Oportian general election, 1730

The Oportian General Election of 1730 was held in Oportia starting on 12.VII.1730 AN and ending in 14.VII.1730 AN. The general election included a national election for the Federal Representative of Oportia, the bicameral Federal Congress, and the nation's mayoral and local elected offices. This is the second general election after Oportia's democratic evolution under its new constitutional framework established in 1722 AN after the 1721 Oportian protests. The election was marked for its high turnout of 92.77%, according to the State Electoral Commission of Oportia. Out of 12,367,233 registered voters, 11,473,082 voters cast their ballots.

The election campaign was dominated by a vigorous and markedly more negative by many of the participating parties and candidates. This election was mainly shaped by the ongoing stalemate with Operation Verdant Reach and the ongoing regional unrest, which has created a significant migrant crisis along Oportia's borders. Incumbent Federal Representative Céline Beaumont of the Liberal Progressive Party of Oportia (LPP) was ineligible to pursue a third term due to term limits established by the Constitution of Oportia. Retired General Henri Santos secured the nomination of the LPP for Federal Representative over the "peace candidate" Senator Clarke Lahaye of Pax. The Federal Conservative Union of Oportia (FCU), after facing severe internal rupture after the 1729 national referendum over the country's membership in the Xaiville Convention and the Raspur Pact. Split between pro-Xaiville and (the slightly larger) pro-Raspur factions, the FCU nominated the pro-Xaiville Senator from Pahlavye Lawrence Marchelier as its candidate for Federal Representative amidst a wide field of candidates in its primary, which included pro-Raspur Senator from Port Félix and former actress Galilea Montijo. This led to the FCU's entire pro-Raspur faction walking out of the party convention in III.1730 AN led by Montijo as its Federal Representative candidate, creating the Liberty Now! Movement (LNM). The Nationalist & Humanist Party of Oportia (NHP) renominated Fatima Al-Khamenei as its Federal Representative candidate, who ran in 1726, and the Green Party of Oportia (GPO) nominated Felicia Belanger.

The tone of the general election campaign was widely characterized as divisive, negative, and troubling. Marchelier faced controversy over his views on immigration and the Raspur Pact. During his campaign he sought to capitalize on the dissatisfaction in the LPP over the primary loss of Senator Lahaye as the new "peace candidate", advocating for a peaceful settlement in southeastern Eura and the end of Operation Verdant Reach. The contentious and violent 1729 Liberal Progressive Party Convention in Port d'Huile resulted in Santos inheriting a severely damaged political brand that not even its popular retiring leader, Celine Beaumont, could restore. Montijo faced several controversies, including incidents of violence against protestors at her political rallies and numerous affair allegations surrounding Montijo and her campaign manager, Carter Glass. Attacking Marchelier as "defeatist" and a "flip-flopper", Montijo was known for fiery, policy and theory-laden speeches supporting Operation Verdant Reach, and advocating for the protection of individual liberties, deregulation, economic liberalization, and limited government intervention. Santos' popularity leading up to the 1729 Liberal Progressive Party Convention never recovered post-convention violence and was further tarnished by concerns about his service briefly as Minister of Defense under Cesar Andre between 1718 AN to 1720 AN in relation to the events and strategies of maintaining order during the 1721 Oportian protests.

The election resulted in Senator Galilea Montijo (LNM) winning the election for Federal Representative of Oportia in a stunning upset, with 50.1% of the vote to Santos' 32.3% and Marchelier's 6.6%. The LNM was not able to secure legislative majorities in the bicameral Federal Congress, but took a significant amount of seats from both the LPP and the FCU. Montijo's surprise victory was perceived to have been assisted by the lack of campaigning of Santos and lack of enthusiasm for the LPP, as well as the influence of pro-Raspur voters and her larger-than-life, boisterous public persona. The NHP's Fatima Al-Khamenei received 5.8% of the vote, with the GPO's Felicia Belanger winning 4.6% of the vote. Independent candidate Jean Miterrand-Ghali ran once more, winning 1.7% of the vote.

