Gerenian parliamentary election, 2012

The Gerenian parliamentary election of 2012 was held on 26 August 2012 to elect the inaugural members of the Parliament.

Background

In July 2012, it was announced the creation of the Aiŷlat, the Parliament of Gerenia. An election was called to elect the members of both Houses (the National Assembly and the Higher Assembly). The country was divided into 21 Electoral Zones to elect the 100 members of the National Assembly, while the amount of votes in each province were taken into account to elect the 24 members of the Higher Assembly (three members per province).

Political parties in the nation were given a two-week period to apply for the election. As soon as their applications were accepted, they were allowed to start their campaigns.

Voting

In Gerenia, voting is compulsory for people between the ages of eighteen and sixty, and optional for people above sixty. In order to encourage participation, the government recommended people living in isolated areas to stay at nearby cities and towns the day before the election, eventually applying discounts for them in case they had to pay for lodging. People who had to use public means of transport were exempted to pay during the whole day upon showing of a certificate of voting to bus drivers and train ticket sellers.

People who did not take part in the election had to face fines, unless a reason for not voting was provided (e.g. illness). These people were given a three-month period to avoid punishment.

Parties

The parties contesting the election were the Independent Party of Gerenia, led by President Gerald Ruze, the Socialist Party of Gerenia, the Nationalist Party, the Conservative Party, the Popular Party, and the Hope Party. Of these, only the first three competed at a national level.

The Independent Party, the ruling party, sought to maintain their hegemony in the government through a majority in the Parliament. By the time of the election, the Independent Party leaned towards centre-right liberalism, and advocated economic liberalism.

The Socialist Party expressed as main goal to install a socialist government in Gerenia, and the "democratisation of economy" by founding labour unions for all branches of it. The Popular Party had similar views, but with a strong nationalist component.

Results

	Political party	Leader	Votes	%	National Assembly		Higher Assembly
					Elected	% of seats	Elected	% of seats
	Independent Party	Gerald Ruze	1,354,870	55.79	55	55	14	58.33
	Socialist Party	Elie Kolumb	545,254	22.46	22	22	4	16.67
	Nationalist Party	Peder Anvalat	291,921	11.99	13	13	6	25
	Hope Party	Gebreel Kevaly	119,484	4.90	7	7	0	0
	Popular Party	Aleksander Tarvas	106,849	4.37	3	3	0	0
	Conservative Party	Daniel Unvale	11,845	0.49	0	0	0	0
Total			2,430,223	100%	100	100	24	100