2610 Republic Election

The 2600 Republic election was the 11th general election in the Republic It was also the second time that the President of the Republic would be elected directly by the popular vote.

Overview

The Terran Republic was founded with the promise of an elected lower chamber, the General Assembly and a partially elected upper chamber, the Senate. In addition, the General Assembly would then elect the new President

New Presidential System

As of the constitution of 2594, the Presidentr would now be elected by a direct vote of the people of the Republic. It would require a candidate to have sufficient signatures to back them to be added to the ballot, along with their running mate. In addition, a person would need signatures on at least 75% of all member worlds.
The election would then see a direct election of all presidential candidates. The top two candidates with the highest number of votes will proceed to a second ballot, unless one candidate achieves 51% of the vote in the first ballot, in which case they are elected President.
In the 2nd ballot, held just one week later, the electorate would then vote on the two remaining candidates with the winner being elected President of the Republic.

Parties

There were a large range of political parties standing the election, including several parties which were standing on just one world. The major political parties were:

• Gurava (GUR) -a left wing radical party with a strong pacifist and environmentalist message. Gurava preach that the Republic should be a place of learning and peace
• Social Democratic Party SDP) -a centre-left party that proposes a “Big tent” left wing platform of state intervention and the construction of a welfare state. The SDP has attempted to portray itself as the "natural progressive party of government".
• Republican Centrist Party (RCP) - a moderate to centre-left party that has generally taken a Federalist tone. Originally very pro corporate, it clashed heavily ithe Hansa head of the 2590 elections.
• Onyx (ONX) -the largest centre-right party in the Republic, Onyx were formed after a merger between Vishnu Elpis and Valiant to form a centre-right, somewhat religously minded party.
• Fortress (FOR) -a populist somewhat cosnervative party formed by Henrik Tremlow. The party espoused a neeed for "major changes" in the Republic. Ahead of the 2600 election, Fortress broke strongly with the Hansa and its natural support base
• Ravenheart (RHC) - a conservative Valtinist Party with a strong anti-AI platform. Expected to do well on Nova Terra but perhaps not elsewhere.
• Isolationist Party (ISO) -A conservative party that propose that the new Republic remain out of foreign policy entanglements. Favors the creation of a strong militar

Before the campaign got started, a new political party was formed on the right. Terra Undivided was announced as a socially conservative political party, somewhere between the Isolationist Party and Onyx in ideology. It was boosted hugely by the defection of the "Forza Terra" faction from the Isolationists under Baron Gaius Corvo (TU).
Pacifica (PAC) folded into the SDP in 2609, after just one term spent in the GA and the Senate.
The Worker's Rights Party (WRK) did not field any candidates in 2610 and essentially ceased to be an active political party.
The Sovreign Worlds Party folded into Ravenheart ahead of the election.
Growing up around the anti-war movement, the "Stop the War Coalition" became a formal political party.

Joint Lists

It was felt that with the two ballot system for President, that Joint Lists would become more important than ever.
The SDP and Gurava formed their "Progressive Alliance" Joint List in 2610, promising to back each other for President in a 2nd ballot. However, the Joint List was later broken as the SDP partnered with the RCP. The initial agreement had included all three parties but this was later broken
This proved to be the only Joint List for 2610.

Campaign Finance Laws

The Republic banned parties with no "vested interest" in the Republic from raising and donating money for political parties. The Emergency Delegates sent before the election set up a campaign finance board (RCFB) which was given broad oversight powers.
New tougher laws on campaign finance had been passed during the Noah Averssen administration which gave the Attorney General more powers to deal with campaign finance violations.
The regulations introduced in by the Isolationist Party made it illegal for parties, including corporations outside the Republic to donate to the campaign. It also set a limit of 4 billion adjusted dollars per campaign in the General Assembly and 2 billion at a planetary level.
In 2559, Vishnu Elpis introduced a new campaign finance law that would limit total spending during a ten year term to five billion adjusted dollars. This was voted through the General Assembly and then subject to a legal challenge on behalf of Valiant.
The legal challenge saw the bill referred to the Senate, which was then delayed by filibusters and procedural road-blocks to prevent the bill from becoming law in time for the 2560 election but were effective for the 2580 election onwards.

Possible Supreme Court Challenge

There was an expected legal challenge against the campaign finance laws to the Supreme Court. However, as of the filing deadline in 2610, no legal challenge had reached the Supreme Court.

General Assembly

Each member world would be assigned seats in the General Assembly based around its population, with proportional representation then deciding how the seats would be allocated. A party required a minimum of 5% of the planet's vote to be considered for a seat, any votes to parties with fewer than 5% would then be discounted.
The 5% threshold value was also expected to face a challenge in the Supreme Court at some stage.

Senate

After the 2594 constitution, all words were allowed to appoint or elect their senators at their discretion, with many of the hereditary governors choosing to appoint at least one, if not both Senators.

President

The President of the Republic is now elected by a direct vote of the electorate and assumes power after the election. They are free to appoint their own cabinet, though cabinet officers are now subject to approval by the legislature.

