Ransenari general election, 1698
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The Ransenari general election, 1698 was held over two days, between 13.XV.1698 AN and 14.XV.1698 AN, with 53,145,987 registered voters entitled to vote to elect the members of the Ransenari Congress. The election took place in 411 constituencies across Ransenar. The election saw the lowest voter turnout by percentage since the independence of Ransenar, with 48.7% of voters participating in the election.
The election year was tumultuous. The election was marked by the aftermath of the The Scouring and by the assassination of Wilson Hart, the popular leader of the Ransenari Liberation Party, in 6.XIII.1698 AN. The assassination of Hart triggered subsequent riots and unrest across the nation. Following the death of Wilson Hart, Lewis Rearden won the leadership of the RLP, promising to continue Hart's promises: to withdraw Ransenar from the Raspur Pact, get rid of the monarchy, invade Chryse and Elwynn to establish a Ransenari Republic with Chryse and the former Sovereign Confederation, and detach Ransenar from the greater National Humanism and Aldricist political spheres respectively, allowing it to chart a "new, independent path in the world". The decision to continue Hart's agressive agenda, especially the invasion of Chryse and [[Elwynn], reaffirmed the existing political "cordon sanitaire" around the party, with all other parties in the election ruling out a coalition or support for the RLP. The Agrarian Party of Ransenar and the Buffalo Party of Ransenar ran more energized campaigns than usual, capitalizing on the depressed support for the RLP after Hart's death and for the Imperial Democratic Party (IDP). They both ran campaigns presenting themselves as "third party solutions".
The election was bitterly contested and heavily focused around the party leaders more than usual, leading it to resemble a presidential campaign in many aspects. The top three leaders in popularity polling were Rearden (RLP), O'Toole (IDP), and MacRannall (BPR). O'Toole's "New Ransenar" platform called for social insurance programs, aggressive environmental actions to curb the effects of The Scouring, a reduction to an eight-hour workday, and a mix of regulation and deregulation in different sectors of the economy. Despite his domestic agenda being popular, O'Toole was often seen by Ransenari voters as weak on foreign affairs and defense, especially because he was heavily dependent on the Nationalist & Humanist Party's support in the Ransenari Congress to stay in office. This meant that he often was torn between being silent over The Scouring and the brutal aftermath of the Second Elwynnese Civil War. MacRannal's platform called for banking reform, new antitrust regulation, Raspur Pact reforms, and alignment with other nations seeking to address the nuclear holocaust in Elwynn. Jameson Moore of the Agrarian Party of Ransenar conducted a campaign based on a platform of populism, aggressive social programs to protect Ransenar's farming, and a withdrawal from the Raspur Pact's military structure and changing the membership to only an economic relationship. Moore also claimed the other three leaders were financed by trusts and corporations, attempting to galvanize support behind his agrarian policies.
The election ended with the Imperial Democratic Party winning the popular vote and the most seats in the Ransenari Congress, but failing to reach a majority. The depressed turnout of voters seemed to heavily affect the Ransenari Liberation Party, which could not sustain momentum after the Hart assasination, dropping to second place but only losing 8 seats. The Nationalist & Humanist Party, initially projected to lose almost all of its seats as the party publicly most associated with The Scouring, shocked everyone by performing better than expected, losing 13 seats. The Agrarian Party of Ransenar gained 5 seats. The Buffalo Party of Ransenar dramatically increased its share of seats, winning 29 seats.
Before, during, and after the elections, Rearden and the Ransenari Liberation Party attempted to subvert the election and overturn the results, falsely alleging widespread voter fraud and trying to influence the vote counting process in several swing constituencies and cities. Minister of Justice Eloise O'Dorcey and other election officials in each of the counties of Ransenar found no evidence of widespread fraud or irregularities in the election. The agencies overseeing election security said it was one of the most secure and transparent in the history of the country. For the first time in its history, all vote counting and tabulation was done via national broadcast on government-owned channels. Rearden and his allies, including many RLP members of the Ransenari Congress engaged in numerous attempts to overturn the results of the election by filing lawsuitsin several constituencies. All of the lawsuits filed were either dismissed or denied by the courts, some of them being judges that were approved and supported by the RLP in past Congresses. The RLP and Rearden worked hard to spread a myriad of conspiracy theories alleging fraud, especially around the assasination of Hart, who had now reached almost cult-like status inside the party he founded. This culminated in mobs of Rearden and RLP supporters attacking the offices of the National Electoral Commission on 23.XV.1698 AN, just a few days after the election and results certifications. Since the election results were certified, Rearden has said that he will never concede the election and that the next government is "illegitimate in the eyes of the people".
Several rounds of talks took place between different parties, with both the Buffalo Party of Ransenar and the Agrarian Party of Ransenar each issuing formal lists of conditions for their entrance into any potential coalition. For the Buffalo Party of Ransenar, it included a two-term limit for the Lord Chief Steward, compulsory voting in all elections, and for Ransenar to push for aggressive reforms to the Raspur Pact. The Agrarian Party of Ransenar included an aggressive program of support for Ransenari farmers and ranchers, environmental measures to address the effects of The Scouring, and a ban on nuclear weapons. The Agrarian Party of Ransenar also asked for commissions of inquiry to investigate the effects of The Scouring, draw up a report, and ask for reparations and damages from the government of Elwynn.
The government formation process had shown again the wide divisions between the parties, making it clear that forming a new government would not be easy. As of the start of 1700 AN, the government deadlock has not been resolved, with the previous coalition composed of the Imperial Democratic Party, the Nationalist & Humanist Party, and the Buffalo Party of Ransenar continuing as a caretaker government. Efforts to form a coalition have continued, with the Lord Protector issuing extensions and the Ransenari Congress passing several bills granting the caretaker government special powers to continue to govern while coalition negotiations continue.
On 12.II.1700 AN, caretaker Lord Chief Steward Robert O'Toole announced that they had secured the Nationalist & Humanist Party's support in a confidence-and-supply agreement, allowing the IDP to form a minority government.
