Ross Isles General Election 2019

[The Ross Isles]

Background:
Following tensions in the governing coalition and polling numbers that showed the governing Liberal Party in a position to potentially govern alone after an election, writs have been issued for a general election to be held in the Ross Isles. Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister, Cameron WIlliams, has assured both the Governor-General and the electorate that he and his party are prepared for another term in government should the voters once more put the Liberals in the position of being the strongest party in the House of Assembly. Furthermore, Williams did not rule out a coalition with any party, though he voiced a preference for maintaining the current coalition with the Neuhannoversche Volkspartei should the Liberals require a coalition partner. Volkspartei leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Ilse Wagner, stated that continuing the coalition is indeed a possibility, but her first priority is to represent the people of Neuhannover and the German-speaking community of the Ross Isles as a whole, whether as a partner in government or in opposition. Opposition leader Peter Symonds kicked off the Social Democratic Party's electoral campaign at a rally in Neuhannover last night and seemed to make overtures at including the Volkspartei in a potential Social Democratic government, as well as prioritising a higher standard of German-language education in the Anglophone areas of the Ross Isles, which is always a winning policy in Neuhannover. National Party chairman Bill Prior also started off on the campaign trail. Launching great big broadsides against the current government's perceived inefficiency from party headquarters in Port Harrington. He caused controversy by attacking the government for their "constant pandering to the bloody Huns", the Nationals seem set to win a significant percentage of the protest vote and seem to be trying to emulate the recent wave of right-wing populism seen in other countries.

Political Parties:

Name: Liberal Party

Leader: Cameron Williams

Ideology: Gladstonian liberalism, classical liberalism

House of Assembly: 44/100 seats, senior partner in coalition government


Name: National Party

Leader: Bill Prior

Ideology: High Toryism, traditionalist conservatism

House of Assembly: 17/100 seats, opposition


Name: Neuhannoversche Volkspartei (New Hanoverian People's Party)

Leader: Ilse Wagner

Ideology: German-speaking minority interests, regionalism, Christian democracy

House of Assembly: 20/100 seats, junior partner in coalition government


Name: Social Democratic Party

Leader: Peter Symonds

Ideology: Social democracy, social liberalism

House of Assembly: 19/100 seats, official opposition

Electoral System:
The electoral system in the Ross Isles is a proportional one, though there are five regional constituencies to give the electorate some sort of local representation. As such, parties will be allocated seats based on the percentage of the vote won in each constituency. The two most heavily populated and urbanised areas of the Ross Isles, Port Harrington and Neuhannover, have 32 seats each. The next two largest counties by population, St Albans and Prince of Wales County, both have 15 seats a piece. The sparsely populated Southern Isles have 6 seats, which makes for a total of 100 seats in the House of Assembly.

[Corunia and Mironor]

The government of Corunia and Mironor endorses the Social Democratic Party

[The Ross Isles]

GOVERNMENT FLAGGING IN POLLS, WILLIAMS ON THE ROPES!

PORT HARRINGTON - According to sources from within the government, Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader, Cameron Williams, promised his MPs that he would step down from both of his roles should the party’s poor polling numbers not improve by the time that the results of the upcoming general election are known next Wednesday, which would be the Liberals worst electoral performance for several decades. Since the general election was called, the opposition to the Liberal-Volkspartei coalition from both the left and the right have surged in the polls. Our polling sources put both the National Party and the Social Democrats on 35 percent in our most recent poll taken yesterday and it is known that both Bill Prior, leader of the Nationals, and Peter Symonds, Social Democrat leader, have been courting potential coalition partners on the back of these promising polling figures for the opposition parties.

[Darmen]

Darmen supports the Neuhannoversche Volkspartei.

[The Ross Isles]

WAHLUMFRAGE NEUHANNOVER - VOLKSPARTEI MIT FAST 70 PROZENT

Translated from the German
NEUHANNOVER - According to poll results shown in this publication on page 4, the Neuhannoversche Volkspartei will be returned next Wednesday with the vast majority of seats in the Neuhannover electoral district. The Volkspartei are currently predicted to hold the confidence of 68% of Neuhannover voters, which would translate to 24 out of the 32 Neuhannover seats should this high level of support hold for the next eight days. This would be a net gain of four seats for the Volkspartei in the House of Assembly. Volkspartei leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Ilse Wagner, stated that "a strong Volkspartei is a strong Neuhannover. The voice of our region and our people will be heard in Port Harrington!" However, it remains to be seen who Wagner and the Volkspartei would partner with in a government after this election. The current poor polling figures for the Liberal Party, who are their traditional coalition partners, may prevent the Volkspartei from speaking up for Neuhannover and the Ross Isles German-speaking community from the government benches, as a Social Democrat-Volkspartei governing coalition would be possible yet somewhat unorthodox and a coalition between the Nationals and the Volkspartei is totally unthinkable, given the National Party's historical animosity for us German-speaking Ross Islanders... cont. p. 4

[The Ross Isles]

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR - SYMONDS AND THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS SEEK DIVINE INTERVENTION

