Craitland USSO membership referendum, 1658

Craitland USSO membership referendum
28th February 2018

Should Craitland remain a full member of the Union of States around the Sovereign Oceans (USSO)?
Results
	Votes	%
Yes
No
Valid votes
Invalid votes
Total votes

The Craitland USSO membership referendum took place on 28 February 2018 throughout Craitland and its dependencies of Incontinentia, Lakkvia, New Vaduz and Zandarijn as a means of gauging public support towards either retaining or terminating the nation's full membership of the Union of States around the Sovereign Oceans.

The referendum's final results are expected to be published on 2 March 2018, with exit polls suggesting greater support toward a "no" vote.

Background

Craitland joined the USSO as a founding member of the organisation on 26 February 2017. The USSO was initially created in response to heightening tensions surrounding the Hammish Civil War by five nations with varied vested interests in the conflict. Craitland's historical ties with Hamland, which was one of the nation's strongest relations for a number of years, was cited by then-Prime Minister Hjaņ Berntsen as a key reason for joining the USSO, as the USSO entered the war with Craitland's involvement restricted purely to supplying aid to people in affected areas. Since the war's end, the USSO's focus has included economic endeavours and migration policies, though controversy surrounding the Florian Republic's membership and subsequent ejection overshadowed the organisation's work.

Discontent towards the USSO among Craits began to emerge around the time of the Florian Republic's accession to membership, with policy regarding membership becoming an important issue in parties' manifestos and campaigns ahead of the general election in September that year, in which the anti-USSO Liberal-Centre Alliance led by Iņa Aärnesen won a majority. Since Aärnesen's election, Craitish domestic politics have focused on holding a membership referendum, while the USSO has seen further involvement in conflict; the War of Lost Brothers fought over multiple continents becoming one of the bloodiest and drawn-out wars seen on Micras in recent memory. From the beginning of this war up until the run-up to the referendum date, anti-USSO sentiment in Craitland has since grown notably.

Administration

Following her party's successful election into power, Iņa Aärnesen timetabled a plan to hold the referendum in early 2018. After discussions, the Craitish parliament ultimately voted to set the date as 28 February; a decision first announced by Aärnesen on the social media site Whispr. The legislative branches of each of the four Craitish territories all voted unanimously to partake in the referendum.

Voting eligibility was established to match that of the mainland's general elections; namely registered citizens who are a minimum of 18 years of age with permanent residence in Craitish-owned territory.

To create a referendum that could be answered with a simple "yes" or "no" vote, it was decided that the question would be in regard to Craitland's full membership—the USSO offers three distinct tiers of association—and would ask if the nation should retain its current status.