Oceanian Election Turmoil [GO News Cycle][Closed/GO Only]

[Vienna Eliot]

Earlier report: Ricardo leads in the polls. Here's why she's worried.
Earlier report: Presidential race enters a dead heat
Earlier report: Ricardo, Martinez spar in presidential debate
Earlier report: Oceanians head to the polls on Election Day

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Wolff: And with that, polls are now closing across half the country, as far west as Agoura. The nation has waited years for this moment, and we're finally here: election night in Oceania. Tonight, I'll be hosting, with Jane Carlisle at the Magic Wall^TM, and our panel of experts led by André Cardigan. André, can you hear me?

Cardigan: I absolutely can, Jim, and welcome to our viewers who are just tuning in. This is going to be an exciting night, and we're looking forward to it. First, let me introduce our panel for election night. To my right we have Gloria Dana, CNN's chief political correspondent, and host and commentator Preston Brown.

Dana: Hi.

Brown: Hello.

Cardigan: To my left is legal analyst Laurel Sharpe, as well as commentator and former Councillor Heinrich Corbyn.

Sharpe: Hello, André.

Corbyn: Thrilled to be here.

Wolff: That's wonderful, André. Next we're going to take it over to the Magical Wall^TM with Jane Carlisle, where she's going to explain to us just what to look for this election night, and how we think it's going to play out. Jane?

Carlisle: Thanks, Jim. This is sure to be a night like no other, with the election only getting closer over the final days of the campaign, when no on-air partisan advertising was allowed from either of the candidates. Tonight there are two candidates battling it out for control of the State House: they are incumbent Labor President Alison Ricardo and Democratic Senator Danielle Martinez. Also keep an eye out for third party candidates, Liberal Councillor Johannea Miranz, Green Dr. David Harrison, and Radical Deputy Governor of Palo Alto Cooper Carlos-Juarez.

Wolff: What are we looking at on this wall, here?

Carlisle: Jim, this is a map of Oceania's 25 states. Oceania elects its president via an electoral college system, and each state is winner take all. With 550 electoral votes total, it takes 276 votes to be elected president. Also up for election tonight are 25 Senate seats — those these don't matter very much — and all 450 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, which will be an important check on the next president's agenda.

Wolff: Fantastic. And with that, we're getting our first results in. CNN projects Palo Alto and Tino for Democrat Danielle Martinez, giving her 39 electoral votes. CNN can also project Newton, Amherst, Columbia, Strathmere, Schloe, and Florida for President Alison Ricardo, handing her 179 electoral votes off the bat. Keystone, Rockwell, Blauveldt, Woodmore, and Agoura are presently too close to call, and the rest of the country has yet to close their polls.

[Vienna Eliot]

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Brown: I disagree, Laurel, because these aren't really states anybody saw going any other way. So far, all is, well, just about as planned!

Sharpe: But that's the thing. They're—

Corbyn: Right.

Sharpe: They're not really going as planned, if you look at it. If you look at it, at the map, or at the last election, Woodmore should have been called already for the Democrats. The fact that it is apparently too close to call right now, in Woodmore, is not a good sign for Danielle Martinez.

Dana: Well, I'm not sure, right? Because by that logic, Blauveldt should've been called by now.

Corbyn: Blauveldt was never that safe for Eliot.

Dana: But it wasn't that close, it wasn't that close either. And I think Keystone and Rockwell are also pretty weird ones. Those went for Eliot like that last election.

Cardigan: I think they'll come in pretty soon.

Sharpe: And those have been Democratic before. You might not remember that, but it's true—

Dana: I'm 46.

Sharpe: It's true that they've been trending Labor, they voted for Vienna Eliot, yeah. But in the 90s, in the First Republic, those were pretty safe Democratic states. They were part of the Blue Wall, we used to call it.

Dana: I'm 46. I don't think—

Brown: Are we asking the real question here? I want to know, if I'm Alison Ricardo, who's voted so far. Where are the outstanding votes? Are they in the cities? Because that means that you've got a lot of younger, pro-Labor voters, and a lot of wealthier Labor voters. If we're looking at cities, maybe some exurbs, I think Ricardo is in a good position. If these votes, the ones that they're still counting, are out in the rural parts of Woodmore...

Corbyn: That would not be good. That would not be good for President Ricardo.

Sharpe: And I think, also, it's important to know which precincts have reported, because that also matters. Do we have that info?

Cardigan: Not really. Let's go back to Jim Wolff.

Wolff: André, it looks from here like we can now call Blauveldt for Alison Ricardo, delivering her an extra 14 electoral votes. We expect the western half of the country to close its polls in about a half an hour, and we'll have more updates from there.

[Vienna Eliot]

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Wolff: Explain.

Carlisle: Well if you look here, in Santa Barbara, one of the biggest cities in Agoura, Miranz is pulling in nearly 15 percent of the vote. That's huge for a third party candidate.

Wolff: And where is she getting those votes from?

Carlisle: I don't know Jim, you're the one with the exit polls.

Wolff: Right, of course. Well, to those of our viewers who are just tuning in, Alison Ricardo has 193 electoral votes, and Danielle Martinez has 39, with a few states in the eastern part of the country still too close to call. Now, Jane and I were just discussing what's going on in those states, where it looks like third party candidates are overperforming. Specifically, we're looking at Liberal candidate Johannea Miranz, who has been the spokesperson for the Liberal-Green coalition in the National Council for the past two years, and who has, uh, if I'm looking at the exit polls correctly, she's been doing really, pretty solidly with the youth vote. So that's the news. That's what it is. Jane?

Carlisle: Right, and that's showing in places like Agoura, where Miranz and other third party candidates collectively hold about 7 percent of the vote right now, and Martinez leads Ricardo by about 2 points right now. We still expect maybe 8 percent of the vote is outstanding in that state, so there's still time for Ricardo to pull ahead, but this would be a meaningful loss, even though it's only 19 electoral votes. It'd be a moral defeat, and maybe something of a suburban revolt against Labor.

Wolff: That's great stuff, Jane. Let's go to our panel to discuss the Council results that have come in so far.

Cardigan: Thanks, Jim. Well, all 14 states that have finished voting have made haste in declaring their Senate victors, with 12 new Labor Senators and 2 Democrats. The Deputies are looking pretty stable, as well. Our panel discusses.

Dana: Do we?

Brown: André, it's clear, I think, we all know why this is happening. We're looking at incumbents being re-elected up and down the ticket. Meanwhile, approval of the National Council is in the 30s. As long as we leave it to states to draw their own district lines, we're going to keep on seeing this. Nobody is ever going to lose a race.

Corbyn: I don't think that's true. We've already seen a dozen Labor Councillors lose to Democrat challengers.

Dana: But those are in Democratic states.

Corbyn: Right.

Dana: Those are in states where Democrats won in 2018. Won the governorships or the state councils. So those are places where Democrats are controlling the maps. It makes sense that Democrats are going to win there.

Sharpe: Not to mention that 2018 was a strong year for Labor. Of course they're going to lose some of their more vulnerable seats.

Corbyn: Well, when you look at the numbers, it seems like there are demographic shifts too. And that's right, Laurel, 2018 was a good year for Labor. It's not all about the redistricting, it's not all about the numbers game and the maps. Sometimes it's just politics. Some of the people just chose different representatives.

Brown: I think the party vote matters, though, and we're seeing a lot of consistency there. Democrats are going to pick up a lot of constituency seats tonight, but the overall composition of the Chamber of Deputies might not change all that much if people choose the same parties for the list seats, which are proportional, if they choose those same parties as they chose last year.

Sharpe: Well, right now we have, what do we have? André, what do we have?

Cardigan: About ten minutes.

Sharpe: No, I mean, what do we have results-wise?

Cardigan: Uh, I think. I mean, I can check. I hear we're looking at, we're looking at 30 Labor, 32 Democrats, and 1 Liberal. And 5 that haven't been called yet.

Dana: Which isn't great for Labor.

Sharpe: No, they're down at least 15 seats. 14 seats, I think.

Corbyn: 14 seats. Not great, but I think the Labor Party is going to pull ahead when we get to the other half of the country. A lot of votes waiting out there.

Brown: I want to point out that this is also a devastating result for the Green Party. The Liberals are on track to pick off at least one of their constituency seats, and they had 6 in the eastern half before tonight. So that's a pretty dreadful result for them.

Cardigan: We're coming up on half an hour. I'll throw it back to you, Jim.

Wolff: That's great, André, and with polls closing in about one minute, I do want to go over the popular vote as it stands right now. 36.4 million votes have been tabulated so far, and Alison Ricardo has 52.1 percent of them, Danielle Martinez 43 percent spot on, Johannea Miranz 4.4 percent, David Harrison a little over .4 percent, and Cooper Carlos-Juarez less than .1 percent. And now the polls are closing.

Carlisle: Look at that.

Wolff: CNN is ready to make a couple projections. CNN projects Lexington, Theron, and Franklin for President Alison Ricardo, giving her an additional 48 electoral votes. CNN also projects Talia and Arlington for 39 electoral votes. This gives Alison Ricardo 241 electoral votes, and Danielle Martinez 78 electoral votes.

[Vienna Eliot]

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Corbyn: I would not want to be at Martinez's watch party right now.

Dana: Not so sure. I see Laurel's point, now, because I'm looking at this map and wondering why Alison Ricardo didn't just win Coventry.

Cardigan: Because it's too close to call.

Dana: I get that, but I don't get why it's so close. It shouldn't be so close.

Sharpe: It shouldn't be so close. Neither should Woodmore.

Dana: Right. You know, you're right! We still haven't called Woodmore!

Corbyn: What's close? Ricardo just swept the table. So she's behind in Agoura? She doesn't need Agoura. Literally Coventry and Woodmore. Coventry and any swing state and she wins.

Sharpe: I don't know if she's going to win Woodmore. She's up by half a point and none of the cities have come in yet.

