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A General Election for the 23rd Wiltshire National Assembly will be held on June 19, 3020 in which all 60 seats are open for election. The election was called on May 3 by Liberal Conservative Prime Minister Audrick Hill, who is seeking re-election as Prime Minister. This will be the second instance of direct proportional representation in a Wiltshire General Election, following the January 3020 vote - meaning that the proportion of seats for each party in the Assembly will match the proportion of seats each party received in the popular vote. (Candidates are also elected and any candidate that receives 1/250 of the popular vote jumps the party list and is automatically election, the only three people to have achieved this in the last election were Audrick Hill, Rita Smith and Wulf Heisig).
In addition, the election will be the first to ever be held on a Friday (which will also be a national holiday), in accordance with the Second Elections Act, 3020.
On May 15, 3020, the Electoral Commission announced that there were 5 parties that met the criteria to appear on the national ballot (Liberal Conservative, Socialist, Labour, KRV and the Progress Party).
Background
The election was called by Prime Minister Hill on May 3 and will be the second legislative election following Wiltshire's independence from the New Corporate Republic. The election will have the largest voter base in Wiltshirian history thanks to voting rights being extended to the citizens of East Newton and the expansion towards the coast.
Prior to the election, there was fears of an outbreak of the VIPR virus, with high concentrations of the disease in Washington E.R., however, coming into April - with the lockdown efforts of Mayor Alberto Siliotti, the outbreak was contained and Washington is expected to take part in the election.
The election will be the second to use direct proportional representation, meaning whatever percentage of the vote a party has, that will translate to the percentage of the seats in the Wiltshire National Assembly.
Beck's heart attack and Socialist leadership contest
In early May, Socialist Party Leader, Tony Beck, suffered from a mild heart attack. Given his age, 89 years old, Beck faced a challenge to his leadership of the Socialist Party going into the election. However, after a notably inspiring appearance just before the vote, the Socialist Party Assembly Members voted confidence in Beck's Leadership. Shortly after, the Prime Minister announced the date of the election.
Many attribute this to the LibCon poll boost after Beck's heart attack.
Criteria for ballot access
In order to appear on the national ballot, a political party needs to meet any two of the following criteria;
- Reach 10,000 signatures on a ballot petition
- Reach 3,000 individual donors
- Currently hold seats in the National Assembly
Controversy
In May 3020, it was announced that only 5 parties met the criteria for ballot access for the election, notably excluding the Conservative Party. This will be the first election since January 3010 that Wiltshirians won't be able to vote for the Conservative Party.
This is as a result of the Conservatives failing to reach two of the three criteria. They did meet one of them; hold seats in the National Assembly. However, they did not reach 3,000 individual donors and they did not reach 10,000 signatures on a ballot petition. According to the official report, the Conservative Party received 7,502 signatures and 455 individual donors, well short of the 3,000 needed.
Successful parties
- Liberal Conservative Party
- Socialist Party
- Labour Party
- KRV
- Progress Party
Parties and Leaders
Liberal Conservative Party
The Liberal Conservative Party is the party that currently holds government, in the form of the Third Hill Ministry (Wiltshire). The LibCons, as they are often referred to as, entered government when Audrick Hill was appointed Prime Minister by President Gaius Selan. While President Selan is not of the LibCon Party, the President has proclaimed support for the Hill government and endorsed them during their 3020 election campaigns. The Liberal Conservatives are a centre-right political party that prioritise military expansion, free market capitalism and tarkinism. The party was a combination of the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party in 3020.
Socialist Party
The Socialist Party is the main opposition party, currently led by Tony Beck. The Socialists were one of the two main political parties for most of Wiltshire's history before 3019, when they were replaced by the Labour Party. The Socialists are a left wing political party, mostly advocating for changes in society and the economy that would benefit the average Wiltshirian. These include social welfare reforms and an increased government welfare system. The Party has seen a renewed popularity since Wiltshire gained independence from the NCR.
Labour Party
The Labour Party is only a year and a half old, having been formed by Rita Smith following a split with the Socialists. Labour see themselves as the true ideological successors to Frank Eddington's Government of 3016 to 3019. Labour is centre-left and far more orientated to worker's rights and protections - i.e. they do not support massive structural changes to the economy. In addition, they continue to support President Selan's military expansion. Labour is led by Mark Edwin, who has announced his intention to become Prime Minister despite falling behind both the LibCons and Socialists in the polls.
KRV
The Körperschaftlich Reich Verband or Corporate Party is the sole ruling party in the NCR and ruled Wiltshire during the NCR occupation of Wiltshire. Following NCR's departure, however, they remained to become an electoral party. They base their platform much on the NCR's policies and claims success based on low unemployment during the NCR occupation. The KRV is led by former Deputy State Minister for Wiltshire, Wulf Heisig. Heisig, unlike much of the Thune Administration, did not leave Wiltshire but chose to remain and lead the far-right party.
Progress
Currently falling below the 2% threshold to win seats in the polls, Progress is a right-wing economically conservative party that is loudly in favour of wide spread economic reforms towards policies such as social and economic darwinism and extreme Laissez-faire policies. Progress is led by Social Sciences Professor Sid Velum.
Current Assembly
Based off the results of the February 3020 Wiltshire General Election, the Assembly is currently comprised as follows;
- Liberal Conservatives: 21 seats
- Socialists: 17 seats
- Conservatives: 8 seats
- Labour: 7 seats
- Progress: 4
- KRV: 3