations Act, which gave consumers greater protections in the economy, reformed the regulations needed to operate a corporation, and simplified the law as relating to commercial aspect of Elysium. SDP Deputy Secretary Warren Wright campaigned for the Progressives in Commonwealths where the SDP was not running candidates during this time period. In late September, the growing anarchist LSE posed a threat to the Progressives from the left and, as such, the Progressives released posters telling citizens to "save Elysium" and turn out for the Progressives to defeat the far-right EPF, far-left LSE, and the monarchists of Elysium. In order to take votes from the LSE base, they also campaigned on their introduction of semi-direct democracy, although Nationalist Democrats also took credit for this.

In their final message, Grand Senate Speaker Sir Spooky Johnston told people to turn out to vote to stop monarchism from being implemented in Elysium. This came in response to monarchism winning the last three national polls and a referendum on the issue being added to the ballot by a petition.

Following the loss of the republicans in the monarchist referendum, Spooky Johnston said it was the fault of Progressives for not campaigning for the republic enough. The Libertarian Socialist of Elysium claimed that Robert Smith was at fault for the monarchist win for being neutral, which the Chancellor privately described as libel to the Prime Minister of Elysium.

Nationalist Democratic Party

The Nationalist Democrats released the most campaign material of any party in the election, with 31 posters and speeches being released. The Nationalist Democrats positioned themselves as the strongest supporters of monarchism, the greatest opposition to anarchism, and an agent of reform against the six-term Progressive Party. The Nationalist Democrats began the process to select a leader and deputy leader in early August. Incumbent Elliot Doe was backed by a majority of the Grand Senators representing the party, with Grand Senator Caden "Freedom" Mes challenging him for leadership. Caden Mes ran on a policy of pro-business policy, a staunch defense of the constitution, and light monarchism. Elliot Doe cited the party's uptick in nationwide polling as a reason for why he ought to remain leader. The party nominated Elliot Doe in a landslide to represent the party once more. Barclay democrat Moustapha Hoteit was elected Deputy Leader of the party in a narrow election against the third postionist Fredrick Garrison and liberal conservative Charles Slocum. A second round was scheduled between Hotiet and Garrison, in which Slocum had endorsed Hotiet, but Garrison dropped out of the primary.

In early August, after the LSE was founded - at the time National Republican League of Elysium - and following its leader, May Cambridge, releasing a statement saying "fuck the establishment", the NDs attacked the NRLE as unserious; in response to this, the NRLE declared the NDs undedicated. In order to spilt the left-wing faction of the NRLE, the NDs released private messages revealing that the NRLE asked for a coalition with the Nationalist Democrats; the messages also revealed that Ms. Cambridge offered to support the NDs if the Progressives fielded a more left-wing candidate. Due to this, the NDs caused many members of the NRLE to leave the party, attacking them from both the right and left in the subsequent scandal. By mid-August the NRLE waned due to internal divisions and the Nationalist Democrats took their ire to the Progressives and NRLE, accusing the two of them of supporting laicism due to a proposal by more socially progressive members of the Grand Senate that could make churches mandated to go against their faith.

In late August, the NDs campaigned on their success in opposition, citing that they had implemented the referendum & recall systems and reawakened national debate on monarchism. In the same speech, Elliot Doe accused the Progressives of attempting to intimate political opposition to their government. A new set of policies were then released, calling for a non-partisan head of state, enforcement of the Transparency Act, the implementation of term limits, banning the appointment of ministers on a basis of partisan affiliation, the restoration of the Imperial Council, and reducing the Chancellor's term to 6 months. Elliot Doe then gave a speech in a broadcast to the nation, proclaiming that the Progressives were moving from the monarchist traditions of the Empire and were killing democracy, citing inactivity, political discontent with the ruling party, the partisanship of the head of state, the perceived motion that Progressives had cultivated a one-party state, and reductions in private freedoms. He received criticism from all parties except the Patriots' Front for this. A few days later, the NDs released their "Stop This Anarchism" poster, which became an iconic part of their campaign; the poster showed the Elysiumite tri-color being painted over with the word "anarchism".

In early September, the Social Alliance was formed, which campaigned on pagan and fascist values. In response, the NDs called the SA "a corruption of right-wing thought and of the ideals of Kylite democracy", stating that their predecessors "destroyed the first fascist party [and] we'll destroy this one too"; they also released posters accusing the SA of having "no loyalty to Elysium, no loyalty to our God, and no loyalty to our traditions". Eventually, the SA was run out of politics due to constant campaigning from the NDs and the Progressives against them.

