The results of the Zongongian Election have still not been announced to the public, after the election process was marred with difficulties. The election, scheduled for the 12th September, was partially delayed due to a superstorm on the day, with polling stations needing to shut after only several hours. Due to most voters being unable to attend, a second polling day was scheduled for the following week; however damage to infrastructure led to this being pushed a further week forward, to the 26th September.
Usually, Zongongian votes begin to be counted as soon as polls close, however between the weather-related disruption and the riots which rocked the country in the first half of this year, additional security was put into place to ensure no tampering with ballot boxes, delaying the count by a day. The count is now taking place, but results have not yet been announced for any constituencies. Regular procedure would have each constituency announce when the count for that constituency is finished; however, due to the heightened possibility of public unrest, results are to be collated and released in concurrent batches, to “minimise unhelpful speculation”, according to the country’s electoral commission.
The storm itself is expected to have an impact on the results, with communities along the Kerlian border angry that the existing government rejected Kerlian overtures to plan a joint response to the storm, which increased the damage to the region. The Kerlian proposal, which was offered “irrespective of usual relations”, according to the Council of Kerlile, would have allowed additional anti-storm fortifications in the contentious border zone; secured above-ground utilities infrastructure; and sped up responses to flooding in the area. The current Zongongian government rejected it out of hand, with only the statement “never trust a Kerlian”, which has caused discontent.
Opinion polling regarding the election has been wildly inconsistent, with the majority of pollsters now refusing to speculate on results. Some betting agencies had previously removed the option to bet on the election result due to being unable to calculate realistic odds in the run-up to the voting. Even exit polling, which is generally considered more accurate, appears to be unrealistic with a number of very new, single-issue parties predicted to take seats which have not changed hands in over a hundred years.
Results are now expected at some point this evening.