Corbyn: Exactly, none of the cities have come in yet. That's where the Labor base thrives, Laurel, and once you see Harmingham, Downtabby, Woodmore Heights come in—

Cardigan: That is not how you pronounce Downtabby.

Corbyn: Once they come in, Ricardo is going to win Woodmore handily. And Coventry? Does anyone here really think we're going to lose Coventry?

Brown: I don't think Ricardo is going to lose Coventry, but that's the thing: it doesn't matter what we think.

Dana: Bold words for a pundit.

Brown: It doesn't matter what we think, because those votes? They've already been cast. This is just a spectator sport at this point. Eliot won Convetry. Eliot won Woodmore. Okay. So what? Eliot won Agoura. I don't think Ricardo's going to win Agoura. If we were serious about this, we'd elect our president via a popular vote.

Cardigan: Okay...

Brown: What, André, you disagree?

Cardigan: I neither agree nor disagree with anything. It's against my contract.

Corbyn: I disagree. The electoral college picks the best man, or woman, for the job. We need to hear the voices of our inner cities—

Brown: Of rich folks.

Corbyn: Of our inner cities, where Oceanian's interests are just as important as those in rural and exurban areas.

Dana: But sometimes a minority can win out. We saw that twice in the 1940s.

Corbyn: Long time ago. I don't think now is the time to go changing things. We've got bigger fish to fry.

Cardigan: Agreed, which is why I think we ought to be discussing the Council, now. Heinrich, your predictions did not come true. Labor is down 36 constituency seats right now, in the district vote, in the Chamber of Deputies. That's at the expense of the Democratic Party and the Liberal Party.

Corbyn: I suspect the party list vote will even some things out a bit. We might lose seats in the long run, but it's not going to be, it's not going to be a third of them, a fourth of them, whatever that is. I think Labor will still hold the majority.

Sharpe: Citation needed.

Corbyn: Well—

Cardigan: Hold on folks, we're going to have to—

Wolff: Yes we are, André, because we are ready to make a projection. CNN can now project that Danielle Martinez will carry the states of Agoura and Rockwell, along with their 32 electoral votes. Let's go to the Magic Wall^TM to find out what that means...

[Vienna Eliot]

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Carlisle: Jim, it means that Martinez has secured a state she needed to win if she wants to win this election tonight. Let me walk us over the map.

Wolff: Can you walk us over the map?

Carlisle: Yes, that's what I'm about to do.

Wolff: That's great. Great stuff, Jane.

Carlisle: Right, so Ricardo has 241 votes right now, 260 if she wins Coventry, which, that hasn't been called yet. So let's say she wins Coventry. That puts her at 260, just 16 shy of a majority. At that point, she needs to win any of the states in the western half of the country to win the election. But what she can also do is carry Woodmore and Keystone, neither of which have been called yet, and win with 282 electoral votes. Remember, 276 is what we need to win this election, Jim.

Wolff: That's right. Now, can you show us Woodmore?

Carlisle: Sure thing, let's just make this work. So, here's Woodmore, and you can see that the cities are just now starting to report, and... Well, I think when you look at that, if you're Alison Ricardo, you're thinking, wow, that looks a lot like Agoura looked an hour ago. It's blue in places it shouldn't be blue. There are even some yellow spots, and those are Liberal counties, where it looks like Miranz is getting a lot of the vote. Let's take a look.

Wolff: Wow.

Carlisle: Wow is right, Jim. That's a lot of vote for her. For Johannea Miranz. Of course, Woodmore has always been good for the Liberals, and the Greens too.

Wolff: Of course.

Carlisle: But I mean, here — if we zoom in here, it looks like she's getting almost half the vote in Downtabby.

Wolff: Right.

Carlisle: Did I pronounce that right?

Wolff: I don't think so. Where else is she overperforming?

Carlisle: Well, we can look at that, but... see, that's not surprising. She's overperforming everywhere over 2016, because Vienna Eliot did very well here in 2016, and Marciana Tatias, the Liberal candidate in 2016, did not, he did not do well.

Wolff: Okay. So could, do you think Miranz could actually win in Woodmore?

Carlisle: Well, we have 99 percent of the vote in and we haven't called it. But Miranz and Martinez are tied at about 33 percent here. Right now it's 725,584 for Martinez, 724,972 for Miranz. And Ricardo is trailing with about 594,000 votes, and Harrison way back there with a little over a hundred thousand.

Wolff: And what's Ricardo's path without Woodmore?

Carlisle: Well, as I said earlier, Jim, Ricardo can still win without Woodmore. She needs Coventry and any other western state. Now, let's say she doesn't get Coventry, that's where the math gets a little bit trickier if she can't win Woodmore.

Wolff: And if she doesn't win Woodmore, she won't win Keystone.

Carlisle: Of course. So if she can't win those three states, she needs two western states. Which, that should sound easy, but I'll remind you that they're all too close to call right now. There would be six she could pick from, and those are Providence, Adria, Elicia, Fremont, Ames, and Hallandale.

Wolff: Let's look at Ames.

Carlisle: Of course, Ames, the bellwether state for the last several elections. Right now, you can see that Ricardo is leading in Ames by about a 300,000 votes. We've got 1,392,925 for Ricardo, and 1,086,882 for Martinez. So actually, things are looking pretty good for Ricardo in Ames. But I want to point out that we probably have another 500,000, even 600,000 votes left out there. We've got about 75 percent of the vote in from Ames, most of it from Hartson, Harvard, and Gilmore. So expect these rural votes to come in and tighten that lead quite a bit.

Wolff: Okay. So that's too close to call. What about Adria?

Carlisle: Adria's somewhere where it makes sense that it's too close to call. You've got 31 electoral votes here and you see a lot of red and blue mixed together; that's because this is a very diverse state, but it's pretty mixed together. You have some strongholds, like the Bay Colony, that's where the Democratic leader Koenry Gerritz is from. But all in all this is a very diverse state, and right now it looks like Martinez is up a little under 3 — oh, it just changed. It looks like Martinez is up 2 points. And Miranz is pulling in nearly 5 percent of the vote there, so that's a little fun tidbit. I wouldn't be surprised if this changes all that much.

Wolff: Right, and Jane, you might be a psychic, because I'm getting word that CNN is ready to project more states. We are projecting Elicia, Providence, Keystone, Adria, and Woodmore for Democratic candidate Danielle Martinez. We are also projecting Coventry for Labor candidate and President Alison Ricardo. That gives Martinez an addition 107 electoral votes, for a total of 217 electoral votes, and Ricardo gets 19 votes from Coventry for a total of 260 electoral votes.

[Vienna Eliot]

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Corbyn: But I still think Ricardo can win. It's a one-in-three chance. Or, how do you do that math? She has to win one out of three states to win. That's not hard.

Brown: That is not how you do the math.

Dana: No, it's really not.

Brown: And I think that the way things are going, when you look at swing states, it isn't reassuring for Ricardo. Every time she gets close, she misses the mark.

Corbyn: The past is no predictor for the present. When Vienna Eliot came close but lost in Palo Alto, we didn't start calling the race for Governor Jorge. Labor won that election, and it'll win this one too. If you ask me. That's my opinion as an observer.

Cardigan: Wait, the past...

Sharpe: But I think that discounts the numbers, it ignores that Fremont is headed in Martinez's direction, and Ames and Hallandale are really close and still have areas outstanding that are likely to swing the polls away from Ricardo and into the Democratic column.

Dana: It also ignores the Council results, which have been closely tracking the presidential race when you get rid of the Liberal vote, for Miranz, I mean. Labor has, and André, correct me if I'm wrong—

Cardigan: I will.

Dana: But Labor has 56 constituency seats. They're stuck there. They lost nearly 40 percent of their seats. And now list results are starting to be tabulated—

Corbyn: We won a lot of seats in the midterms, though. You have to remember that.

Brown: I wouldn't attribute all that to midterm gains. You — Labor has lost more in this election than they gained in 2018 in district seats. That's not good. You can't spin that.

Corbyn: I'm not trying to spin it.

Dana: They're counting the list seats in each district, and when you look at it, Labor is actually losing even more. Right now, out of 450 Council seats, Labor is at 111. That's really bad.

Corbyn: It's turnout.

Cardigan: It's probably turnout.

Brown: I don't know if it's turnout, or the rural revolt, or what it is. It could be magic. It could be Liberals. It's not good for any person in the Labor Party right now, though, not tonight.

Sharpe: And Democrats meanwhile have 120-something seats. They're almost up to what they have now.

Wolff: And I hate to interrupt that great, that just fantastic conversation from our panel, but CNN has a — would you call this a projection? Jane, do I call this a projection?

Carlisle: I'm not sure what—

Wolff: CNN has an error we would like to regret. Earlier we called the state of Woodmore for Democrat Danielle Martinez. We have now been informed that, uh, that projection was in haste. Woodmore, CNN projects, is too close to call. Let's head over to the magic wall.

Carlisle: Well, I mean, we have, Jim, hello. We have all the results here. Danielle Martinez has 727,330 votes and Johannea Miranz has 729,047 votes. Oh, it just changed. Now it's — okay, so, these are mail-in votes they're tabulating now, which, Woodmore has mail voting, you can vote by mail if you want to, which is a more rural thing. We don't really have that here in Amherst. Ah, ha.

Wolff: That's great, Jane, that's a great laugh. What does that mean for us?

Carlisle: I think it means, I think it means — let me get this map right, this wall, this Magic Wall^TM — it means that some people, who might not, well, you know, Miranz might have pushed a lot for vote by mail, of course, because younger voters aren't going to want to stand in line, so, you know, some of that. A little bit of this. Some of that.

Wolff: CNN... Okay, CNN has another projection. For Woodmore, I think. Right, CNN can now project, and, they say we're confident this time: CNN can now project Woodmore and it's 15 electoral votes for Liberal candidate Johannea Miranz.

Carlisle: That is a real bummer for David Harrison, Jim, who is from Woodmore.

Wolff: Uh-huh. Let's go to our panel.

