Suvurnia
Suvurnia votes to extend KAR's mandate
In one of the most crucial elections in Suvurnian history, the KAR have struck a deal with WASAT to prevent an Islamist ruling coalition
President Lukman bin Awang celebrates his landslide election with his supporters
By: Wisnusra Satrio Sumadi
Yesterday, Suvurnians went to the polls in what was widely touted as a referendum on the progress made by the KAR's temporary administration. There were three main choices on offer. They could back the new status quo of the KAR's secular capitalist government under Lukman bin Awang, which sought to align Suvurnia more closely with Gael. They could vote for the hardline Islamists in the PJI, who aimed to pick up where Fitri Nasrallah's Islamic Unity Front had left off. Or they could vote for a middle road, backing the moderate Islamic WASAT with their goal of breaking apart the Islamist-Secularist dichotomy which has dominated Suvurnian politics in recent years.
The electoral campaigns were primarily rooted in promises which expressed the parties' visions for the future of the nation. The KAR painted a highly Gael-Centric picture for the future, identifying the repeal of several Islam-based laws as a key project with the eventual goal of entering the G4 alliance. PJI promised to create an Islamic Republic in Suvurnia and to extend the powers held by the Syariah courts in Suvurnia. The WASAT Party were focused primarily on a centrist vision between the Islamists and secularists, preserving much of Suvurnia's islamic heritage while still modernising and facing the future.
At 6 PM today, the halfway results were released. In the Presidential race, the KAR's Lukman bin Awang was ahead by 27% over his closest competitor, Ustaz Syahid Haji of the PJI. The race never really closed up, and when the results were finalised at 9 Lukman had strongly defeated his opponents. He won the presidency with 63% of the vote, meaning that a runoff was unneeded, with Ustaz Syahid winning 29% of the vote and the remaining 8% going to Muhammad Azhar Suwardi of WASAT. Lukman dominated the Catholic, Cantonese and White demographics, while Ustaz Syahid's vote came exclusively from Muslims. Income and education were both major factors, with the less educated voters swinging towards Syahid and wealthier voters attracted to bin Awang, whose neoliberal economic policies attracted their support.
The votes for Suvurnia's 102 seat Legislative Council were far closer. As expected, the KAR were the largest party. However, with only 46% of the vote they lacked the support to form a government on their own and had to build a coalition. The support of the Liberal party, who gained 3% of the vote, was assured, but this still left them short of a majority. The PJI won 30% of the vote, making them the second biggest party in the council and a threat for the KAR. The power lay with WASAT, who won 21% of the vote, as kingmakers in this scenario. In the end, WASAT decided to go with the KAR. In return, they gained the position of Prime Minister and concessions from the KAR on certain unannounced issues regarding Islam and its role in Suvurnian society.
Parties from the left: KAR, Liberal, WASAT, PJI
The PJI picked up both special seats from the DDISAR (Dulung Darul Iman Special Administrative Region), granting them an extra two seats once the 100 mainland seats were assigned according the the percentages of the vote won by each party. With 70 seats and control of the executive, the ruling coalition should be able to achieve their program without much strife. However, several WASAT legislators have expressed that they will resist any overarching puches for secularism in Negarakita at too quick a pace. In his first interview, bin Awang expressed his "deepest gratitude to the Suvurnian people" for his election and promised that he would "continue to strive for the betterment of the nation".