Mercian sovereignty referendum, 2016

Mercian Sovereignty Referendum, 2016

12 - 14 February 2016
Option	“Should Mercia leave the Würtige Empire?”	"Yes"	"No"
Voter Turnout (%)	66%	92.9%	7.1%
Number of votes cast	14 votes	13	1

A referendum on membership of the Wurtige Empire was held in Mercia between Friday 12 February and Sunday 14 February 2016. Voters were asked if they approved of the measure in the Declaration of Sovereignty and Wurtige Referendum Bill, which was ratified on 31 January 2016, which would withdraw Mercia from the Wurtige Empire. Voters chose overwhelmingly to leave the Wurtige Empire, with 93% voting Yes in the referendum.

Background

The St. Peters Republic joined the Wurtige Empire on 1 December 2012 along with the Knoll Empire. It continued its membership of the Empire when it became known as Mercia from January 2014. Mercia became an active member of the Empire, with its politicians being active in both Mercian and Wurtige politics. Activity in the Wurtige Empire began to decline towards the end of 2014. Concerns on the activity of the Empire were raised by HL Richard I of Mercia to the Imperial Government in March 2015. A regent was the appointed until the end of July, after which the Emperor returned and a brief discussion on reform began. Successive attempts at reforming the Empire failed, however. This led to growing calls in the National Liberal Party of Mercia, which was entering its second term of government in November 2015. First Minister Baron Ó Cathail then made it one of his priorities to hold a referendum on Mercia's membership in the Empire. The Declaration of Sovereignty and Wurtige Referendum Bill was presented to Parliament on 13 January 2016. Voting began on the bill on 17 January, and concluded on 24 January The referendum bill was ratified by the Lord Temporal on 31 January.

Campaign

The referendum date was announced on the 3rd of February by First Minister Ó Cathail. The weekend running from Friday the 12th to Sunday the 14th of February was chosen as the most suitable time to hold the referendum. A campaign was then formed to support the Yes option in the referendum. "Yes Mercia" was backed by both the NLP and HPA, as well as Mercians who supported exiting the Empire. On 8 February, Yes Mercia published their manifesto for the referendum, entitled "The Case for Yes". The booklet featured a message from First Minister Ó Cathail and supportive quotes from the Commerce Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. An article was published on the same day on Béal na Tíre, giving an overview of the referendum campaign. On 10 February, First Minister Ó Cathail was interviewed by themicronational on various aspects of the referendum. By the time voting began on Friday 12 February, no campaigning had been done for the "No" side, with this lack of campaigning along with the lack of intervention by the Empire now recognised as a major factor in the victory of the "Yes" side.

Results

Mercian Sovereignty Referendum, 2016

“Should Mercia leave the Würtige Empire?”
Results
Results Votes % Yes 13 &1000000000000009285999992.86% No 1 &100000000000000071399997.14% Valid votes 14 &10000000000000100000000100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 &100000000000000000000000.00% Total votes 14 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 21 66%
Referendum conducted by the Mercian Electoral Gorsedh on 12–14 February 2016

Voting began at 18:20 on Friday 12 February, when the link to the online ballot went live. Voters were previously assigned their voter registration code, which was required to access the ballot. Voting concluded at midday on Sunday 14 February, with the results announced at 14:20. The results were announced in the Parliament House and in Mercian and micronational public venues.