Cardigan: Well I'm speechless.

Corbyn: As you should be. Has anyone done the math? Do the math, everyone. Tell me what happens now.

Sharpe: Don't be like that.

Corbyn: No, really, tell me what happens. Tell me the Democrat Party path to victory.

Brown: I'm doing it.

Corbyn: You're doing it?

Brown: Oh yeah, I'm doing it.

Dana: There isn't one.

Brown: There isn't one?

Dana: There isn't one.

Corbyn: There isn't. Martinez could sweep the election. She could win it all. She cannot get to 276 electoral votes. It is mathematically impossible.

Cardigan: I don't — we could have called another state wrong.

Brown: I think that it says a lot, really, that Miranz has won that state. Woodmore. Because, it shows that there is an aching in this nation's youth, or someone, in Woodmore, I think, that means, I think, a lot of people want change. They want change, André. And somebody's got to give it to them.

Cardigan: Okay. Sure.

Dana: I think it means Ricardo has won.

Corbyn: Exactly.

Sharpe: I don't know about that. Who is Miranz taking votes away from? The Democrats?

Brown: Not the Democrats.

Sharpe: No, she's taking them from rich Labor kids.

Corbyn: What?

Brown: She's taking Labor votes away. She's taking the votes of younger people who vote for Labor because of their domestic policy. Their social policy, whatever.

Corbyn: Well, I mean, think about it, and it doesn't really matter who she's taking votes from. It's whoever gets the most votes who wins.

Dana: Right, which is why Martinez is winning in states with less than half the vote. Because Ricardo is losing votes to Miranz. Whoever gets the most votes wins. Not all of them, not half of them. You just need more than anyone else.

Corbyn: Oh. I mean — well, I think Ricardo has it in her. I think that, you've got these three states.

Cardigan: We've got them alright.

Wolff: CNN is ready to make a projection. We can now project that Danielle Martinez will win the states of Fremont, Ames, and Hallandale, along with their 73 electoral votes. That puts Martinez at 275 electoral votes, Ricardo at 260 electoral votes, and Johannea Miranz at 15 electoral votes. And there are no more states left to be called.

Carlisle: Folks, that looks like a tie to me.

[Vienna Eliot]

The morning after: Ricardo claims victory
Katelyn Ríos, Associated Press
^{December 2nd, 2020}

The President won the popular vote. Is it enough?

(AP) — Oceanians went to the polls yesterday for the 2020 general election, voting for the President, Members of the National Council, and numerous state and local offices. Labor had a small lead going into the election, which was expected to be close, but election night was disappointing for the governing party, which lost control of the Chamber of Deputies and several state governments. The presidency, however, was a different story.

The night opened with a big lead for incumbent President Alison Ricardo of the Labor Party, but after a number of close states were called for Democrat Danielle Martinez, many pundits began predicting a Democratic victory. Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, three networks reversed their call of the Woodmore Province, which had been called for Martinez, and projected the state for Liberal candidate Johannea Miranz.

By the end of the night, most sources, including AP, projected 275 electoral votes for Martinez, 260 electoral votes for Ricardo, and 15 electoral votes for Miranz. 276 votes are necessary for election, and ties are broken by the Senate, which is currently controlled by the Labor Party.

No state had certified its results by Wednesday morning, though most were preparing to do so by Wednesday night. The deadline for certification is Friday at midnight. Hallandale and Ames are the only states that wait until Thursday night to certify. If any state does not certify its electors by the midnight deadline, the nationwide popular vote prevails in that state, according to the Constitution, and electors for the nationwide popular vote winner are chosen by default to travel to Annheim to vote in the Electoral College.

That constitutional provision may be of interest to Alison Ricardo, who lost Hallandale by 14,393 votes — or a third of a percentage point — and Ames by 29,060 votes — two thirds of a percentage point — but who won the nationwide popular vote by an estimated 3,346,347 votes. Ricardo declared victory at a small celebration this morning.

Already, the Labor Party has filed suit in provincial and federal courts to delay the certification of results in Ames and Hallandale. "We don't need to win," said one attorney, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "We just need to stretch it out until Friday."

Martinez has not declared victory, nor spoken publicly since election night, but leaders in the Democratic Party are not being so cautious. "Congratulations, Madam President-Elect, @DanielleMartinezElicia!" wrote Governor Miguel Luis Jorge of Palo Alto, who lost the presidential election to Vienna Eliot in 2016. And Koenry Gerritz, leader of the Democratic Party in the National Council, claimed that his party had won the presidency in a late election night speech in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Ricardo is scheduled to speak from the State House this afternoon. She is expected to double down on her claims of victory, and two sources in the administration say she plans to emphasize her popular vote victory as the only "legitimate victory" that either candidate has the opportunity to claim.

[Vienna Eliot]

Press Release from the Miranz Campaign
Johannea Miranz Pledges Electors to Danielle Martinez

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Deputy Johannea Miranz, the Liberal Party nominee for President of the Republic, pledged her support for Senator Danielle Martinez, the Democratic Party nominee, Wednesday morning. She urges her 15 electors from the Woodmore Province to cast their votes for Senator Martinez.

Said Miranz: "We did not win the presidency, but on Tuesday night, we wowed the nation by proving that more than 6 million Oceanians are ready for the change that the Liberal Party is fighting for. Together, we elected a record breaking 32 Liberals to the National Council, along with hundreds of Liberals to state assemblies and local offices around the nation. We are ready to fight for freedom in our communities.

What's more: we proved that the Liberal Party is a serious, national movement capable of winning electoral votes in statewide races. I am proud to have carried the Woodmore Province and its 15 electoral votes. However, this is not enough to win the presidency. In any other election, I would take pride in having our electors cast their votes for me. But this time, the stakes are too high.

With the Electoral College tied, we risk the reelection of Alison Ricardo, one of the most hawkish, dangerous presidents our nation has ever confronted. Her draconian regulations of business and, her corporate crony approach to the economy, and her policy of endless wars abroad will only lead Oceania into a darker place. While I do not agree with everything Senator Martinez stands for, she is a world better than this president. For that reason, I urge my electors to cast their votes for Danielle Martinez to be President of the Republic."

Press inquiries should be directed to campaign spokesperson Molly Hendricks.

[Vienna Eliot]

Letter from Alison Ricardo to World Leaders
From the Desk of the
President of the Oceanian Republic

Dear Friend,

I write to thank you for your partnership for the past year. Together, we have made the world a safer, wealthier, more peaceful place — and, of course, a more democratic one. Your efforts have been instrumental in moving us toward a better world for our children and grandchildren, and I look forward to the next four years to work with you to further achieve that goal.

Our countries have accomplished incredible work in just a few short months. We took decisive action against climate change. We halted a global recession in its tracks. We spent less money on arms, and more money on food. We spent less time disagreeing, and more time finding common ground. And our duty to democracy has only just gotten started.

No doubt, you are concerned with the ongoing electoral strife in Oceania. I assure you that this is part of the normal, republican process: like any democracy, we scrutinize our elections to ensure that every legal ballot is counted, and to carry out the will of the people in choosing our head of state and government for the next four years. In our democracy, news companies do not choose the president, the people do.

I could not be happier to have received the support of 42,586,493 Oceanians — 3.3 million more votes than my opponent — and I am elated to inform you that my political party, the Labor Party, has been returned to our national legislature with a plurality of seats.

I look forward to working with you for the next four years, and I hope to correspond with you soon about how our great nations may work together during that time.

Yours,
Alison Ricardo
President of the Oceanian Republic

[Vienna Eliot]

Martinez declares victory as election boards certify results
Katelyn Ríos, Associated Press
^{December 2nd, 2020}

It's been a long day in Oceania. Tomorrow could be even longer.

(AP) — As provincial boards of elections certify their official results, Democratic candidate Danielle Martinez has declared Wednesday night victory in an election marred by controversy. The Electoral College meets in Annheim on Friday, December 4th, and no person is officially president-elect until then. That hasn't stopped both candidates from claiming that they won the election. President and Labor candidate Alison Ricardo announced that she had won the election on Wednesday morning.

On election night, the race tied in the electoral college. A candidate needs 276 votes to be elected president, but Martinez won 275 votes, Ricardo won 260 votes, and Liberal candidate Johannea Miranz won 15 votes. Ricardo won the nationwide popular vote by approximately 3.34 million votes, and declared victory the next morning. If no candidate receives 276 votes when the Electoral College votes in Annheim, the Senate (currently controlled by the Labor Party) selects the next president.

Late Wednesday morning, Miranz issued a statement encouraging her 15 electors to cast their votes for Martinez. Ricardo cancelled a press conference set to take place at the State House shortly thereafter. By the evening, at least two Miranz electors told AP that they intended to respect their candidate's wishes and vote for Martinez in Annheim. Martinez declared her own victory Wednesday night, but Ricardo has not conceded, according to three sources on the campaigns, and has reportedly requested support from the international community in bolstering her victory.

By midnight on Thursday, 18 states had certified their election results. Agoura, Blauveldt, Coventry, Franklin, and Fremont are set to certify their results by tomorrow at noon. Ames and Hallandale are supposed to certify their results by midnight on Friday, but pending court cases filed by the Labor Party seek to delay the certification by those provinces.

The Ames Board of Elections reported that they have been prevented from certifying their results under a stay order from a provincial court, which the Democratic Party has appealed the stay to the provincial appellate court, which has scheduled oral arguments for tomorrow morning. In Hallandale, a member of the Board of Elections told AP that a federal court has notified the Board of a pending suit, but has not issued a stay order, and that the Board intends to certify the results as planned unless told otherwise by a court.

If a province does not certify its results by midnight on Friday — meaning 11:59pm tomorrow is the last minute to certify — the Constitution provides that the electors for the winner of the nationwide popular vote are chosen by default for that state. In this case, that would be Ricardo.

Ricardo's letter reportedly went out a few hours ago, and the AP is unaware of any communications between either candidate and any foreign leaders.

