Lord-Mayor of Zondestad

The Lord-Mayor of Zondestad is responsible for the development and economy of the city, whereas its security and stability are managed by a bureaucrat appointed by Grand Vailia. The latter is rather unpopular and there have been multiple attempts to get rid of them, yet the capital administration insists on it, as they fear the city could evolve into an independent Free City if not kept on a tight leash.

Election

The Election happens through a council of four influential powerholders within the city: The old Lord-Mayor, the Head of the Bard's Academy, the Bureaucrat appointed by Vailia and the High Priest of Venti. It plays out as a contest between the applicants, as the Lord-Mayor is supposed to have the favour of the god of vices. It takes place once every 8 years and re-elections are forbidden in a bid to keep them accountable, as they know they will be vulnerable to the wrath of their citizens after their period is over. Any citizen between the age of 18 and 30 is permitted to participate, in contrast to most other elected officials in Vailia, who have to be highborn and at least 40 years of age.
The election's winner is determined through a series of three contests, each of which are judged by the council. Due to the competition-esque nature of the election, it is often said that Venti themselves is the one electing the new Lord-Mayor.

The First Contest - Drinking

Each applicant is given a goblet and has to drink as much wine from a centrally located barrel as possible, yet if more than a tenth of its contents are spilt, the point is deducted instead. This is also considered to be a preparation for the next tests, as it ensures that they will have to be undertaken completely drunk. The applicants usually have to weigh just how much they want to drink, as going to one's very limit usually results in utter failure in the next contests.

The Second Contest - Boasting

For this, each of the applicants has to regale the council with tales of their past - usually freely invented - in order to get as much of a reaction out of them as possible. In order to appeal to the Head of the Bard's Academy, it is common for the participants to take highly paid classes in storytelling before the election if they aren't bards already. For the Head-Priest, tales of gambling and promiscuous adventures are usually chosen to make the story as close to Venti's teachings as possible. The last two are a little trickier: the old Lord-Mayor tends to be a wildcard while the Buerocrat usually dislikes all of them anyway.

The Third Contest - Game of Luck

The game that is played isn't revealed until the start of this contest, in order to ensure nobody can get an unfair advantage over their competitors. Due to the luck-based nature of it, this is usually considered to be the contest decided by the god themselve, rather than by skill and wit alone.