Background

Electoral System

Federal Representative

Under the 1722 Constitution of Oportia, the Federal Representative of Oportia is elected to a five year term in a two-round election. If no candidate secures an absolute majority of votes in the first round, a second round if held two weeks later between the two candidates who received the most votes. To be listed on the first-round ballot, candidates needed to secure at least 500 signatures from national or local elected officials from different cities of Oportia, with no more than a tenth of these signatories from any single city or area.

Chamber of Deputies

The Chamber of Deputies of Oportia is composed of 263 Deputies elected directly by the voters from each of the city-states of Oportia. Deputies apportioned between the city-states of Oportia based on their population. The threshold for political parties or independent candidates to obtain a seat was set at 5%.

Senate of Oportia

The Senate of Oportia comprises of a two senators from each of the 15 city-states of Oportia, elected by the popular vote of the same.

Campaign

Major Parties and Candidates

Candidate	Party	Notes
Henri Santos	Liberal Progressive Party of Oportia (LPP)	Retired General, known for his moderate, pro-Raspur pro-democracy values. Former National Security Advisor to Celine Beaumont, former Minister of Defense under Cesar Andre.
Galilea Montijo	Liberty Now! Movement (LNM)	Promoting individual liberty, deregulation, libertarianism, a strong national defense agenda, pro-Raspur Pact, minimal state intervention in the economy.
Lawrence Marchelier	Federal Conservative Union of Oportia (FCU)	Promoting traditional values, fiscal conservatism, anti-Raspur Pact, pro-Xaiville Convention, independent foreign policy, withdraw from southeastern Eura, and end Operation Verdant Reach.
Fatima Al-Khamenei	Nationalist & Humanist Party of Oportia (NHP)	Also promoting traditional values and fiscal conservatism, while being pro-Raspur and Humanist.
Felicia Belanger	Green Party of Oportia (GPO)	Focuses on environmental issues, sustainability, and renewable energy policies.
Jean Miterrand-Ghali	Independent	An independent candidate with a platform emphasizing social justice, economic equity, and the establishment of social democracy in Oportia.

Results

Federal Representative

Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Notes
Galilea Montijo	Liberty Now! Movement (LNM)	5,757,391	50.1	Elected
Henri Santos	Liberal Progressive Party of Oportia (LPP)	3,707,833	32.3
Lawrence Marchelier	Federal Conservative Union of Oportia (FCU)	759,042	6.6
Fatima Al-Khamenei	Nationalist & Humanist Party of Oportia NHP)	665,439	5.8
Felicia Belanger	Green Party of Oportia (GPO)	528,165	4.6
Jean Miterrand-Ghali	Independent	195,212	1.7

Chamber of Deputies

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Liberal Progressive	3,298,543	28.8	119	-13
Liberty Now! Movement	3,200,000	27.9	114	New
Federal Conservative	2,292,616	20.0	52	-33
Nationalist & Humanist	1,147,308	10.0	26	+2
Green	687,615	6.0	16	-
Independent	847,000	7.3	10	-
Total	11,473,082	100.0	337	Maj: 169

Senate

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Liberty Now!	5,764,641	50.3	16	New
Liberal Progressive	4,102,913	35.8	14	-4
Federal Conservative	1,004,308	8.8	4	-6
Nationalist & Humanist	500,056	4.4	1	-2
Green	101,164	0.9	0	-3
Total	11,473,082	100.0	35	Maj: 18

Mayoralties

Party	Mayoralties Controlled	+/–
Liberal Progressive	8	-4
Liberty Now!	3	New
Federal Conservative	2	-
Nationalist & Humanist	1	-
Green	1	+1

See also

• Federal Representative of Oportia
• Federal Congress of Oportia
• Chamber of Deputies of Oportia
• Senate of Oportia