[Lykens]

December 2, 2020
8:43 AM
Diaz Ranch, Arecibo, Lykens

Matilde Elizondo, the Cabinet Secretary for the State Counselor, entered Kenneth's office without knocking, one of the few people who could get away with this, namely his husband and mother.

Kenneth's eyes shot up from the folder he was reading at the intrusion and put the folder down. "I'm guessing something urgent happened?"

Matilde's eyes bulged, "You have no idea. Turn on your computer."

Kenneth made a face and turned to the monitor, moving the mouse to awaken the screen as a news article popped up from Matilde's phone. Kenneth quietly read it to himself.His eyebrows slowly rose as his eyes widened and he looked to Matilde and blinked slowly a few times.

"Holy shit."

"Get Eneida on the phone, Arecelis queued up. Holy shit."

Matilde nodded and began to walk out of the room, turning her head as she did, "Kenneth, if you're going to try and take the bitch down, make sure to take her out, don't let her come back for you."

Kenneth laughed as the door clicked close. He picked up the phone and it began to ring. Eneida answered on the second ring.

"Are you seeing this? Miraz is throwing her electors to Martinez, she's over 276."

Eneida sighed on the other end of the line, "Ricardo isn't conceding, in fact, we got a letter from her declaring her victory and that what's happening is a 'normal, republic process' rather than what clearly is going to turn into a constitutional crisis. They just can't win down there."

"It doesn't matter if Ricardo concedes, if enough democrats congratulate Martinez we can push the witch out. Reach out to Oceanian channels, try to set up a call with Martinez. Do it through official channels so that she knows, and then find out how to reach Martinez personally. I'm going to ring a few leaders, see if we can't get this ball moving."

"Sir, I'm sure this is a well thought out idea, but I'd just like to say this smacks an awful lot like regime change."

"We aren't doing anything unilaterally, we're simply reaching out to close friends and allies to gauge their opinions on current events transpiring. There are no armed forces involved, you're overreacting. I think you forget that everything Eliot was in Palo Alto was known by Ricardo, I don't trust her and I will not hesitate to get rid of her."

"Understandable, I'll get on it."

"Thank you, Eneida."

The line died and Kenneth held the phone for a few seconds longer, thinking about what was going to happen.

[Tumbra]

December 2, 2020
Straton, Tumbra

"What's the line to Alison Ricardo?" Kenneth Everett sighed, staring at the election results on the CNN website. The one yellow province stood out like a sore thumb, as if some kind of indirect rebuke to the left. And now it might mean a less friendly government up north, at the time when regional co-operation was very much needed. This was not how he wanted to start his day - he was expecting to routinely congratulate President Ricardo on her win. The numbers had looked good for her, after all. Now this had become some electoral fiasco.

"I can connect you to her any time you wish, Prime Minister." Jane Howell, his secretary, replied.

"I'll talk to her later. Just let her office know that I wish to speak to her. Get me Alan, Eric and Colin in a conference call as soon as possible. Try to get me a member of the Office of the President in that conference call as well. We need to co-ordinate our response to this election as soon as possible."

"Alright, Kenneth."

---

The conference call was set up approximately ten minutes later. Alan Philburn, the Deputy Prime Minister, was by his side, as were a bunch of senior advisors and the Press Secretary. Eric Cooper-Jones and Colin Green, the Foreign Minister and Trade Minister respectively, were connected through the television screen. Lauren Jones, the representative of the President, was also there.

"Good morning, everyone. Sorry to disturb your mornings. After all, Cabinet isn't set to meet for three days. Now I'm sure you've all read the morning news, realised what's happening up north. This isn't good. We need to co-ordinate our response, issue statements, get our media angles covered.

"The change of government isn't as much the problem now as much as the absolute fuckery that's happened up there. I told Elliot the last time we met, that absolutely outdated system they had needed to be changed, no matter what kind of "tradition" it had.

We need ideas. Ricardo will be counting on our support, but if we publicly come out in favour of her right now, the Libs will be all over us. I've scheduled a call with Ricardo later - Eric, I'd like you to be there - but right now we need to come up with some ideas.

In the meantime, I'd like for a moratorium on the activities of the President with regards to this election. I understand you had a prepared statement ready, Ms. Jones?" Everett glanced over at Jones, who was shuffling around some papers.

"Ah, yes, Prime Minister. We've had a prepared statement ready for a few days now, regardless who won." Jones said confidently.

"Scrap it for now," the curt reply came. On screen, Jones looked shocked, as if she had personally been attacked. "No word from any member of the government until I, Alan or Eric make any sort of public statement."

"V-very well, Prime Minister."

Everett looked over at his advisors, gathered around the Cabinet table. "Back to ideas. Anyone have any?"

"There is the traditional, platitudinal response that we always issue for any election, Prime Minister. We congratulate the Republic of Oceania on the successful conclusion of their democratic elections, and express confidence that the election has been free and fair. We note the disputed results of the election with concern and hope that a successful conclusion is arrived at soon, in accordance to the democratic wishes of the Oceanian people. Bla bla bla. It's the kind of statement that says everything..." came the voice of the Chief Cabinet Secretary, George Foreman.

"...and absolutely nothing." Alan Philburn completed the sentence in unison with Foreman.

"Well, that's the traditional line. Not sure if it'd suffice." Everett muttered. "Eric?"

"Kenneth, the story's still developing. Why not we release this first, then as it develops we make further adjustments? For now, I think this is enough."

Everett nodded. "Turning our attention to the political. All of us in this room, obviously, want Alison Ricardo to win. We're aligned politically, obviously. Any Martinez government would probably mean money fleeing north, et cetera."

"We'll hold our cards close to our chest. Eric, refine, release that statement whenever. Take what George says and run with it. Ms. Jones, I'll give the okay for you to release any statement when the situation calms down and a winner is certified. Colin, try and run some numbers with your men, see what we'll lose if a Martinez government takes power and enacts whatever the hell she's been saying she'll enact." Kenneth took off his reading glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

It was going to be a long few days.

[Vienna Eliot]

December 3, 2020
The State House | Annheim, Oceania

Ricardo had been concerning herself with busy work, pouring over reports and bills and memos as the party's lawyers argued and filed motions in Hallandale and Ames. The hours ticked by agonizingly, and the President kept finding excuses not to look at the clock as she waited for the midnight certification deadline to arrive. All she had to do was push certification in one state past that minute...

Two knocks on the door. "Come in."

Hazel Ledlow, the Cabinet Secretary and Alison's confidante, entered the study, closing the door behind her. "Everyone but Ames and Hallandale have certified. Hallandale certifies in eight hours unless we win oral arguments today. Ames's stay has a hearing at eight which we're trying to delay."

"Nobody has called."

Hazel shuffled a bit. "The State Counselor has reached out to speak to the president-elect."

Alison breathed a sigh of relief, smiling. "I knew he would come through. We have some fantastic allies on this continent. Dial me into him so we can go through the motions and get the ball rolling. Democratic support is on its way." Alison grabbed a donut from her desk and took a bite out of it. "I'm not really president-elect, anyway," she said. "I'm the President. Just re-elected."

Hazel swallowed a dry swallow. "He — Right. That's what we thought, too. He says he would like to speak to president-elect Martinez."

Alison put the donut down. Hazel watched as the President took her glasses off and cleaned them with a small cloth on her desk, then put them back on. Alison leaned back in her chair.

"He... that motherfucking son of a bitch. Nobody in their right fucking minds can take a goddamn second to toss a fucking thought in their mouths, because their heads are too far up the cocksucking asses to just fucking think about what they're doing, think about what they're saying, and this faggot fucking spick is going to reach out to our fucking government to get in touch with some low life bitch, some backwoods welfare queen who can't tell her cunt from her mouth, just because the son of a bitch can't ride a fucking horse like he can ride a fucking dick to save his fucking life."

Hazel ducked as Alison shot up and launched a mug of coffee at the wall. It shattered.

"You can tell Kenneth fucking Diaz to shove his congratulations up his ass," Ricardo said. Hazel nodded, knowing she could not tell him that, as Ricardo stormed out of the room.

[Vienna Eliot]

Elector confusion plagues Hallandale certification
Katelyn Ríos, Associated Press
^{December 5th, 2020}

The State House has accused Lykens, Oceania's northern neighbor, of foreign interference in the election.

(AP) — The State House claimed at a press conference today that voter fraud and foreign interference had tainted the results of Tuesday's general election that saw Democrat Danielle Martinez triumph in the electoral college while Labor President Alison Ricardo won the nationwide popular vote.

"There are reports of serious irregularities in a lot of provinces," said Press Secretary Tim Kelly. "We have records of people voting twice, sometimes three times, of dead people voting, of people voting who don't have an address. This is really concerning."

The State House alleges a targeted campaign of voter fraud in the Ames, Hallandale, and Agoura Provinces, states where incumbent Alison Ricardo lost to challenger Danielle Martinez by less than one percentage point. The Agoura Board of Elections certified their results earlier today, while Ames and Hallandale intend to certify their results before the midnight deadline tonight.

While the National Guard is investigating claims of voter fraud, the State House took another step, claiming that foreign governments assisted in defrauding the vote and offered payment to citizens who would vote multiple times for Martinez. In particular, Kelly said that operatives within the government of Lykens spearheaded efforts to assist Martinez in the electoral college, funding voter fraud and funneling money into Liberal candidate Johannea Miranz's campaign to take votes away from Ricardo. The State House did not provide evidence for their claims of voter interference.

Both candidates, Ricardo and Martinez, have claimed victory. The international response has so far been muted, offering only congratulations on the conduct of the election and concern for the ongoing controversy.

[Meronnia]

Meronnia Stays Out
Hugo Lortie, Mèronie 24
^{December 2nd, 2020}
The Meronnian Government has made little note of any stance on Oceania.

(M24) —

The Federal Republic of Meronnia, still in the inaugural period of their own recently elected president, has stayed clearly out of the brewing argument in Oceania with a meek statement simply acknowledging the success of the election and the best wishes of the Federal Republic to the troubled and faraway democracy.

