What’s up for vote?
Voters in the Slokais Islands will go to the polls tomorrow to select a new President and legislators. With the future direction of the country up for vote, and a simmering insurgency in the often-restive Kaijan region casting a shadow over the vote, these elections may be more consequential than normal for Slokaisian residents. Here’s a brief primer on the election.
Presidential candidates
Joseph Zhang, Centrist Party
History: Born in 1965 in the North Valley, Zhang is a long-time politician. He was previously president from 2010-2016, and then from 2018 to the present. Zhang is known for reforming the Slokaisian economy after the 2008 economic crash there, and for taking a pro-business economic stance.
Platform: Socially conservative, with more liberal views on economics and healthcare. Emphasis on reducing state ownership of business. Promotes tax increases to provide free social services, and also promotes higher taxes on the middle and upper classes.
Joseph Chavez, National Alliance
History: Born on July 12 1979 in New Liverpool, Chavez attended the University of New Liverpool and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Theory. His political career began in 2000 when he ran for his local ward council. In 2004, he ran for Ward Mayor and won by a landslide. Chavez held the position until 2006, when he ran for Representative in the Slokaisian Legislature. He failed to win in 2006 but won in 2008. He then joined the Centrist Party and kept growing in his political influence until 2012, when he became the Minister of Transportation under President Joseph Zhang. In 2016, he was elected President. In 2018, he left the Centrist Party and created the new National Alliance party; he lost the presidential election but his new party managed to gain a majority of seats. Since then he has been the Prime Minister of Slokais.
Platform: Socially and economically left of center. Supports free government healthcare in conjunction with private healthcare. Supports reforming Kaijan so that it becomes more stable to prevent further violence, but also supports military action. Promotes increased spending on social services and climate change.
George Oliver, Conservative Party
History: Oliver was born on October 23rd, 1950 and grew up during the Second Slokasian Revolution. At 17, he joined the National Union Army and served until the war ended in 1970. Afterward, he joined the Slokasian Army and rose to the rank of Lieutenant in the 7th Infantry Division. He left the army in 1978 and joined the Conservative Party. In 1992 he was selected to be the Minister of Defense after being elected to the Slokaisian Legislature. He was Minister of Defense through 3 governmental changes until 2006. In 2008, Oliver ran for president and lost to Joseph Zhang after three rounds of voting. In May of 2020, Oliver caused outrage when he called indigenous rights protesters “thugs and criminals” and declared that if he is elected, president he would get rid of the Tribal Council.
Platform: Supports deregulation and a pro-business stance on the economy. Supports lower taxes. Promotes support for industrial workers, and retraining them as the economy becomes more tech-focused. Supports military action in Kaijan and thinks that the tribal council is part of the issues there.
Sean Khan, Green Party
History: Sean Simran Joseph Khan was born on May 14th, 1965 in West Valley Township. His parents were lawyers in a small town and he grew up close to the Silverado Mountains. Because of this he always had a passion for the environment and for nature. In college, he went to Graywood College and earned a degree in environmental law. He made his own law firm and often was involved in land management claims. During this period, Khan became part of the Green Party. In 1990, he won a seat in the Slokaisian Legislature. In 1992, Khan became the head of the Green Party. In 2000 he was elected President of Slokais. As president, he improved mass transit, protected large amounts of land, created an eco-tourism boom, and began to move the country towards renewable sources of fuel. However, in 2008, he lost after failing to stop an economic collapse due to the global recession. After that, he stepped down as Green Party leader, but kept working on the issues he championed during his presidency.
Platform: Socially liberal, supports public transport and development nationwide. Believes that to fix the crisis in Kaijan, you must support its development.
Micheal Spencer, New Right
History: Micheal Spencer was born on December 16th, 1975 in Hunter Township. In 1995, he burst onto the national political scene when he led a protest in Raytown against the establishment of a provincial tribal council. The protest turned violent, but Spencer gained fame within the Slokaisian right. In 2000, he was elected to the Slokaisian Legislature. In 2006, during the Kaijan War, he called for the removal of the Tuza people from New Liverpool and San Fernando City. In 2010, he voted against the establishment of the Tribal Council. He is very right-leaning on issues and promotes smaller government and a stronger military. Spencer is a highly controversial figure, accused both of committing murder and supporting far-right terror groups.
Other Candidates
The following candidates are also running, but are expected to have little impact on the race:
Left Party: Howard Alexander Walker
Socialist: Minmintao Johnson
Partido de Catolico: Reverend Gonzalo Micheals
Muslim Union: Lei Xiang
Pirate Party: Josphine Wells
Farmers Union: Paul Walker
Protestant Union: Reverend John Smith
Election Day eve polls showed the candidates as follows:
Joseph Chavez: 30%
Joseph Zhang: 27%
Micheal Spencer: 12%
Sean Khan: 12%
George Oliver: 10%
Howard Alexander Walker: 5%
Minmintao Johnson: 2%
Lei Xiang: 1%
Josphine Wells: 1%
Projections for the Legislature elections are as follows:
Kaijan unrest: Effect on the election
Along with the multi-faceted rivalries between the various Slokaisian parties, which have coalesced into alliances such as the “Grand Coalition” and the “Coalition for Slokais”, the other major issue looming over the polls on Election Eve is the ongoing fighting in the Kaijan region of the Slokais Islands, and the deeper underlying historic issue of Kaijanese separatism. Several conflicts have been fought throughout Slokaisian history prior to the current unrest, including a war from 2007 to 2010. There are also concerns that far-right groups such as Spencer’s New Right are stoking ethnic tension as a backlash to the current conflict.
The island of Kaijan, which is Muslim-majority and culturally and linguistically distinct from the rest of Slokais, is now posing a major issue for the participants in the Slokaisian elections. The recent unrest was sparked by an uprising led by a group calling itself the Kaijan League, an Islamist group which has been designated as a terrorist organization by several countries. Federal troops have been deployed to deal with the uprising, but have so far been ineffective in regaining control of areas seized by the Kaijan League or in ending the uprising itself. With the government response seen as possibly stumbling, incumbent President Joseph Zhang’s political career, and the hopes of his political allies, could well be the latest casualties of the conflict.
Information for this article was shared by our partners the New Liverpool Daily Newswire and La Sentinelle.
