Jacobean Cildania (5321 - 5369)

[Wu Han]

General Election 5337‎
‎AgK seat share slides, while the BW and PLR suffer major losses to the newly-formed MLD; OtSB becomes largest party in the Council of Deputies
Harat, Principality of Gilzon
5 January 5337


General elections have been held at every level of Cildanian politics, the first since the passage of the Principalities, Counties, and Local Councils Act of 5336. As always, Fil-Prinċipalitajiet is dedicated to bringing detailed and timely analysis of the results from every Principality in the nation.



The main story of the general election is the surge of support for the newly-formed Movement for Freedom and Democracy (MLD) across the nation, particularly in the traditionally moderate Principality of Aheblun. Much of the party's success, however, comes at the expense of the Radical Labour Party (PLR) and One Flag (BW), both of which have moved radically to the left in recent years. The AgK, comprised (at the national level) of the Alagona Faction (FA) of Prime Minister Guiliano Alagona, and the Constitutionalist Party (PK) of Deputy Prime Minister Sigismondo Falzon, experienced losses to the far-right Order of Saint Sebastian (OtSB) and centre-right People's Choice (GtP), though these losses were smaller than some had anticipated. Goverment formation is likely to involve intensive negotiations, as parties generally remain opposed to forming government with the far-right OtSB and the new far-left MLD, founded explicitly on the principle of undermining Cildania's constitutional democracy.

In the gubernatorial elections, however, the AgK and its affiliated parties won three out of five races while the OtSB will win the governorship of the Principality of Kinaan, and the MLD will win the governorship of the Principality of Aheblun.



❧ Aqildar: PK holds Aqildar and elects Stiefnu Gauci-Saliba as governor

The PK grew its plurality in Aqildar, a principality traditionally favourable to the Constitutionalists, by 3 seats. Meanwhile, the left-leaning vote largely consolidated around the MLD, particularly in and around Belt-tal-Qam. The OtSB also maintained its presence in the more rural counties of the principality, expanding its seat count by 4. In the gubernatorial election, the PK's Stiefnu Gauci-Saliba, former mayor of Qart Qildar (5321-5326), was elected with a plurality of 36.43% of the popular vote in the only principality race openly contested by both the PK and FA. Notably, the son of former Prime Minster Alec Benaglia, Yan Benaglia, ran for the BW, obtaining 5.77% of the vote.



❧ Aheblun: MLD surges, winning governorship and plurality of Council seats

In a major upset that has shocked observers and analysts across the nation, the newly-formed MLD secured the plurality of seats allotted to the Aheblun delegation in the Council of Deputies, largely at the expense of the Constitutionalists. The far-left MLD over-performed expectations in the conservative-leaning region, surging past the BW which had, at one time, considered the principality to be a strong base of support.

The MLD's gubernatorial candidate Abdullah Achtouk was elected with a commanding lead over his challengers from the BW and the newly-formed Aheblun League (Lega ta' Aheblun; LtA). A lack of enthusiasm for the Constitutionalists and the Alagonistas in the principality suppressed the vote for LtA's Monica Bessaoud, whose party is affiliated nationally with the AgK. Though a syncretic party, Bessaoud's LtA is generally considered moderate; however, many conservatives and moderates in the principality chose to vote for the BW in order to prevent a left-wing candidate from winning. The figures show that had the BW and LtA cooperated, Achtouk would likely have placed second.



❧ Gilzon: Workers' Party of Gilzon Leader Kalċidon Matrenza elected governor, Alagona Faction holds left-leaning principality

In the Principality of Gilzon, it appears that the Alagona Faction (FA) of Prime Minister Guiliano Alagona will win the most seats once more, despite losing three seats. In 5332, Alagona was re-elected prime minister in large part due to his ability to breakthrough in the principality, which is a left-leaning region once thought to be an impenetrable stronghold of the Radical Labour Party (PLR); the PLR had, until 5332, won a large plurality of seats there in each election since the restoration of democracy in Cildania. As such, Alagona's toughest challenge was thought to be maintaining his support in Gilzon, in which it appears he has succeeded—an especially notable accomplishment given the surge of support for the far-left MLD across the nation.