It is largely unsurprising; ultimately the results of the election have little geopolitical impact on Meronnian interests and the Federal Republic has never been particularly noted for sticking out its neck on the international stage before all the facts are known. That said, the move may have some political motivations at home as well.

The public consensus in Meronnia seems to be shock and appalment that the winner of the popular vote could ultimately lose to a candidate with less votes in the Oceanian system, with many Meronnians turning to SignPost to express their gratitude that their own Presidential elections do not allow such outcomes. Many with less understanding of the Oceanian constitution have openly questioned why Alison Ricardo, the winner of the popular vote, is under threat. At the same time, off-the-record statements by a few anonymous sources in the Foreign Bureau have expressed that they are betting on certification to take place in the presently contested states, meaning a Martinez victory.

Making no indication either way might very well be the Meronnian Government's ploy to dodge both frustrating moral republicans at home and damaging relations with the expected winner in Oceania.

---

[Vienna Eliot]

Electoral College formally elects Martinez amid controversy
Katelyn Ríos, Associated Press
^{December 4th, 2020}

A series of unfortunate events have derailed the regular electoral process — and left control of the presidency unclear.

(AP) — The Electoral College met in Annheim, Oceania Friday to formally elect the next President of the Republic. 290 electors voted for Democrat Danielle Martinez, but due to a certification dispute that led to Hallandale sending two slates of electors, no Ricardo electors participated in the election.

The Constitution sets a deadline of midnight on the Friday following the election for provincial governments to certify their state's results. By midnight yesterday, every state but Hallandale had certified their elections. Hallandale's Board of Elections had been prevented by a provincial court from certifying, but the high appellate court in Hallandale removed the stay shortly before midnight. The Board of Elections certified Martinez as the winner of the state at 12:18am on Friday.

Each province has a slate of electors selected for each candidate before the election. Under federal law, if a province fails to certify their election by the deadline, electors for the nationwide popular vote winner travel to Annheim on behalf of that state. Using that logic, Ricardo's electors travelled from Hallandale to Annheim since Hallandale had not certified by midnight. Martinez's electors claimed that the certification was valid after the deadline, though, because it had been held up by court proceedings, and travelled to Annheim to participate in the Electoral College.

As a result, on Friday afternoon the Electoral College had two slates of electors from Hallandale. After an hour of procedural maneuvering, the Electoral College voted to expel the Ricardo electors from Hallandale, instead accepting the Martinez electors, in a 290 to 285 vote with both Hallandale slates voting. With the Hallandale electors for Ricardo removed from the chamber, the remaining 260 Ricardo electors boycotted the election. The 275 Martinez electors, plus 15 electors for Liberal candidate Johannea Miranz, then formally elected Martinez as president.

Martinez issued a celebratory statement ("from the Office of the President-Elect") thanking her supporters and declaring the election "concluded." Ricardo has yet to speak publicly regarding the College's election, but the Labor Party denounced the proceedings as "an unlawful charade... President Ricardo's second term will begin on December 16th."

[Tumbra]

Dec 3
Straton, Tumbra

"And Eric and I would like to let you know you have our full support. Yes, if the Electoral College comes out in your favour then we shall wholeheartedly support you, Madam President. Indeed, it's a travesty that you haven't won the electoral college. Three million votes! We look forward to further updates from your camp. Goodbye, Madam President," Everett smiled warmly before terminating the telecall.

"Kenneth, that was extremely hasty. Our first statement would have sufficed. I understand your urgency, but there's a very big chance Martinez takes the electoral college. And if we're seen to have jumped the gun..." Eric Cooper-Jones, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, said cautiously.

"I understand, Eric. But we need to be decisive. Already there are rumours that Diaz from Lykens has congratulated Martinez. God knows what'll happen next." Everett's face hardened as he started rifling through some papers. One percentage point from winning. "This damn electoral system. On any other day we'd be congratulating Ricardo already."

"So why throw our hand down so quickly?"

"So that she knows we've got her back, putting her in a stronger position, letting her act a bit bolder, and when this is all over she'll owe some kind of debt to us."

"And if it fails? The Libs will be all over our arses about not respecting constitutional provisions or some nonsense."

"Then we trot out the argument that the will of the people must be listened to. A duty to democracy, my arse. Their bloody country will fall apart sooner or later. I always thought their damn electoral system was a fool's errand in this day and age."

"It can't get worse, can it? The report put out by Military Intelligence gives us a fair chance that this will all blow over soon."

"Military Intelligence is a title, Eric, not a descriptor. And knowing them, Eric, it can. Just watch the news tomorrow. I won't be surprised that if on Dec 16 there were two competing inaugurations just streets away from each other."

[Volga-Dnieper]

04.12.2020

Oceanian Elections: COMFOR Recognizes Ricardo

The recent elections in the Oceanian Republic, our principal partner in Talia Sound, have yielded unexpected results thanks to the peculiarities of the republican electoral system.

Unlike common parliamentary democracies like Lykensburg or Meronia, Oceanian Republic employs two-step election system: the general population elects representatives that comprise the so-called electoral college, which in turn elects the President of Oceania. This system, one of the few of such remaining in the world, is a legacy of the highly confederated former structure of Oceanian Republic and an environment that cannot transmit information on the electoral process sufficiently fast.

The recent elections showed up all the flaws of the system. Allison Ricardo, the former Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the notorious Elliot's government, run for the presidency against Danielle Martinez, an obscure young senator. Ricardo won by three million votes; however, she failed to score enough support in the college, allowing Martinez to seize the initiative and win, contrary to the expression of the people.

No member of the Presidium have voiced any opinion on the passed elections, including the Plenipotentiary on Mu-Kal Affairs, Mikhail Tikhomirov. However, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Anna Kalafatova, has voiced the official position of the CONPECOM on a press brief.

"We recognize that not all countries have modern democratic systems." COMFOR stated. After briefly outlining her position on electoral college, she stated that "if the state election process is not representing the direct will of people, then people must act and amend it", not excluding politicians acting as their leaders despite all limitations of that. The latest elections in Oceania showed "inadequacy of the system, a testament to a political crisis that allowed to manifest itself in certain recent events."

Comrade COMFOR ended the brief with this decisive statement: "I congratulate President Allison Ricardo of the Oceanian Republic. I wish her support of the Oceanian people and the resolve of steel she has always had to make changes where her country needs them the most."

It remains to be seen whether comrades responsible for Tano-Mukalese relations will make any other statements on the matter of Oceanian elections.

Alevtina M. Nikonova

[Tumbra]

Everett Government Throws Oceanian Election Situation Into Even More Chaos

While urging calm, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office throws an already extremely delicate situation off balance.

Jennifer Ralston, 7 Dec

We all know how destructive words can be. Simple sentences can encourage, break down, hurt or heal. The government, however, has somehow decided to use this power to throw the delicate situation in Oceania into even more chaos. In a statement released seemingly extremely hastily on Sunday morning, two days after the Oceanian Electoral College, in extremely dubious circumstances, elected Senator Danielle Martinez to the office of President, the government refused to acknowledge Ms. Martinez as the winner, implicitly throwing its support behind embattled incumbent President Alison Ricardo.

The statement seemed to spark much muted consternation amongst the public.

President Ricardo, has, unfortunately, been on the wrong end of an frankly outdated electoral system which has seen a three-and-a-half million vote lead translate into a thirty-vote deficit within Oceania's Electoral College. The system, which rewards winning by close margins, saw President Ricardo rack up huge margins in states that she won safely but losing the crucial states of Hallandale and Ames by razor-thin margins, gifting their entire slate of Presidential electors, and thus, the election, to Ms. Martinez.

Ms. Martinez was confirmed as the winner of the election in extremely curious circumstances on Friday, when all 260 Ricardo electors boycotted the election due to two competing slates of electors from Hallandale being sent to the certification process, and the College's subsequent decision to expel the Ricardo slate led to all Ricardo electors boycotting the election.

The subsequent mood in Oceania has been tense. Far from alleviating the tensions created by the election, it only seemed to have multiplied when I stepped onto the streets of Annheim early on Saturday morning. The government of Tanaya has expressed its muted support for Ms. Ricardo, while the Lykensburgish government has seemingly set its mind on endorsing Ms. Martinez, though both did not come with great fanfare.

The release of this statement, however, changed everything. In one fell swoop, ironically while encouraging calm in the situation, the Everett government has thrown oil onto the fire, stoking already heavily partisan tensions up north.

The question is - why? Why has the government chosen to do this now? The government's foreign policy has been nothing short of tepid over the past three years, and has nothing much to show for it except ascension to the Mu-Kal Union, something which began under previous administrations. What could the government stand to gain from a move such as this?

The world awaits with bated breath. Kenneth Everett has taken a gamble, indeed, a reckless one that could damage relations up north should Senator Martinez take office come December 16...

---

Straton
5 December - 11.15pm

The situation in Oceania had weighed heavily on Kenneth Everett's mind. He had put the idea of taking sides on a moratorium when it was clear the Cabinet could not agree on which side to take. Half of them wanted to endorse Ricardo, half of them didn't. In the end, that Cabinet meeting ended as one of the most unproductive in his term, and had landed him in an extremely bad mood.

Just twenty-four hours ago, the Oceanian Electoral College had confirmed Danielle Martinez as President-elect. The situation had gotten tenser.

Helen Everett had noticed, and retreated early to bed after tucking the two boys in. Kenneth felt guilty for neglecting her, but he pushed all guilt to the side as he settled down at his desk for a late-night session. Jane had advised him against this multiple times, but when Everett felt there was a need to get things done, he could not rest.

His phone vibrated. Alan? he mulled to himself. The Deputy PM had texted him.

Kenneth. Are you awake? We need to talk about Oceania. Natalie is on as well. G Foreman could be coming on. Instrumental.

I'll be on soon. What could be so important? Kenneth typed back.

