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Eito - Earlier this week reports emerged from the Celestial Palace in Eito that the Chancellor of the Realm and her government had expressed a desire to call an early general election, as a consequence of recent by-election defeats and to attain a stronger mandate. Yesterday these rumours were confirmed as the office of the Great Council of State confirmed the government's intent; today, the motion was put to vote in the elected houses. Under the Sakashima Decree of 1998, a premature dissolution of the Assembly must be passed by 3/5ths of the Commons or 4/5ths of the Exemplars to be legitimate. Today's vote failed in the latter, but succeeded in the former, with 65% in support. A subsequent vote in the Exemplars to veto the motion of the Commons also failed, and thus the Council's proposal passed.
A Royal edict passed by the Commons has also established the date of the Assembly's dissolution, 31st of October, and the two rounds of the election: 24th of November and the 1st of December.
Surrounded by Federalist political magnates and addressing a crowd of gathered supporters in the public square of the Suzaku Palace after the conclusion of the session, Chancellor Seikoujo declared that the election was an opportunity for the Party to truly stand up for Shirakawans and Shirakawan ideals by 'clearly amplifying the voices of the People', and attempted to reassure critics of her decision, stating that the Party leadership would remain resolute in the face of challenges to it's leadership and that the call for an election had been made with 'total confidence' in victory.
The other parties too have quickly leapt into action. Lord Kokusō Hyōe said that as Leaders of the Opposition the Royalist Party had the democratic responsibility of uniting, 'so that we may better counter the Government's newest attempt at swindling the nation and choking out the vigor and spirit of the masses.' Wounds from the party's bitterly-contested leadership contest however appear to be fresh, as the Lady Tajima Nishi, the leading figure of the Royalist rightists and the main internal opponent of Lord Kokusō, made her own separate address to supporters. Some have taken the sharp divide in the opposition to be a sign of separatism, though Tajima herself dodged questions about such charges when interviewed on her way out of the Palace.
Lord Togoshi Keizo, a backbencher representative of the New Ziyuist party and leader of the multi-partisan, radically interventionist Fourth World Caucus, gave a speech to press following the vote welcoming the election, while criticizing the Chancellor herself. "This is a thin - thin, very thin - attempt to bolster the weak-willed Council we have now. But it's a good thing in the end, so long as the vote remains free and unaffected by the machinations of foreign powers." Togoshi's address ultimately overshadowed that of the current Ziyuist leader, Shikami Haruka, and many in the party are now wondering how long the strictly anti-interventionist crossbencher will maintain her hold on power, as the younger and bolder Togoshi, propelled into notoriety for his verbal attack on the young Yamataian Empress following her address to the Assembly as part of last years Imperial visit, increases rapidly in popularity.
Perhaps the group the most certain to gain something out of the election however is the Social Front, the third largest party, which has been slowly growing at the expense of the decaying Royalist base and ballooning in support from the youth since the collapse of the last government and Seikoujo's takeover. If divisions in the Royalists come to a head, it is likely the greatest beneficiaries will be the Social Front, with their fresh new leadership and firm support in the old industrial heartland of Uranuur.
Makise Narikata is the former Military Correspondent for the State News Agency 'Truth of the Empire' and the current Political Correspondent for the Daily Motherland (since 2009). She majored in Journalism at the Royal University of Eito, and has covered a range of subjects, from the 2010 and 2014 Campaign Trail to anti-piracy operations in the Sea of Anan. She is a member of the People's Enlightenment Society and the Deputy Director of the Royal Journalists Society.