Strong support for the FA in Gilzon, and a small but consistent presence of the PK in the principality, translated to victory for Kalċidon Matrenza in the gubernatorial race with 44.57% of the popular vote. Matrenza's Workers' Party of Gilzon (PtĦ) is a member of the AgK and was endorsed by the Alagonistas and the Constitutionalists, who did not field candidates against him. Prior to entering politics, Matrenza served as the first President of the University of Harat, one of the nation's most prestigious universities, with a reputation for left-wing and progressive campus politics. Matrenza founded the PtĦ in 5335, with the party's membership voting to join the AgK in 5336 in advance of the election. This move surprised a number of local observers, who anticipated that the UtĦ would seek national ties to the Radical Labour Party or another left-wing national party. Matrenza, however, defended his party’s decision by pointing towards the work of the AgK in leading the democratic consolidation of Cildania in the post-dictatorship period:

“Certainly, our party has many profound disagreements with the Constitutionalists and Alagonistas, especially on issues of economic policy, labour policy, and a woman’s right to choose” said Dr. Matrenza, “but the focus of our party is on delivering results for the working families of Gilzon, and we believe this will best be achieved by joining forces with the AgK which, on the whole, has proven itself committed to the development and protection of Cildania’s democracy—for nothing we want can be achieved without democracy.”



❧ Kinaan: OtSB rises to the top on the back of campaign against organized crime, MLD takes second place

In Kinaan, another surprising result came from the OtSB, which won the largest number of seats in the principality, while electing Zakkarija Lagriscti as governor with 29.25% of the vote. The AgK endorsed the Alagona Faction's Irnaten Rahaim who obtained 17.61%, followed by the BW's Thawles Kaber with 14.46%.

Since becoming leader of the OtSB, Dumniku Zammit-Barca has campaigned hard against crime and corruption, hammering home a message which seems to have resonated with voters in Kinaan. The BW, which was thought to have consolidated its position in the more moderate Principality of Kinaan, lost seats to the OtSB in part due to its national leadership's shift to the left on economic policy—the national party's support for sweeping nationalizations and moves toward central planning (as proposed in legislation brought to vote by Mattew Levanzin, leader of the PLR) is thought to have been particularly alienating to voters. Nevertheless, on the other end of the spectrum, the left-wing MLD surged to second place in Kinaan's Council of Deputies seat count, pulling voters primarily from the AgK parties.



❧ Jilrit: FA declares victory while GtP maintains steady growth

In Jilrit, the FA and GtP have tied with 15 seats each. Nevertheless, the FA has declared victory following the triumph of Elena Alagona, daughter of Prime Minister Guiliano Alagona, in that principality's gubernatorial race, with nearly 40% of the vote. The MLD, surprisingly, did not elect a single MLD deputy in Jilrit.

The most notable result, nevertheless, is that of People’s Choice (GtP) which had been led by ancient businessman Redentur Piscopo until his recent death. The populist party, grounded in Piscopo's famous maxim "give the people what they want!" has never commanded more than 13% of the vote, but has performed well in Jilrit consistently since its debut on the political scene in 5326. Within the Cildanian political system, the GtP operates as an intermediary party which, given the composition of the next Council of Deputies, may find itself relied upon by a larger party or group of parties in order to form government.

Having proposed and passed less legislation than any other party in the democratic period (one bill), the party remains limited by its inability to craft a nation-wide message to communicate its policy positions and ideological outlook to Cildanian voters; with the death of Piscopo, moreover, the party must ensure that the absence of his personal popularity does not harm the party in its stronghold of Jilrit moving forward.

Fil-Prinċipalitajiet (In the Principalities) is a newspaper focusing on regional and subnational issues of general interest. The newspaper is owned by Grupp Editorjali PNFP.

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Originally posted by Wu Han on 24 Jul 2023.