We need to think of a plan B if Ricardo isn't elected. Natalie, George and I have been thinking, and we've got the solution.

Everett's eyes widened, then narrowed in suspicion. What plan could this be? Why wasn't Eric in the loop?

Does Eric know?

He doesn't need to.

I don't like this, Alan. If it's to do with anything foreign he needs to be in the loop.

Listen to us first.

It was enough for him. He fired up the teleconferencing app, and was called by Alan Philburn. The resulting conference call saw two other names around the table. Natalie Stern, the Home Affairs Minister (and by extension, the head of the intelligence community), and that wily old fox George Foreman.

"What's this about, then?"

"Prime Minister. Following today's Cabinet meeting we've come to the conclusion that we need a plan B in case Martinez does come to office. We spent several hours thinking, and the solution, as always, has come back to the old adage," Alan spoke.

"You will have the full support of the two of us. We know that the Cabinet will agree. We simply need you to claim this as an executive decision," Natalie began, softly but confidently.

"The old adage, Prime Minister," George Foreman's croaky voice began. "If we can't ensure a strong ally takes power, then we'll do our damndest to ensure a weak enemy does. And we know how to start."

Everett sighed, but slowly became more interested. "Tell me more."

---

6 December - 11.40am

"Kenneth, what the hell? I thought we'd decided on the angle that we would take this," Eric began, indignantly.

"Eric, I assure you, we are still progressing on that path, but times have changed and our course does also. I have made an executive decision."

"Without consulting me!"

"By all means, Eric, I did not wish to interrupt your sleep."

"That's a shite excuse, Kenneth, and you know I'm not taking it. This gamble had better be good. I'm not going to be your fucking scapegoat."

"I take it I can count on your support?"

"Five months before an election? I'm not quitting. Consider the support reluctant."

---

8 December - The Ten O' Clock News

"The issue that has been on everyone's mind recently - the Oceanian Election and Kenneth Everett's response to it - had some light shed on it today. While at an event at a new hospital in Carter City, the Prime Minister was asked for comment on the recent statement he put out with regards to the Oceanian election and he had this to say."

"Well, what more can I say? This is hardly related to the current event at hand, is it? I'd much rather talk about our new healthcare funding to ensure everyone can get through this recession as safely and healthily as possible. But since you are so persistent, allow me to drop a soundbite or two. Everything I have wished to put out in public, I have. It is evident at this point that the Electoral College has blatantly contravened the will of the people, has gone rogue, even. Constitutionally, yes, they have elected Senator Martinez, but the circumstances surrounding it are highly irregular, and the election could very well be thrown out. Rest assured that we arrived at this position following a long series of discussions within the government, and we have put much thought into this. Is this an expression of support for President Ricardo? No, we merely are stating that it is business as usual. Our position may change, or it may not, after December 16, depending on how the facts present themselves and the situation evolves. I will answer more questions, yes, in Question Time tomorrow should anyone ask them. Yes, including the Leader of the Opposition, and she can expect a full and frank reply from me on this issue when the time comes. I think that is enough for now. Good day."

"The Leader of the Opposition, when reached for comment, confirmed that she would be commenting on the issue at Question Time tomorrow."

"It is highly irregular for a sitting Prime Minister to be interfering in another country's affairs like this. I will be getting a full answer from the government about their stand on this election, in completely ignoring the constitutional practices of another country. Is this what our country stands for?" Anne Monteiro's voice and image emerged from the screen, looking slightly harried at the microphone being shoved in her face.

The stage had been set, the bait had been taken. Tomorrow's Question Time would prove to be pivotal in selling the message to the nation. And selling a message, Kenneth privately mused, was what he was best at. He turned off the TV, switched off the lights, and planted a small kiss on his wife's forehead before leading her to their room.

[Vienna Eliot]

Miranz: I was paid to "steal the election" for Martinez
Katelyn Ríos, Associated Press
^{December 11th, 2020}

The Liberal candidate for president, who threw her support behind Danielle Martinez, corroborated State House claims of fraud.

(AP) — Liberal presidential candidate Johannea Miranz said Friday evening that she was paid by foreign operatives from Lykens to "steal the election" by urging her electors to vote for Democratic candidate Danielle Martinez. The State House alleged last week that Lykensburgish operatives had made efforts to defraud the vote.

The statements, which came at a State House press conference, corroborate claims by the Government that foreign sources from Lykens have been attempting to influence the results of the election. Miranz, who received 15 electoral votes, urged her electors to cast their votes for Martinez shortly before the Electoral College met.

Attorney General Salvador O'Hara said that Miranz's confession came in return for amnesty from the Department of Justice. Her cooperation he said, in coordination with other witnesses, have ignited an investigation into foreign interference from Lykens and other foreign actors.

Martinez could not be reached for comment. The Labor Party announced that a statement would be forthcoming.

"It's shameful," said O'Hara. "And the Oceanian people will not stand for it."

[Volga-Dnieper]

11.12.2020

Oceanian Elections: A Fraud?

The situation in the Oceanian Republic continues to unfold.

Today, the candidate Johannea Miranz has accused the nation of Lykensburg of intervening in Oceanian elections. Although Miranz managed to get no more than 15 electors in the electoral college, her support was instrumental in tipping the unstable balance for Danielle Martinez, allowing her to win by a small margin over democratically elected candidate Allison Ricardo.

In her own words, Miranz received a paycheck from the Lykensburg government to topple the balance for Martinez. Her confession came in exchange for amnesty for this evident crime against Oceanian Republic and democracy as a whole.

People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs has issued a statement on this matter, which reiterated support for Allison Ricardo and called for a thorough investigation of the matter.

"We do not believe the Lykensburg government could have forced these elections to become the travesty of democracy." The statement concluded. "Tanayan Socialist People's Republic condemns such appalling intervention in the democratic process and is ready to aid the investigation however it can. And if the accusation is to be proved well-founded, the People's Commissariat of the Foreign Affairs will have this topic raised at the nearest meeting of the Assembly of the Mu-Kal Union."

Members of the Presidium of the CEC of the AoS of TSPR are yet to comment on the situation.

Alevtina M. Nikonova

[Vienna Eliot]

Violence, confusion plague communities in midst of election turmoil
Katelyn Ríos, Associated Press
^{December 12th, 2020}

Protests have erupted across Oceania as the result — and legitimacy — of the election remains in doubt.

(AP) — Danielle Martinez, a single mother of two living in a townhouse in Oliver, Amherst, had the facade of her home defaced Friday night after a group of protestors mistook her home for that of Democratic presidential candidate Danielle Martinez, who lives in Elicia.

"I just can't believe people would be so violent," said Martinez, the single mother, who did not vote in the election on December 1st. She said her children have been bullied at school for their last name, and that racial tensions have gotten worse in the college town she lives in after two weeks of political unrest. The Oceanian presidential election is now going into its third week of controversy after President Alison Ricardo won the nationwide popular vote, but Senator Danielle Martinez was controversially chosen by the Electoral College.

Others have also felt the nation's atmosphere shift. André Cardigan, an anchor with CNN, said on air that "the anger is palpable" in coastal cities that voted by big margins for Ricardo. And in Corpus, Elicia, the police killing of an unarmed latino protestor Friday morning has sparked nationwide outrage, especially in northern provinces like Elicia and Palo Alto.

In the past two days, protests have erupted across the nation's communities, some turning violent as police use force to quell them. Both pro-Ricardo protestors and pro-Martinez (and often anti-Ricardo) counterprotestors have taken to the streets, causing millions in property damage as protests turn into riots and arguments turn into street brawls.

Ricardo urges calm; Martinez defends protests
President Alison Ricardo, who lost the Electoral College vote but disputes the legitimacy of the election, urged Oceanians to remain calm and follow provincial curfew orders that have been implemented in response to the rising tensions. "Nothing good can come of violence," she said, adding that "the truth will prevail through democracy."

The federal government has not deployed the National Guard, Oceania's federal police force, to any locations yet, but Attorney General Salvador O'Hara and Communities Secretary Ana Ernst didn't rule it out of the question. "It may very well be necessary to use policing power to keep our communities safe," said Ernst, "but for now we are focusing on holistic measures."

On the contrary, Democratic Senator and presidential candidate Danielle Martinez defended the protests. "It is natural that this kind of frustration is going to emerge on to the streets," she said Saturday morning. "We can't chide people for being angry about what's happening now. I'm angry, too." Martinez declined to expressly condemn violence.

Election crisis rages on as courts refuse to step in
Federal and provincial courts have repeatedly refused to intervene in the election, leaving the ambiguous status quo in place.

A provincial court in Ames refused to take up a case questioning whether their election was properly certified, and the appellate court in the Hallandale Province dismissed a suit from Ricardo's electors from the state arguing that they were disenfranchised. "It is not in this Court's power to cast doubt on [the federal Electoral College]," the brief opinion read in part.

Federal courts, too, have declined to take up the case. Several cases were elevated from trial courts to appellate courts without trial, but each was dismissed on various grounds without commenting on the merits of the case (except for an appellate court in Palo Alto, where one judge concurred with the judgment dismissing the case using colorful language).

The High Court, which is not tasked with handling constitutional questions, has been especially difficult for litigants to get their case before. A request by the Martinez campaign to have Martinez certified the president-elect was rejected as a constitutional remedy, which only the National Council can grant, and a suit by all 285 Martinez electors (including 25 rejected electors from Hallandale) was remanded to a lower court and dismissed as a political question.

"I am not sure I am allowed to answer that question," said Associate Justice Harold Intonarl when asked what would trigger the High Court to intervene. "Whatever it is, that would have to be the worst case scenario."