The NDs promptly released the so-called "Nationalist agenda", which comprised Elysium leaving the Vesspuchi Zone, the repealment of treaties with small and inactive states, the passing of a Buy Elysiumite Act and continued opposition to the Grand Unified Micronational and the Cupertino Alliance. In addition, the "four freedoms" were released, which were a non-partisan head of state, the defending of free press and speech, the enforcement of the Transparency Act and stronger rights for commonwealths.

In early September, monarchist parties won the midterms; as a result, Doe announced that the republican experiment had failed, releasing two posters that showed the Progressive Party on their deathbed and the other stating that "Progressive poached can't stop the monarchist lion". The NDs also cited the monarchy having 8 heads of government – compared to the republic having one – as proof that the monarchy was more democratic. In addition, Based Baddie led a campaign in Greymont, named as Elysium's safest Progressive commonwealth, in order to flip a seat there.

In the final month of the campaign, the NDs began a petition to have a second referendum on monarchism as a result of polling turning in favour of monarchism. The petition got the required number of signatures to be on the ballot within a day, the fastest any petition had been processed. In the final message, the monarchist faction of the Nationalist Democrats told people to vote for monarchy for stronger commonwealths, a non-partisan head of state, a return to tradition and a stronger government. Following the landslide victory for monarchy, the Nationalist Democrats held a public celebration.

Social Democratic Party

The third-place Liberal Party of Elysium and fourth place SDMP merged to form the Social Democratic Party of Elysium on 16 August 2021. This new party nominated liberal James Christian to lead the new united party. The party campaigned as a social democratic, parliamentarianism, and internationalism party, differing from the governing democratic socialist and nationalist Progressives. Due to the SDP being formed around the same time as the SA, the SDP campaigned on anti-fascism alongside the Progressives and Nationalist Democrats.

The Social Democrats campaigned as being an option for leftists who wanted an option rather than that of the socialist Progressives and the anarchist LSE, and as a choice for fiscal conservatives who disliked the nationalism and social conservative policies of the Nationalist Democrats. The party merged the republican Liberal Party and the monarchist Social Democratic & Monarchist Party and as such the party allowed its individual members to take their own stance on monarchism. While General Secretary James Christian was a republican, Deputy Secretary Merk Brand was a monarchist, thus balancing out party leadership.

Other parties

The Patriots' Front did not campaign but nominated Yummera to lead them in the Grand Senate and Elliot Doe to be Prime Minister.

The new Libertarian Socialist Party, an anarchist, republican, and globalist party was founded as the NRLE on 18 August by May Cambridge and Corvin I & II, two days after the SDP. At first, the NRLE was led by Ms. Cambridge and stood for republicanism, reformism and decentralization. The party campaigned as a big tent republican and libertarian party. Despite the party campaigning on anti-fascism, Ms. Cambridge was caught in a scandal in which she accepted the offer of an electoral alliance to the alt-right Patriots' Front and attempted to cover it up. The leader of the EPF, Yummera, leaked this to the public and this, alongside scandals in another nation, contributed to Ms. Cambridge leaving Elysium. As such, Atticus Corvin became the leader of the party and rebranded it as the Libertarian Socialist Party. Despite campaigning by Corvin, the party ended up receiving only two votes and 2.3% of the vote.

Three different independents ran for office, two in Daeltheria and one in Ticronvidia. In Daeltheria, the King of the Commonwealth, Suyash Adhikari, contested and campaigned on being a true representative of local Daeltherians. Adhikari aligned himself as a moderate Progressive who would support leftism without the ties of a political party. Also in Daeltheria, incumbent independent Andrew West ran for re-election; Mr. West was from the socialist wing of the Christian Democratic Party and before that of the Progressives. He mostly campaigned on promotion of government reform. In Ticronvidia, the founder and former leader of the Yedinists, Zechariah O'Hair, contested a seat. He attacked the Nationalist Democratic candidate Jordan Marino for their lack of action to help the Commonwealth.

Party standings

Party		Party leader(s)	Leader's seat	Last election		Seats at dissolution	Declared candidates for GS	Contested Commonwealths
Party		Party leader(s)	Leader's seat	% of votes	Seats	Seats at dissolution	Declared candidates for GS	Contested Commonwealths
	Progressive Party	Adam Johnston	GEP	48%	16	13	15	GEP, DA, TI, GM, HI, MN
	Nationalist Democrats	Elliot Doe	GEP	31%	10	10	10	GEP, DA, TI, GM, HI, MN
	Social Democrats	James Christian	GEP	New party		4	7	GEP, DA, TI, HI, MN
	Pirate Party	Johann Kümmel	Kaiserhof	3%	1	1	1	KH
	Patriots Front	Yummera	GEP	6%	1	1	4	GEP, GM, HI
	Independents	2+	-	-	1	2	3	TI, DA
	Libertarian Socialist Party	Accticus Corvin	Ticronvidia	New party		0	1	TI

Opinion polls

A total of six polls were conducted between the July and October 2021 elections. Of the six, the Progressives won each poll, followed by the Nationalist Democrats and every other party in a distance competition for third and fourth place. Each of these polls was conducted by the government-owned Unionist. The NRLE held a poll but never released the results, with both the Progressives and NDs boycotting their polling.

