National Alliance majority after sweeping rural and exurban gains 20 September 5225
(backdated)The right-wing National Alliance has swept to a majority with 337 of the 600 seats in parliament. After changing the electoral system to a primarily constituency-based model, the conservative government managed to get 39.1% of the popular vote and take advantage of the splits in its opposition, with the moderate Democratic Party and the leftist Socialists both struggling throughout the campaign to provide a solid vision for an alternative government. Left-wing strongholds like northern Rajuttistan, rural Bhaporistan and southern Utsal also saw massive electoral shifts to the right - beyond the exceptions of even some of the most optimistic National Alliance-aligned pundits. Prime Minister Har Anagal was quick to claim victory and announce the National Alliance's program of conservative reforms, tax-cuts and protection of farming subsidies. With the support of a right-wing president and right-wing governments in all but three states, this could represent a high-water mark for conservatism in Vascania since the fall of the monarchy.
The headlines in depth:Opposition "unity tickets" failA major theme of the election was the extent to which opposition parties would be willing to cooperate to prevent a National Alliance majority. "Unity tickets" became a key phrase, and there was even a suggestion that some Socialists would stand down for Democratic candidates in highly competitive seats. This was quickly rebuffed by Socialist leadership, who spent much of the campaign attacking the Democrats as "National Alliance lite". For their part, the Democrats spent a great deal of time comparing the threats of the Socialists and the government - with one widely shared social media ad showing a coin spinning with the Prime Minister on one side and the Socialist leader on the other.
Ultimately, the Democrats united with various regional and agrarian parties to stand united candidates across the country. The Socialists also united with more left-wing parties outside of Bhaporistan and Utsal, where regional parties refused to cooperate with any national party. Despite this, neither opposition force could overcome a highly consistent National Alliance performance that remained steady at around half of the vote in rural and exurban areas. Notably, Prime Minister Har Anagal kept his seat in southern Rajuttistan on a much-increased majority, rebuffing his independent challenger who all other parties had dropped out to support in a bid to claim the biggest political scalp of all.
National Alliance dominates in rural areasThe performance of the government in rural areas was extremely consistent. Only 12 of the 150 most rural constituencies went to opposition candidates - three on Kayal Island to the Democrats; three to Socialists in their central heartlands; three to minor parties, and three to the far-right Popular Freedom Party in northern Kalam Nadu. The various agrarian parties that stretch from Kalam Nadu to Rajavant struggled to gain much traction and generally achieved only 20% of the vote in their target constituencies even when the Democratic candidate dropped out and supported a unity ticket.
The government ran on a pro-farmer platform of farming subsidies, lenient planning restrictions and partially funding irrigation systems ruled to be in the nation's agricultural interests. The Democrats, meanwhile, suggested cutting subsidies for farmers to pay for environmental policies that the National Alliance said would be 'too restrictive' for large farms and leave smaller family farms with less support and higher taxes. This also tainted the agrarian parties the Democrats were running alongside in certain constituencies, with some suggesting that the unity tickets had become too broad and were diluting the opposition's core messages. The government further campaigned on supporting local languages, bringing up the Democratic Party's cuts to local language support the last time they were in government. This went down well in rural Khond, Rajavant, Sanashtra and even traditionally left-wing states like Bhaporistan and Utsal - where local languages remain in the majority. Angst about demographic changes leaving rural areas behind also contributed to a more conservative trend in rural voting.
Presidential resultsAbove: map of final round presidential results. The first round results are 53% for Srivastav, 39% for Gurnani and 8% for others.
National Alliance-endorsed Presidential candidate Yad Srivastav also won the presidential election with 57.5% of the vote, with independent Anarkali Gurnani (endorsed by both the Socialist and Democrats) only won in left-wing heartlands in the centre of the country and on the more liberal-minded coasts. Srivastav actually polled well ahead of the parliamentary National Alliance, largely owing to Gurnani's perceived weakness and significantly lower turnout. Turnout for parliament was 63%, but was just 52% for president as many leftist voters felt there was no pro-trade union candidate on the ballot and both candidates were from Rajuttistan. Candidates for president are elected by single transferable vote; no other candidate received 5% of the vote.
Gurnani was a coastal, Rajutti-speaking liberal and feminist author and lecturer who was unwillingly - and unwittingly - nominated by the Democratic parliamentary caucus. Reluctantly, Gurnani accepted the task but campaigned without much charisma. She remains a popular figure among the country's liberal women and could run on the Democratic ticket on the federal or national level. For now, she will return to lecturing at East Kayal university. President-elect Srivastav is a traditionalist and will likely bring new populist conservative zeal to the largely ceremonial presidency.
VascaniaNews is a Vascanian public news service produced by the Vascanian Broadcast Union