[Lykens]

---

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State Counselor responds to Oceanian President's Attacks

12/11/2020

- Adela Méndez

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Rainerio Soto Press Briefing Room

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After being accused for the second time this month of orchestrating turmoil and fraud in the 2020 Oceanian Presidential Election, the State Counselor's office issued an immediate announcement for a press conference today, at 4:15 pm to forcefully rebut the claims. Condado Street had not forgotten the cyber attack on the Lykensburgish Public Health Service, which was orchestrated by Oceanian operatives at the direction of former Civic Union leader, Javier Bustillo. Charges were filed against the operatives, and extradition was ordered, however the Oceanian Cabinet under then President Vienna Eliot at the time blocked the move. Condado Street was mum about the move at the time, deferring comment to investigators who could not comment on active investigations.

Sources close to the State Counselor's office said that the State Counselor was furious at the move, but was intent on securing a multinational trade agreement with the support of Oceania, and chose to not press the matter at the time. However, when the shoe fell and Oceanian President Vienna Eliot was accused of orchestrating and covering up a genocide of Lykensburgish descended citizens of Oceania, the State Counselor muscled in an independent investigation of the findings, which eventually led to Vienna Eliot's resignation. Although State Counselor Kenneth Diaz counted Eliot among his closest allies in the MU, the ethnic cleansing of a group that Lykensburgers consider close cousins was the final straw, and the State Counselor did not reach out to the Oceanian President once the report was published.

Further rumors started that Vienna Eliot's successor, Allison Ricardo the former Foreign Affairs secretary, and Diaz enjoyed a tense but workable relationship spurred by Ricardo's opposition to the extradition of the aforementioned operatives, and cemented by an allegedly vicious rivalry spawned over a pair of equestrian competitions. Many shrugged off the rumors as gossip, but many of the reporters who happened to be at the meeting of the two during the summer where the equestrian competitions occurred noted hostile body language and some would say subtle passive aggressive language exchanged between the pair and their respective staffs. In any event, the two worked well together, working to build support for the Ricardo Plan, which called for cutting military budgets but otherwise boosting public spending to attempt to prop up the flailing economy. Mu-Kal has endured the recession relatively well, although job losses have been very high, they have not strained national welfare schemes to the breaking point at this time.

Sources say that the unofficial position of the government is support for Martinez, as she is unrelated to the previous Eliot administration as well as a member of the Lykenscian ethnic group. Her politics are to the right of the State Counselor's but there is hope inside of his office that discussion and guidance to the young leader could offer a partner in the southern Mu-Kal nation. The government strenuously denied any attempts to influence the election, however, declaring their commitment to the rule of law and the will of the people. The State Counselor even made a surprise appearance at the podium, after watching the press briefing from elsewhere in the residence, declaring that a solution was being worked out at the highest levels of the Mu-Kal Union, due out soon, before the inauguration of the next Oceanian President on December 16, and the upcoming Mu-Kal Assembly meeting on December 20. It remains to be seen whether this turmoil will subside before then, as broad parts of the populace have begun demonstrating and in some cases, rioting.

---

[Lykens]

19 Condado Street, Lykens, Lykens
December 11, 2020 4:15 PM
Rainerio Soto Press Briefing Room

The throng of reporters could feel the tension in the room, although no government officials had yet entered the space the air was thick with anticipation of their entrance. Many of the reporters had earlier in the afternoon pulled old archived articles about the cyber attack on the Lykensburgish Public Health Service, orchestrated by an Oceanian strategy firm, in anticipation of questioning the Press Secretary, Adrián Banderas, about the allegations levied by the President of Oceania herself.

Finally, a door to the briefing room from the Press Secretary’s Office behind it swung open, and a parade of officials walked out, taking their assorted places around the podium. At the podium stood Adrián Banderas, the Press Secretary, and behind him were several Cabinet Secretaries. Eneida Villalobos, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Cipriano Cortez, the Under Secretary of State for Mu-Kal and Nori, Tulio Robledo, the Under Secretary of State for Intelligence, and Salomé Núñez, the Under Secretary of State for Cyber Security surrounded by a gaggle of nameless staffers stood on either side of the podium area.

"Right folks, let's get started shall we?," a small smile sat on Adrián's lips.

"Let's start with the facts first, and then I will turn it over for questions. We will be very polite to the Secretaries of State that have gathered here with us today, and if you go over the line, you know I will shut it down. Let's not play games today, too much is at stake, hm?" His eyebrows went up as he finished his sentence. The assembled reporters grumbled acquiescence to his demand and he nodded, satisfied.

"As you are all aware, the Oceanian Republic, one of the Federal Republic's closest allies, held their presidential election earlier this month. Oceania operates under a presidential system, and to elect the President they assemble an electoral college composed of electors by state. In this election, the incumbent President, Allison Ricardo received 260 votes, and her challenger Danielle Martinez won 275. A third party challenger received 15 votes.

Under the Oceanian system, one needs a majority of votes in the electoral college, 276 votes. Obviously this makes the situation look deadlocked, however the third party challenger endorsed Danielle Martinez, ostensibly granting her 290 votes and the Presidency of Oceania, as dictated by the laws or Oceania. There is, however, a provision in Oceanian election law that grants a state’s electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote if a state does not certify their elections in time, in this instance, President Ricardo. While the government of Lykens supports the will of the people, Oceanian law is clear, Danielle Martinez was elected President of Oceania.

Unfortunately for the great people of Oceania, many of whom are descendants of ancient Lykensburgers, the incumbent President has refused to accept her defeat and launched an attack on the integrity of Oceanian elections, launching bogus lawsuits to challenge the certification of votes in certain states to run out the clock and be awarded their votes. This led to a disputed slate of electors in the state won by the third party challenger which complicated the electoral college vote held a few days ago where the majority of electors refused to seat the disputed slate, which then chose to boycott the vote, resulting in 0 electoral votes for President Rircardo.

You may be asking how did we get here today then, in the Press Briefing Room of the government of Lykens.

Well ladies and gentleman, you’re all by now aware of the lies viciously launched at Lykens, accusing this government of voter fraud and even paying the third party challenger to throw the election and sow chaos.

I will state unequivocally, that these allegations are false and have no basis in reality. The government of Lykens is not in the business of regime change, and certainly not in one of its closest allies. Allison Ricardo single handedly blocked extradition of the people responsible for the largest cyber attack in Lykens history in the runup to the elections last year, and has refused to answer any questions about her role in the genocide conducted by her predecessor while she served as a close deputy.

This government will not be cowed by an alleged architect of a genocide of our cousins, we will not. This government supports the rule of law, and congratulates Danielle Martinez on being elected the next President of Oceania, and we look forward to working with her for a better future for Lykensburgers, Lykenscians, Oceanians, and Mu-Kal as a whole. Telling lies to cling to power is a sad and desperate attempt to remain in power, and Lykens will not stand for it, we will not.

Now, we’ll open up the floor for questions, Gabriel?”

Gabriel Suero stood up, “A question for the Under Secretary of State for Cyber Security, have we seen any attempted cyber attacks during the Oceanian election? Our own election earlier this year?”

Salomé stepped up to the podium as Adrián stepped away, “We have not seen any major attacks on the scale of the PHS attack or any lesser attempts at this time. We remain vigilant and if any such attacks are made, we will let the public know.”

“Alicia.”

Alicia Moreno remained seated while she asked her question, causing Adrián to narrow his eyes at the woman. “If the government is not open to regime change, why is it backing Danielle Martinez when President Ricardo insists the situation is still in limbo?”

Adrián stepped forward to answer, flipping through his briefing book.

“Recognizing the winner of the Oceanian election is not anywhere ne-”

The door to the Press Secretary’s Office burst open, and three gunslingers entered the room, followed by the State Counselor. Every reporter sitting immediately stood as Kenneth Diaz stepped onto the raised platform that housed the podium.

He waved at the mass of reporters in front of him, “Please sit down, you all indulge formality too much in these settings.” As the reporters found their seats, Kenneth remained quiet and scanned the room.

He turned to face his press secretary, “Thank you Adrián for summarizing the recent events so succinctly, I really would be lost without you.”

Adrián chuckled and looked away before Kenneth returned his gaze to the reporters before him.

“I will answer your question, Alicia, by the way I loved your piece on how my government will bring about the financial ruin of the country, especially the bevy of quotes from the Civic Union, and none from experts or members of my government. Masterful writing, even if you were only telling one side of the story.”

Alicia shifted uncomfortably in her chair while the journalists on either side of her attempted to casually move their chairs away.

“Now to answer your question, regime change relies on a complete change of government, usually accompanied by outside force. There is no outside force being applied, I am simply extending my congratulations to the winner of the Oceanian Presidential election, as followed by Oceanian law.

I am not calling on Allison Ricardo to resign, but I hope she knows that her time in office is done, and allows for a peaceful transition of power, it’s what her constituents deserve. She is fanning the flames of violence and fear, as we can see in riots across the country, because she simply refuses to concede. Lives are at stake. She has already caused, through actions which we are still unaware of to this day either complicity or indifference, the deaths of thousands in Palo Alto. Today a Lykenscian protester was shot and their media refuse to acknowledge their ethnicity which most definitely played a part in the shooting and chaos. And now she is boosting a lie that this government paid Johannea Miraz to run and cause chaos.

It’s a bold faced lie, and President Ricardo knows it. There is no merit to these allegations, there is no proof of these allegations, and that is the last you will hear about these allegations from me. In any event, I look forward to meeting Danielle Martinez after her inauguration on the 16th at the Mu-Kal Assembly meeting on the 20th.

If we continue to see issues regarding this election in between now and then, all I can say is that high level discussions are underway to deliver a workable solution. That’ll be all folks, thank you.”
The throng of reporters leapt to their feet, jostling and shouting questions as Kenneth led his secretaries off of the platform and back into the recesses of the building. As soon as they were past the threshold, he turned to Eneida.

“Arrange a call with Martinez, make sure it gets through this time, last time I fired a warning shot, but if she wants to play dirty, I’ll shoot to kill. Queue up Arecelis and Candelaria, so we can prepare the rest of the Union.”

Eneida nodded as they continued down the hallway.