Poll Title	Pollster	Client	P/AS	ND	SDP	PPE	EPF	LSE	Lib	SDMP	Lead
Poll Title	Pollster	Client									Lead
August 2021 1	The Unionist	Government of Elysium	39%	36%	N/A	14%	3%	N/A	5%	3%	3%
August 2021 2	The Unionist	Government of Elysium	45%	33%	N/A	10%	2%	N/A	5%	5%	12%
August 2021 3	The Unionist	Government of Elysium	38%	31%	13%	9%	5%	4%	N/A	N/A	7%
September 2021 1	The Unionist	Government of Elysium	40%	33%	13%	5%	5%	4%			7%
September 2021 2	The Unionist	Government of Elysium	38%	36%	17%	3%	3%	3%			2%
October 2021	The Unionist	Government of Elysium	41%	38%	9%	3%	8%	2%			3%

Results

The Progressive Party won a plurality of votes and seats, securing 11 seats out of 26, putting them 2 seats from winning an outright majority. Despite this, the Nationalist Democrats had their best result ever, flipping multiple Commonwealths that comprised the so-called 'Yellow Wall', such as Ticronvidia, which voted 36.4% ND and 18.2% Progressive. The Nationalist Democrats came second once more, with 34.5% of the votes and 9 seats. In the most Progressive region, Greymont, the Nationalist Democrats won a seat for the first time in over a year. In the worst result for the party ever, Progressives won 38.1% of the votes, a loss of nearly 10% compared to the previous election. Even so, this was the sixth consecutive victory for the Progressive Party.

The new Social Democrats won four seats, the same as before the election, and won 16.1% of the popular vote. The combined vote of the Liberals and SDMP in the last election was 12%, thus marking an increase of 4.1%; this was the strongest performance for any single third party since the October 2020 senatorial election. The Pirate Party won one seat in the Commonwealth of Kaiserhof, where they won 100% of the vote; despite this landslide victory in the Commonwealth, no other Commonwealth delivered a vote to the Pirate Party, making this their worst performance. Due to the unproportionable number of seats for the Pirates, the Patriots' Front lost its only seat despite winning 5.74% of the vote, enough to win a seat. The new Libertarian Socialist Party did not win any seats and only received 2.3% of the votes. Independent Suyash Adhikari won a seat in Daeltheria with 30% of the vote in the Commonwealth, putting him in a tie with the Progressives for first. In Ticronvidia, Sir Zechariah O'Hair won a seat with 18.2% of the vote in the Commonwealth.

Summary

↓
11	4	1	2	9
Progressive	Social Democratic	Pirate	Ind.	Nationalist Democratic

A summarized results of the parties that won seats at the election is as follows:

Party		Leader	Ideology	Seats			Votes
Party		Leader	Ideology		Of total			Of total
	Progressive and Agrarian Socialist	Sir Adam Johnston	Democratic socialism	11	&1000000000000004229999942.3%	11 / 26	34	38.1%
	Elysiumite Nationalist Democrats	Sir Elliot Doe	Kylite democracy	9	&1000000000000003460000034.6%	9 / 26	30	34.5%
	Social Democratic Party	Sir James Christian II	Social democracy	4	&1000000000000001540000015.4%	4 / 26	14	16.1%
	Independent	N/A	N/A	1	&100000000000000077000007.7%	2 / 26	12	N/A
	Elysiumite Patriots Front	Yummera	Paleoconservatism	0	&100000000000000000000000.0%	0 / 26	5	5.74%
	Elysiumite Pirate Party	Sir Johann Kümmel	Pirate politics	1	&100000000000000037999993.8%	1 / 26	2	2.3%
	Libertarian Socialist Party	Atticus Corvin	Anarchism	0	&100000000000000000000000.0%	0 / 26	2	2.3%

Aftermath and government formation

On 17 October, the Progressives and SDP announced the renewal of their coalition, once more led by the Progressives; the Pirate Party also joined the government but not as a senior member. The Progressive Party was given the offices of Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Commerce Minister, and Attorney Secretary. James Christian, Merk Brandt, and Warren Wright of the SDP were appointed to be DPM and Home Minister, Attorney General, and Diplomatic Consular Secretary respectively. Johann Kümmel of the Pirates was made Press Secretary, and the non-partisan office of United Commonwealth Investigation Chief had a Nationalist Democrat appointed to its office. Adam Johnston maintained his office as Prime Minister, making it the VII Johnston ministry.