Just a few months after a peace agreement was signed to put an end to a bloody civil war, Ficterio will hold a Parliamentary Election.
Ethnic tensions have continued after the civil war, and this election is widely believed to be held among ethnic lines. However all candidate lists are forced to place candidates from different ethnic groups.
Contesting Parties
All of the 75 seats are elected using proportional representation in a nationwide constituency, two major coalitions have arised:
The National Alignment:
Composed of the National Unity Bloc, the Green Party and the Civic Party.
The National Alignment is accused by opponents of supporting a return to the pre-civil war authoritarian and multi-ethnic government, with the composing parties failing to deny these accusations.
The largest party in The National Alignment, the National Unity Bloc, is considered to be the ideological successor to the pre-civil war authoritarian and multi-ethnic governing party of Ficterio, the National Party. It presents itself as a moderate party with no clear ideology, it enjoys wide support from the coastal elites of Ficterio.
The Green Party is widely considered to be a single issue party, aside from its symbolic environmentalist views, its campaign is centered on removing the remaining political power former warlords from the civil war have by banning them from holding political office and pushing a series of campaign financing laws to publicly fund political campaigns instead of the current private financing system. It's enjoys the support of several artists and celebrities.
The Civic Party has socially liberal and reformist views, it considers Ficterio to be a broken and corrupt nation which needs to be reconciled and reformed. Many of its leaders had been in exile before and during the civil war, mainly supported by a coalition of intellectuals, academics, activists and the Ficterian diaspora.
The Ficterian Union:
Composed of the Reconstruction Party and the Labor Party.
The Ficterian Union enjoys a massive funding advantage as it's supported by many warlords from different factions during the civil war, it's also accused by opponents of being favored by the incumbent reconciliation authorities.
The Reconstruction Party has made use of a populist campaign message, enjoying many radical supporters who oppose what they consider to be a possible return to a National Party rule. The Reconstruction Party is headed by former opposition leaders against the National Party, most of who were jailed or exiled before and during the civil war.
The Labor Party considers itself socialist and runs several charity networks, trade unions, hospitals and schools. It's accused by opponents of vote-buying and running a massive network of clientelism. It's considered the political wing of the Socialist Ficterio Movement Militia.
The Campaign
The election campaign has been extremely violent. With several leaders of the Socialist Ficterio Movement Militia agreeing to stage an insurrection in case The National Alignment wins.
The current reconciliation government had banned international observers in a move considered to be authoritarian and favoring of The Ficterian Union. Polling stations were closed in places seen as more likely to be won by The National Alignment.
Although polls have mostly shown the election as being closely contested, pollsters are considered to be inaccurate and supportive The National Alignment.
Both coalitions have heavily used social media during their campaigns, while the National Union has devoted more resources to physical campaigning.