On the final Sunday before the Ross Isles goes to the polls in this tight run electoral campaign, which seems likely to shake the Liberal Party’s long-standing grip on the reigns of power in this Dominion, Peter Symonds, the Leader of the Opposition (Social Democratic Party) was seen with his wife shaking hands and conversing with the vicar and congregants of St Cuthbert’s Anglican Church, located near his Cowan Park home. A party leader attending a religious service, especially on the Sunday before a general election, would not typically be headline news and all the other party leaders also made sure to be seen in church. Prime Minister Cameron Williams heard Mass in Port Harrington, as did National Party leader Bill Prior. Ilse Wagner was also pictured with her husband after attending a Lutheran Gottesdienst in Neuhannover. However, it is surprising that Symonds, who has frequently spoken of his secularist credentials and whose party has traditionally held to a rather anti-clerical line, seems to have had a Damascus road moment just before an election.

- Richard Fitzwilliam, Editor - The Ross Islander

[The Ross Isles]

TUESDAY 10th SEPTEMBER - ELECTION DAY

Today the Ross Isles go to the polls and, as such, the media are forbidden from reporting from matters pertaining to the election on this day. The final polls before Election Day, published in yesterday’s papers, are as follows: National Party 41%, Social Democratic Party 25%, Liberal Party 19%, Neuhannoversche Volkspartei 16%. Such a result would be a major shakeup in the House of Assembly and in the political system of the Ross Isles as a whole, with the Liberal Party losing their place as the most popular party for the first time in decades and the National Party given the reins of government. Whether these figures will prove to be an accurate representation of how Ross Islanders will cast their votes is yet to be seen, but we will know for sure in less than 24 hours now.

[Fallenstorm]

Fallenstorm endorse Social Democratic Party

[The Ross Isles]

ELECTION DAY - EXIT POLL

It is 10pm and the polls across the Ross Isles are now closed. With this now being the case, the figures from our exit polls can now be revealed. The National Party are predicted to be the largest party in the House of Assembly and have 38% according to our exit poll. The Social Democratic Party come in second on our exit poll with 29%. The Liberal Party are predicted to have won the votes of just 18% of the electorate, which would be a record low for the Liberals, with the Neuhannoversche Volkspartei close behind on 15%. Votes are now beginning to be counted across the Ross Isles and exactly how these exit poll figures, if they indeed prove to be right, translate to seats in the House of Assembly is yet to be seen.

[The Ross Isles]

GENERAL ELECTION - RESULTS

Vote Share and Seats: (Nationwide)

National Party: 44% (44 seats)

Social Democratic Party: 23% (22 seats)

Liberal Party: 21% (19 seats)

Neuhannoversche Volkspartei: 12% (15 seats)

Breakdown by Region:
Neuhannover: Neuhannoversche Volkspartei 15 seats, National Party 9 seats, Social Democratic Party 4 seats, Liberal Party 4 seats.

Port Harrington: National Party 16 seats, Social Democratic Party 8 seats, Liberal Party 8 seats.

Prince of Wales County: National Party 9 seats, Social Democratic Party 3 seats, Liberal Party 3 seats.

Southern Isles: National Party 3 seats, Social Democratic Party 2 seats, Liberal Party 1 seat.

St Albans: National Party 7 seats, Social Democratic Party 5 seats, Liberal Party 3 seats.

[The Ross Isles]

PRIOR FORMS GOVERNMENT, WILLIAMS RESIGNS AS LIBERAL LEADER

After the conclusion of coalition negotiations, the National Party have agreed to form a coalition government with the Liberal Party. Bill Prior, National Party leader and our new Prime Minister, went to the Governor-General's residence late last night to inform Sir John Clark, Governor-General of the Ross Isles, that he could command the confidence of the majority of the House of Assembly and was accordingly invited to form a government. The new National-Liberal coalition government has 63 out of the 100 seats in the House of Assembly, which gives them a working majority of 12 seats. In front of cheering crowds in his home town of Middleton, Prior announced that he would immediately introduce legislation to fulfil his electoral promise of separating the Northern Coast region from the rest of Prince of Wales County. Peter Symonds will be relatively pleased by the performance of his Social Democratic Party at the election, who maintain their role as the official opposition, having gained three seats for a total of 22 seats in parliament. In contrast, the Neuhannoversche Volkspartei lost seats and their position in government, with Prior and the National Party being unwilling to form a coalition with them. It is as of yet unknown whether Ilse Wagner, Volkspartei leader and former Deputy Prime Minister, will be able to retain her position after this disappointing electoral performance for her party. Whilst the surprise victory of the National Party is surely a great joy for Prior and his colleagues in parliament, the Liberal Party's demotion to the junior partner in government will be a tough pill to swallow for a party so used to holding the reins of power in our country. The outgoing Prime Minister, Cameron Williams, has already handed in his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party, leaving the role of Deputy Prime Minister vacant for the time being. Though the campaigning for this role and the leadership of the Liberal Party will surely begin shortly.