2021 Denolian Federal Election (Old RP/Defunct)

The 2021 Denolian Federal Election was held on April 11th, 2021 to elect members to the Denolian Union Assembly. After the election, the Union Assembly will elect the Chancellor. It was the first nation-wide election in the Union of Denolia.

The Election was overseen by the Denolian Election Commission, tasked with ensuring the election operates orderly and cleanly, as well as approving which political parties can appear on the ballot.

Results
The Union Party decisively won the election, with more than a supermajority of votes received from the national list, and with all provincial seats won by Union Party candidates. The Association for the Development of the Western Territory saw by far the worst of the results, as they gained only 1% of the votes and no seats, which might be due to its single-issue politics.

All Parties, except for the Liberal Party, have announced that they will form a “support coalition,” leaving the Liberal Party as the only potential opposition party.

It was soon announced that Wilton Gregor, former provisional-chancellor, would be elected as the first Chancellor of Denolia in a 63-2 Vote.

Background
After a long series of chaotic events known as the Denolian Revolution, the previous system of various independent feudal powers had been overthrown. After the victorious parties of the conflict came to an agreement on how the government of the now-united Denolia would be structured, the Union of Denolia was declared on March 28, 2021.
As part of the Union’s proclamation, the unicameral Union Assembly would become the nation’s federal legislature. The Assembly is also responsible for the election of the Chancellor, which acts as Denolia’s Head of Government.

After the Union was formed, the major factions of the Revolution formed the Union Party, a big-tent party based on the values of the founding factions, including democratization, market socialism and workers’ self-management, and constitutional-theocracy. The Union Party is by far the largest and most popular party of Denolia, with polls projecting a landslide win.

The Liberal Party, a center to center-right party based on the values of classical and economic liberalism, formed out of factions from the Revolution that refused to join the Union Party.

Several parties formed after the elections were officially in motion, including the Denolian Social Democratic Party, the Denolian Farmers’ Party, the Party of Associated Mariners, and the Association for the Development of the Western Territory. Unlike the Liberal Party, these parties have shown some degree of support or good-will towards the Union Party.

Issues Prevalent to the Election
Industrialization
A major concern for in Denolian politics in general is that of industrialization and modernization. The Union of Denolia is very undeveloped when compared to other nations in term of standard of living, technology, or economy. Thus, there has been a near unanimous agreement that some form of industrialization and/or modernization is to take place.

However, how industrialization is to exactly go about is a source of contention. The two major routes Denolian politics see is that Denolia could industrialize by heavily importing foreign technology, or Denolia could go about a more gradual, home-grown effort.
Proponents of the former route argue that trade and heavy importing will easily be the quickest way to advance, and could simply serve as a temporary measure to put Denolia at levels comparable with the rest of the world. Proponents of the latter route argue that relying solely upon foreign production for Denolian industrialization would leave Denolia vulnerable to “economic colonization” that would actively harm the Denolian economy, as it would not be able to make truly independent decisions, and thus Denolia should industrialize by either utilizing foreign knowledge or independently develop the needed knowledge to ensure the Denolian economy is both industrialized and independent.
These routes are known in Denolian Politics as the “Free-Trade Development” Route and “Independent Development” Route respectively.

The Union Party is internally split between these two factions, but most Union Party politicians, including Provisional Chancellor Wilton Gregor, have favored the Independent Development Route, although many of the same politicians have admitted that “some free-trade development compromise is required”. However, Independent Developmentist sentiments are usually those favored.
The Liberal Party is generally in favor of the Free-Trade Development route, arguing that “economic colonization” is either not a problem to begin with, or can be easily combatted with protectionist trade regulation, depending on the individual asked.
The Denolian Social Democratic Party has argued for favorably for the Free-Trade Development route, but party leadership has advocated for “policy much more in line with the values Independent Development”.
The Party of Associated Mariners, Denolian Farmers’ Party, and the Association for the Development of the Western Territory have all expressed heavily pro-Independent Development rhetoric.

Foreign Policy
Especially in the latter end of the election campaign, Denolia’s foreign policy and its place on the world stage became a matter of concern during the election. The concerns over foreign policy are heavily connected to the industrialization question, due to matters such as trade.

After the “Faighia Spat,” in which Denolian fisherman wandered into Gufand waters and were subsequently escorted out of their waters, the realization that foreign nations have far more advanced technology, particularly military, dawned upon Denolian politicians.
As a result of this epiphany, the Union Party promised a policy of building a “defense force” military, with other parties supporting this policy decision.

The Party of Associated Mariners, a political party dedicated to representing the fishermen and other aquatic sectors of Denolia, also saw a jump in popularity following the Spat, as they promised to bring policies to the table “that would protect Denolian fishermen from potential overseas complications”.