Candidates

• Rep Hagen Esquerro (SDP) - former Union lawyer and two term GA rep. Hagen Esquerro believes that the power of the Hansa needs to be “diluted quickly” and that strong regulations regarding mergers and acquisitions are “a necessity”. He is not opposed to continuing the war but believes “the war cannot go on indefinitely.” He is a firm supporter of social welfare.
• Nora Cates (RCP) - former prosecutor and then one term GA rep. She was Secretary of Education under President Walt Schilling .Nora Cates is known to be somewhat socially liberal and to be a strong supporter for sensible corporate reform, funding for higher education and the expansion of the Republic through colonisation.
• Jose Canazarro (ONX) - a former lawyer and Marine, who served one term in the General Assembly before being the Onyx nominee for VP in 2600. Served in the Marines between 2601 and 2609, winning the Navy Cross. A social conservative with deep ties to the Hansa.
• Senator Marise Cho (GUR) -former lawyer and two term Senator had served as the Gurava floor leader. Senator Cho is known as a liberal, with a firm interest in social justice, improving access to healthcare, education and social mobility and for her opposition to the Hansa. She is also a strong supporter of the rule of law.
• Rep Hercules Stokes (RHC) - a former journalist who often espoused conspiracy theories, Hercules was elected to the General Assembly in 2600 and quickly rose up the ranks within Ravenheart. He was named Deputy Caucus Chair in 2609. He was known for his strong opinions on Ais, psionics and gene altering therapy.
• Rep Ruup Johnsen (STW) - former marine and college lecturer who left the SDP after breaking with their leadership over the Dhau war. Ruup is a committed social liberal, a firm opponent of the Hansa and has called for an end to the war with the Dhau.
• Brice Cantwell (ISO) - former corporate lawyer and two term Senator. He was VP nominee for the Isolationists in 2600. Brice Cantwell is a pro Hansa politician with conservative views. He believes in a low tax, low regulation environment. He is strongly supportive of the military and believes that there must be strong spending on the Republic’s military, intelligence and law enforcement.

The Campaign

The Senate Oversight Hearings

XXXX

Senate Armed Services Hearings

XXXX

Terra Undivided Confirm No Presidential Campaign

XXXX

SDP-Gurava Joint List Affair

XXXX

Stokes DUI's and Other Issues

XXXX

Graft in the Schilling Administration

XXXX

The Presidential Debates

XXXX

The VP Debates

XXXX

President 1st Ballot

The result of the 1st Presidential ballot was:

1. Jose Canazarro (ONX) - 28.22%
2. Nora Cates (RCP) - 17.89%
3. Rep Hercules Stokes (RHC) -16.19%
4. Rep Hagen Esquerro (SDP) -15.81%
5. Senator Marise Cho (GUR) -9.41%
6. Brice Cantwell (ISO) - 7.79%
7. Rep Ruup Johnsen (STW) - 7.20%

Nora Cates (RCP) and Jose Canazaro (ONX) were both entered into the 2nd ballot.
Rep Hagen Esquerro (SDP) made an endorsement of Nora Cates, as per the Joint List agreement. The other candidates largely appeared to reject an endorsement to either side.

President 2nd Ballot

The result of the 2nd ballot saw:

1. Jose Canazarro /  Wren Dando (ONX) - 49%
2. Nora Cates / Hallam Bottrell (RCP - 45%

On this basis, Jose Canazarro was elected President of the Republic.

General Assembly

1. ONX- 22%
2. RCP - 18%
3. SDP - 14%
4. RHC - 13%
5. TU - 11%
6. GUR -8%
7. STW - 7%
8. ISO - 6%

Senate

• Onyx - 17 Senators (+2)
• Ravenheart -14 Senators ()
• SDP - 8 Senators (-6)
• Isolationist - 9 Senators (-2)
• Terra Undivided -5 Senators (New Party)
• Stop the War - 5 Senators (New Party)
• Gurava -4 Senators (No change)
• RCP -9 Senators (+5)
• Independent - 6 Senators (+2)
• Alexandran -2 Senators (New Party)

Notable Races

St Lawrence Gubernational

PAYDEN HICKCOCK WINS

Earth Gubernational

BEAU HILLCOAT WINS

Campaign Spending

<54 billion adjusted dollars>

The New Administration

President-elect Jose Canazarro was sworn in on XXXX 2610.XXXX

• Vice President - Wren Dando (ONX)
• Attorney General - Ward Dutton (ISO)
• Secretary of Defence - MacCauley Gavish (ISO)
• Treasury Secretary -Trafford Mills (ISO)
• Foreign Secretary - Sloane Kelligan (RHC)
• Intelligence Secretary - Rochelle Rykker (IND)
• Interior Secretary - Ivy Valane (ONX)
• Education & Skills Secretary - Rachel Kantor (ONX)
• Trade & Transport Secretary - Tyrius Zelman (TU)
• Director of RFP - Shelton Goldberg -(IND)
• Chief of Staff to the President -Demba Madawi (ONX)