Sorrenian presidential election, April 2014
This article is about the Sorrenian Presidential Election of April 2014. For the General Election of April 2014, see Sorrenian General Election, April 2014.
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Key Issues
• Communism - due to the rise of the Egalitarian Party - an explicitly anti-communist organization - the communist ideology became a key point in the April General Election. As a result of the ideological differences, the Socialist and Communist Parties focused hugely on defending their beliefs, while the Egalitarian and Conservative Parties reaffirmed their anti-communist stance.
• Imperialism - in its ideological form - became a big part of the election, with the left-wing accusing Levi Newman (leader of the Egalitarian Party and Presidential candidate) of supporting a transformation to an imperialist government, due to several propaganda pieces released by the Egalitarian Party.
• Internationalism - worries were raised that the Egalitarian Party could be a front for the monarchist New Kingdom of Lundy, due to the similarities in ideology and Levi's position as Monarch of Lundy; Levi dismissed such claims. Some also worried that if the centrist and right-wing elements of Sorrenia secured a victory, the Communist Party (whom some accused of being a front for the communist nation of Marksovka) would attempt a coup.
• Constitution - many elements of Sorrenia were angry that a constitution had not been put in place, arguing that this allowed the President to take dictatorial positions without fear of repercussions. After a poll showed a huge majority of Sorrenians supported the creation of a Constitution, all parties supported the creation (except the Communist Party who did not comment on the matter), with the Egalitarian Party promising it would be their first act of government.
Candidates
Miles of Sorrenia
Miles of Sorrenia remained a popular candidate, expecting the left-wing to vote for him en masse. In order to ensure this, and ensure Sorrenia's position as a left-wing nation, the majority of Miles' campaign was a "propaganda war" against his opponent, Levi Newman of the Egalitarian Party. This element of the election came to dominate it, which angered many centrists, but ensured Miles' support from the left, many of whom were worried that the right-wing would hurt Sorrenia.
Levi Newman
Levi Newman was a popular candidate for the right-wing's Presidential nominee, due to his debating and leading skills. However, he was unknown to many original Sorrenians (as he was a fairly new citizen at this point). Levi ran on a campaign of anti-communism and - to an extent - anti-socialism, stating that we wanted to "eliminate both socialism and capitalism from Sorrenia" - this caused a total lack of support from the left-wing, but ensured mass support from the right, and pockets of support from the centrists. Levi also acted as the largest agitator for a Sorrenian Constitution, demanding one to "protect Sorrenian's rights".
Results
The results of the Presidential election - unlike the General election - were very predictable. Due to the size of the left-wing, who had been alienated from Levi's campaign, Miles was able to ensure a large percentage of the vote; although the right-wing of Sorrenia strongly supported Levi, they remained a minority in Sorrenia.
Many centrists were angry at the partisan nature of Sorrenian politics, and decided to abstain from the vote. This resulted in a drop of voter turnout from 100% to 90%. While these voters would not have changed the result of the election, they could have bolstered Levi's campaign, as the majority were closer to Levi's politics than Miles'. Many of these centrists went on to develop the "Team Sorrenia" mentality led by Trystan Cline, promoting a friendly and cooperative nation, rather than a partisan one.