Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2012 11:13:20 GMT
There is no poll in this thread, a separate poll will be created on election day.
The Pilauan general election of 2012 will take place on Thursday 4 October to elect members to the 13th Parliament of Pilau. Voting will take place nationwide in 328 single-member constituencies (locally called ridings) for the lower house, the Legislative Assembly, using the first-past-the-post voting method. A further 2 MPs will be elected by Pilauans resident overseas (for less than five years).
Alongside elections to the Legislative Assembly, half (42) of the electable seats in the 110-member upper house, the Legislative Council, will also be elected, using the single transferable vote (STV) method. In addition to this, 1 Councillor will be elected by Pilauans resident overseas (for less than five years).
Background
In the 2007 general election, the centre-right Pilauan People's Party (PNP) won a landslide victory, taking 200 of the 330 seats in the Legislative Assembly (often simply called the Assembly). Historically, the PNP has ruled Pilau for 32 of the 49 years it has been independent. Between 1997 and 2002, the Pilauan Democratic League (PDL) formed the government with a majority of just 1 seat leading to an informal supply and confidence agreement with the Pilauan Socialist Party (PSP). The following general election in 2002 produced a hung parliament. The PDL lost its majority but, together with the PSP, won enough seats to form a coalition government: the first in Pilau's history. After 10 years of PDL, or PDL-led, government, the economy was stalling and various reforms to education, healthcare and taxation appeared to have been botched. Campaigning on a platform of "national renewal", the PNP won the largest majority in history.
However, their success in the Assembly was meted out by the results in the Council, due to the way the Council is composed. The Legislative Council (usually simply called the Council) is mostly elected: of the 110 members, 86 are elected (2 of these by Pilauans overseas). Of the remaining 24 members, 16 are appointed by the Prime Minister and 8 are appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. Such a system usually means the Council is more proportional than the Assembly. Due to the PNP having a super majority in the Assembly, any blocked votes by the Council could (and were) easily overturned.
Composition of Parliament at dissolution. The Legislative Assembly (left) is dominated by the PNP, whilst they have less than half of seats in the Legislative Council (right).
Campaign issues
Issues dominating the campaign trail this time round include economic policies, social policies, environment and - perhaps not surprisingly - republicanism. The parties of the left want Pilau to hold a republican referendum before the 50th anniversary of the country's independence next year. They argue that the British monarchy is unfair, undemocratic and un-Pilauan. They want to replace it with an elected, Pilauan head of state. However, they have come under criticism for the method of election (with the PDL and PSP wanting a joint-sitting of Parliament to elect such a "President of Pilau").
The parties of the left also want higher taxes on businesses, especially "mega-corps" that pay less overall tax than smaller, local businesses. Furthermore, they're largely pro-environment, wishing to stop all drilling for oils, minerals or other resources in Pilau's 137 million year old rainforests.
The PNP, meanwhile, is traditional, pro-economy and devoutly monarchist. They wish to maintain ties with the UK and the other Commonwealth Realms and retain the British monarch as Queen (or King) of Pilau. Whilst a large minority of the party oppose exploration of the country's rainforests for resources, they are just that: a minority; and the rest of the party is keen to allow big business to exploit the natural resources of Pilau to bring in substantial government revenue.
Social policies are high on the agenda after a highly publicised case of a mother loosing custody of her children because a district judge adhered to Islamic law (his own beliefs), despite Pilau being secular and the mother not being Muslim. Whilst just over 1/4 of the population is Muslim, this has ignited the debate over how much influence Islam has over secular Pilau; especially compared to other religious (or non-religious) groups.
Inter-party hostility is also in the news. The PNP has frequently attacked the PDL-PSP tactics in the Council, after the two parties effectively blocked almost all PNP bills from the Assembly. However, the PDL and PSP have defended their actions as "using what the constitution gives them", whilst Prime Minister Tuan Noh (PNP) called the parties "obstinate". In a counter-attack, the PDL and PSP leaderships both accused Prime Miniser Noh of being dictatorial with his majority in the Assembly.
Predictions
Most media outlets are predicting that the PNP will maintain a significant majority. However, the public have reacted negatively to the shift to more public and personal politics. Historically, politics in Pilau was kept in Parliament and elections were a quieter, reserved affair, however, over the last 5 or more years, politics has become much more public and vitriolic, a trait many have pinned onto the fiery Tuan Noh.
