Sorrenian general election, September 2014
This article is about the Sorrenian General Election of September 2014. For the Presidential Election of September 2014, see Sorrenian Presidential Election, September 2014.
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12/13 seats to the National Assembly 7 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 95% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Key Issues
• Ideology - Similar to the April 2014 election, the left and right wings of Sorrenia focused primarily on their ideological differences, primarily the conflict of communism and capitalism.
• Media Censorship - Eren Lewis accused President Miles of Sorrenia of media censorship, due to a recently implemented bill legally requiring newspapers to correct mistakes. As well as this, Miles claimed to have exclusive reporting rights on the Communist Party Congress; the events sparked a larger debate about the media's position and responsibilities in Sorrenia.
• Patriotism - the separation of the Socialist Party into those loyal to the party, and the defectors to the new Patriotic Socialist Party sparked a discussion on patriotism's place in Sorrenia. While no parties explicitly condemned patriotism towards the federation, the Socialist and Communist parties were generally harsher towards the concept, whereas the Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Patriotic Socialist Party emphasised a focus on patriotism (albeit in different forms).
• Economy - By extension of the ideology debate, discussion on Sorrenia's economy was a hotly contested issue. The left-wing elements stated that Sorrenia's economy should be tightly controlled in a Marxist-Leninist system, whereas the right-wing elements wanted a very relaxed economy with few governmental controls, akin to a libertarian stance. Some, such as the Liberty Party stated that the economy was unimportant, however Miles of Sorrenia highlighted the possible creation of a physical currency and commodities as evidence that Sorrenia's economy was an important issue.
• Hate Speech Laws - the Liberty Party - under the new leadership of Andrew Janiszewski wanted to implement hate speech laws, much to the anger of the Sorrenian Party for Freedom and Democracy, who declared it an "attack on free speech"; due to a lack of interest from most Sorrenians, the issue did not dominate the elections.
Political Parties
Patriotic Socialist Party
Formed from the Socialist Party, the Patriotic Socialist Party further divided the left into Sorrenia, with 4 parties now declaring themselves to be left-wing in some sense. The PSP campaigned on a celebration of both Marxian politics and a love of one's country, stating that in order to succeed, micronationalists must feel allegiance to their nation.
Socialist Party
Under the new leadership of Emanuel Terranova, the Socialist Party campaigned on a transformation to Council Communism, much to the dismay of the right-wing elements of Sorrenia. Along with this, they encouraged the continuation of Sorrenia as a secular state, and tighter regulations, primarily on Sorrenia's new-found economy.
Liberty Party
After the departure of the party's founder - Lewis Wild - Connor Watson was thrust into the position of Chairman, despite him stating an apathy for politics. As a result, the Liberty Party had significantly deteriorated, and wanted to minimise damages in the election. Andrew Janiszewski took over the party and transformed it from a centrist loose coalition of beliefs to a social democratic party, with more clearly defined beliefs. They emphasised a creation of a compassionate government, while upholding beliefs such as secularism. They also stated the need to implement hate speech laws, met with anger from the Party for Freedom and Democracy.
Communist Party
After the 1st Congressional Meeting, the Communist Party decided to move further to the left, adopting Maoism and supporting a strictly federal, atheist state. They also condemned the Patriotic Socialist Party for leaving the parent Socialist Party, and expressed worries about the growing nationalist elements of Sorrenia. The Communists became a large element of the ideological debate in Sorrenia, acting as the primary defender of Communism, along with elements of the other left-wing parties.
Party for Freedom and Democracy
Replacing the Egalitarian Party as Sorrenia's outspoken opposition party, the right-wing organization was formed by Eren Lewis after his sudden departure from communism to American-style democracy. The party became strictly right-wing, and vehemently opposed both communism and socialism (unlike the Egalitarian Party, who at times claimed to support elements of socialism), as well as advocating a libertarian style system of economics.
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party remained a minimal political element of Sorrenia, who chose to align themselves with the larger Party for Freedom and Democracy, although they disagreed on elements of economic policy. The Conservative Party didn't run any candidates, choosing to vote for the PFD's as part of an electoral alliance.
Result
The result was interesting in several aspects. Firstly, it highlighted an issue in Sorrenia's electoral system which was based on individual national votes. This is most clearly shown by the Socialist Party who lost 32% yet didn't lose any seats, and the Liberty Party who won a seat, despite not gaining any percentage votes.
The election established the Patriotic Socialist Party as a prominent force, with the party winning 3 seats; 4 including the Presidency. As well as this, the Communists won another seat giving them two. The variations of the left-wing in Sorrenia caused the Patriotic Socialists, Socialists and Communists to form a coalition - the Socialist Party later joined the Patriotic Socialists giving them a majority in the National Assembly.
The Party for Freedom and Democracy, while somewhat happy with their gain of 2 seats and 15% of the vote also displayed dismay, due to their position as a (vocal) minority. However, these 2 votes allowed the party to affirm themselves, which helped the party as they later became a key part of Sorrenian politics. The Conservative Party didn't win any seats due to their lack of candidates, and joined the PFD due to their similarities, as both opposed the left-wing government.
The Liberty Party came out very happy with the result, successfully defending their 15% vote, and actually increasing their seats by 1, this gave Janiszewski a mandate in the party to continue as its chairman, later transforming it into the New Democratic-Liberty Party of Sorrenia.