REFERENDUM IS DEFEATEDThe citizens of Beluzia, in a 48-52 margin, voted against restoring the monarchy. Three states voted against the referendum: Negunia (25.77-74.23%), Bailon (44.37-55.63%), and Iker Ado (48.87-51.13%). While Illiathar (58.03-41.97%) and Parlos Decina (61.07-38.93%) voted in favor of the referendum. Many political pundits predicted that the yes vote would would be above 50%, but not exactly the 2/3 majority needed for the referendum to pass.
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The presidential election took an unexpected turn when incumbent, President Viktoria Barbarossa, announced she would not be running for reelection. Connie Stark received the CMP's nomination, and was polling second to Gerald Nestorigde of the BCR. In an upset, former President Gabriel Florea (KWRF) placed second in the first round beating out Angelica Hamilton (UP), Lingard Kelvin (BPP), and Connie Stark. President Florea and Mr. Nestorigde were polling to a statistical tie, until Congresswoman Hamilton endorsed Florea over his opponent. This energized enough UP voters to head out to the polls, and give Florea a margin of 1 million votes over his opponent.
The BCR-CMP coalition also was defeated in the Congressional election, where they lost a total of 86 seats. The main opposition front (KWRF, BPP, and UP) gained a total of 43 seats, and the Right Wing Party gained 69 seats, allowing them to sit in Congress for the first time. There is currently a hung congress as no one group has an outright majority. President Florea has put forth a possible coalition deal with the BCR, BPP, and UP which would give him above a 2/3 majority.
The BCR-CMP gambit of deregulation and the referendum backfired as they no longer have unilateral control of the presidency or Congress. Their coalition brought drastic changes, but President Florea's unity cabinet will change the political discourse in Beluzia.
President Viktoria Barbarossa a day after the referendum.