The Pilauan general election of 2012 will take place on Thursday 4 October to elect members to the 13th Parliament of Pilau. Voting will take place nationwide in 328 single-member constituencies (locally called ridings) for the lower house, the Legislative Assembly, using the first-past-the-post voting method. A further 2 MPs will be elected by Pilauans resident overseas (for less than five years).
Alongside elections to the Legislative Assembly, half (42) of the electable seats in the 110-member upper house, the Legislative Council, will also be elected, using the single transferable vote (STV) method. In addition to this, 1 Councillor will be elected by Pilauans resident overseas (for less than five years).
Background
In the 2007 general election, the centre-right Pilauan People's Party (PNP) won a landslide victory, taking 200 of the 330 seats in the Legislative Assembly (often simply called the Assembly). Historically, the PNP has ruled Pilau for 32 of the 49 years it has been independent. Between 1997 and 2002, the Pilauan Democratic League (PDL) formed the government with a majority of just 1 seat leading to an informal supply and confidence agreement with the Pilauan Socialist Party (PSP). The following general election in 2002 produced a hung parliament. The PDL lost its majority but, together with the PSP, won enough seats to form a coalition government: the first in Pilau's history. After 10 years of PDL, or PDL-led, government, the economy was stalling and various reforms to education, healthcare and taxation appeared to have been botched. Campaigning on a platform of "national renewal", the PNP won the largest majority in history.
However, their success in the Assembly was meted out by the results in the Council, due to the way the Council is composed. The Legislative Council (usually simply called the Council) is mostly elected: of the 110 members, 86 are elected (2 of these by Pilauans overseas). Of the remaining 24 members, 16 are appointed by the Prime Minister and 8 are appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. Such a system usually means the Council is more proportional than the Assembly. Due to the PNP having a super majority in the Assembly, any blocked votes by the Council could (and were) easily overturned.
Composition of Parliament at dissolution. The Legislative Assembly (left) is dominated by the PNP, whilst they have less than half of seats in the Legislative Council (right).
Campaign issues
Issues dominating the campaign trail this time round include economic policies, social policies, environment and - perhaps not surprisingly - republicanism. The parties of the left want Pilau to hold a republican referendum before the 50th anniversary of the country's independence next year. They argue that the British monarchy is unfair, undemocratic and un-Pilauan. They want to replace it with an elected, Pilauan head of state. However, they have come under criticism for the method of election (with the PDL and PSP wanting a joint-sitting of Parliament to elect such a "President of Pilau").
The parties of the left also want higher taxes on businesses, especially "mega-corps" that pay less overall tax than smaller, local businesses. Furthermore, they're largely pro-environment, wishing to stop all drilling for oils, minerals or other resources in Pilau's 137 million year old rainforests.
The PNP, meanwhile, is traditional, pro-economy and devoutly monarchist. They wish to maintain ties with the UK and the other Commonwealth Realms and retain the British monarch as Queen (or King) of Pilau. Whilst a large minority of the party oppose exploration of the country's rainforests for resources, they are just that: a minority; and the rest of the party is keen to allow big business to exploit the natural resources of Pilau to bring in substantial government revenue.
Social policies are high on the agenda after a highly publicised case of a mother loosing custody of her children because a district judge adhered to Islamic law (his own beliefs), despite Pilau being secular and the mother not being Muslim. Whilst just over 1/4 of the population is Muslim, this has ignited the debate over how much influence Islam has over secular Pilau; especially compared to other religious (or non-religious) groups.
Inter-party hostility is also in the news. The PNP has frequently attacked the PDL-PSP tactics in the Council, after the two parties effectively blocked almost all PNP bills from the Assembly. However, the PDL and PSP have defended their actions as "using what the constitution gives them", whilst Prime Minister Tuan Noh (PNP) called the parties "obstinate". In a counter-attack, the PDL and PSP leaderships both accused Prime Miniser Noh of being dictatorial with his majority in the Assembly.
Predictions
Most media outlets are predicting that the PNP will maintain a significant majority. However, the public have reacted negatively to the shift to more public and personal politics. Historically, politics in Pilau was kept in Parliament and elections were a quieter, reserved affair, however, over the last 5 or more years, politics has become much more public and vitriolic, a trait many have pinned onto the fiery Tuan Noh.