[Tumbra]

9 December
Prime Minister's Office

"These figures we've got, Prime Minister. Very worrying for the state of our businesses. They're all looking to expand up north, thanks to our saturated markets, but they're unwilling to at this time because of the situation. 57% of them have reported putting off business deals because of the uncertainty, 67% have reported that they're postponing expansion either by opening new branches or offices there. The mood is bad, extremely pessimistic, and it's unlikely to get better soon, unless the situation can be resolved. Which, of course, I'm not privy to how the public are reacting to the statement we put out." Colin Jones, the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry sat across the Prime Minister's oak table was briefing the Prime Minister. "And of course..."

"You said sixty-seven percent?"

"Indeed, Prime Minister."

Sunlight streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was a calm Wednesday morning. By any measure, anyone would be happy to start work. Everett's brow, however, furrowed as he studied the papers and charts in front of him.

"These are good figures, Colin. Excellent figures. I think we can use them later."

"By all means, Prime Minister. If I may ask, how have the public responded to your statement?"

"Our statement, Colin." Kenneth ruffled through some papers. "There we go. In favour, 46%. Shouldn't have said anything, 24%. No opinion, the remainder. Nothing like those buggers at the Couno Herald would say the response was. I think that's all, Colin. I'm having an early lunch, if you'd like to join me. You know, before that." Everett grimaced at the thought of the dispatch box. Of the weekly blood sport that was euphemistically called Prime Minister's Questions.

All Prime Ministers despise Prime Ministers' Questions. Even if they are masters of debate, even if they are the most charismatic of speakers. It is the simple act of being questioned, the apprehension of not knowing what blows will be landed on either side, that leads to this absolute hate. It is political theatre but also a blood sport. Blows exchanged, embarrassments had, but overall nothing will change. Nobody will land a killing blow on anyone in this hall of absolute chaos that the House devolves into for an hour every Wednesday. An act of saying everything to say nothing. What started as a straightforward way for the Opposition to get answers from the Government turned somehow into a spectator sport where the ultimate aim was not to kill, but to leave the opponent limping. And the one attacking typically had the advantage. Having stood on either side of the dispatch box, Everett much preferred attacking. Answering questions even one word wrongly could lead to wounds being licked over the next few days, weeks or even months.

He'd learned, of course, to manage the stress, but the dispatch box still held a kind of reluctance for him. But today he knew exactly what to say. He knew exactly what the Leader of the Opposition would ask. He knew how to sell his message. It was, after all, what got him into the chair in the Prime Minister's Office.

Colin Green nodded and smiled warmly. "Of course, Prime Minister."

---

House Chamber
11.55am

The House was cacophonous, as it was every Wednesday. PMQs typically attracted the highest attendances. Nobody wanted to miss out on history, after all. Committee business? Lawmaking? Nothing compared to this.

Everett walked into the Chamber, to jeers from the Opposition benches and cheers from the Government ones. He ignored the Opposition, gave friendly glances to fellow MPs, put his briefcase below the dispatch box, before sitting down in the middle of the front bench. Alan Philburn, of course, was already there, calm and composed as ever. No stranger to this, he leant in to whisper some words to the Prime Minister.

"First question's about transport."

Everett smiled. "I think I've got that down."

On his other side sat the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eric Cooper-Jones. He was a bit more on edge than usual, Kenneth noticed. A side effect of supporting a position he didn't really support.

"Eric."

"Kenneth."

"Let's not balls this up."

"I sure hope not."

He looked across the aisle, where Anne Monteiro, the Opposition Leader, was staring straight ahead. She was out for blood. She wouldn't get any.

The Speaker, Robert Croft, walked in. The House quietened to a heartbeat as it collectively stood, and then as he nodded, the hubbub resumed as it collectively sat, reaching a fever pitch as they waited for the three magical words.

"Prime Minister's Questions."

The incomprehensible growling that had replaced "hear, hear" erupted.

"Order. Order. ORDER!" The House quietened enough for his satisfaction. "The Member for Great Hale."

Calitlin Lamont stood, from her position at the top left of the Chamber, near the exit doors. It was her first question in over a year, and she was eager to make an impact. She'd worn a fitting white dress for the occasion.

"Number One, Prime Minister."

Everett rose. "This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today." The standard response to the standard question.

"The Member for Great Hale," the Speaker's voice boomed.

"Will the Prime Minister explain how his planned Inter-City High Speed Railway benefits the northern states such as Gamaliel?"

A simple question, designed to help him score some points.

"The Prime Minister!"

Kenneth rose.

"I thank my Right Honourable Friend for the question. The Inter City HSR was announced merely five months ago, but already concrete plans have been put in place for substantive investment, particularly along the Northern segment that will run from Straton to Denhelm, passing through Gamaliel. This railroad - which will boost our country's economy, firstly by creating jobs and revitalising local communities, then by increasing connectivity to our regions and allowing the benefits to be spread out from the economic hubs of our country - will help us all become prosperous, and united as our country grows just a tad smaller, but more interconnected. A two-day journey from one end of the country to the other will be cut down to just ten hours. And the HSR isn't all, too. In areas that already have railroads, we'll be increasing capacities along the major spines, allowing for more goods to be transported quicker, and at an environmentally friendlier rate. The Member for Great Hale can thus return to her constituents, tell them that good days are coming indeed for their towns - the backbone of our country - and eagerly await for future developments." Kenneth sat. No statistics required on this one - the two-day-to-ten-hour line was the selling point created in tandem with him and the Transport Minister, John Hammond, and it had sufficiently generated interest in the project. Easy slogan to sell. One down. He glanced at the House clock. 12.03.

Damn. Here she comes.

"The Member for Barker."

The Leader of the Opposition rose, her royal blue suit contrasting well with her autumnal complexion. As predicted, she cut straight to the point.

"Will the Prime Minister explain his statement regarding the elections of the Oceanian Republic that he released on the sixth of this month, and why he has so pointedly chosen to interfere in the constitutional processes of our northern neighbour?"

The Opposition benches jeered.

"ORDER. ORDERRRRRR. The Prime Minister."

This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. The glare of the lights, the stare of everyone. Kenneth struck his signature smile, then rose.

"I thank the Honourable Member for her question. I think that this has rather plagued her, for since our statement was released three days ago, that's all she's been thinking about. But since she's so insistent, and because she doesn't wish to listen to the answer I gave the media yesterday, I'll give her something she wants to hear now. We released that statement because Oceania is our nearest and dearest neighbour. We share the Talia Sound, we share a long and valued relationship. When they sneeze, we catch a cold. And they certainly have sneezed now."

"Our statement was simple enough. We expressed concern for the election of a candidate via undemocratic means, we stated that until the situation evolves, we shall deal with the recognised, incumbent President, and we expressed a hope for calm. Nothing that implies, as the Member opposite insinuates, that we are interfering in their elections, or ignoring the constitutional processes of Oceania. Their Electoral College has indeed gone rogue, ignoring the view of the people it is meant to represent. The situation is still very much in flux, it is still evolving, and for the Leader of the Opposition to say otherwise reflects on the values that she holds, and perhaps the values that she wishes to bring to Government."

He sat. Cheers erupted from the government benches.

"Madam Monteiro."

"Mr. Speaker, would the Honourable Gentleman opposite me agree that calling an election process explicitly put out in a country's Constitution undemocratic constitues interfering in another country's domestic affairs?"

Everett rose.

"The Prime Minister."

"Mr. Speaker, I believe expressing concern for the events up north does not quantify somebody as "interfering" in any constitutional processes. It is simply the opinion set out by this Government, and if they wish to look for parties interfering in election processes, they can simply look up north, where the Oceanian election process has allegedly been tainted by certain other countries! It is simply un-Tumbran to interfere in others' affairs - we are strictly neutral in every single one of our dealings with other countries, looking out for our interests, and will continue to do so. It is worth noting..."

Cheers erupted.

"ORDER," came the booming voice of the Speaker. "Let the Prime Minister speak."

Everett rose. He had the House twirled round his finger, and he knew it.

"It is worth noting, Mr. Speaker, that in a recent poll conducted by the Ministry of Commerce, 57% of them Tumbran businessmen intending to pursue business deals in Oceania reported putting off business deals because of the uncertainty, while 67% have reported that they're postponing expansion either by opening new branches or offices there. Two-thirds of people are putting off creating new jobs, new opportunities for people not just in Oceania, but in Tumbra as well. Is this really what we want, Mr. Speaker? For a more disconnected Mu-Kal? Taking an interest in events happening elsewhere does not mean that we are interfering with their events, but the Leader of the Opposition wishes to create this fantasy narrative that we are. Shocking, really."

"Madam Monteiro"

"Mr. Speaker, still the Prime Minister refuses to answer basic questions. Instead of giving straight answers to simple questions, he instead focuses on semantics. I will ask him this - does the Government support the government that is, in attempting to ignore democratic norms and desperately trying to hold on to Government in the form of Pres. Alison Ricardo, or does the government support the incoming democratically and legitimately elected government of Pres.-elect Danielle Martinez?"

"The Prime Minister."

"Mr. Speaker, I will first note that the Leader of the Opposition asked an extremely loaded question to me regarding who the Government supports. But since she wants a straight answer, I shall give it to her. Until the inauguration of a new President, or the re-inauguration of the current President on December 16, this government shall continue to deal with the incumbent President of the Oceanian Republic, Madam Alison Ricardo, and we may very well end up doing that anyway, Mr. Speaker, because this election has been highly controversial, seen democratic norms overturned left and right and has seen a result that is highly controversial legally and politically, and sets dangerous precedents should the results of this election be repeated!"

He sat down. The Labour benches rose in applause, their cheers drowning out all the opposition generated by the Liberal benches. In that moment, he knew he'd won. There was nothing more to argue. He let a smile escape from his face, the prepared, wide-eyed, Kenneth Everett smile.

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Public Responds to Everett's Salvo By Rewarding Him with Their Support

In a recent poll conducted by the Herald, support for the course of action taken by Everett increases drastically.