Midean Elections

The election season is now in full-swing in Midancient, with legislative elections on the national level and the usual planetary and stellar elections at the lower levels of government. With Midancient recently initiating diplomatic relations with other nations, this election is widely regarded as critical in determining how Midancient will progress as it joins the other galactic powers.

As per Midancient law, all 800 seats of the Assembly and the position of Speaker of the Assembly are up for election. In the Senate, no stellar senators are up for re-election, but half of the planetary senators are, meaning that planetary assemblies will be choosing who will fill 51 seats on the Senate.

Given that senators are chosen by the planetary assemblies rather than by popular vote, it is unlikely that the Senate, which holds oversight authority over the executive branch, will significantly change in regards to the apportionment of the various parties within it. It is expected that the National Security Party will keep its current six seats and will likely manage to win several more, but as they are very much a minority party, such is not likely to significantly influence Senate policy and collective opinion.

The Assembly, on the other hand, being subject to a popular vote, is quite likely to shift in its composition. It is expected that the National Security Party (currently with 38 seats) will take a large number of seats from the Free Liberty Party (currently with 195 seats) and a fair number from the Populist Democratic Party (currently with 218 seats) and the Social Labor Party (currently with 248 seats and the speaker) and could very well cause the Green Party (currently 22 seats) and Social Morality Party (currently 17 seats) to lose most, if not all, of their current seats. Should the National Security Party gain enough votes in the Assembly, it is entirely possible that Midancient will become a far more isolationist, nationalistic, and militaristic nation. While the position of the speaker is not up for election, a strengthening of the National Security Party in the general ranks of the Assembly would nonetheless begin to negatively impact Midean diplomatic efforts.


(OOC: Feel free to provide international input on the election; I'll be taking into account any posts when I decide how I'll be RPing Midancient until it holds its next elections. Obviously, Sela, Panzer, and Sacae would have the most influence, given that they're the only ones who currently have embassies in Midancient, but anyone is welcome to get involved, distribute propaganda to my citizens through front groups, give money to parties through front groups, etc. Only major rule is that foreign powers cannot directly influence Midean politics.)

(OOC: Sure thing. Not sure how much I can RP)

*Ordenreich Embassy, Midos-3 Orbit, Ambassador: Order Scribe Henry von Livenstein*

*Order Scribe Henry issued a statement wishing luck to all the candidates of the Midancient elections and looks forward to conduct business with the winners*

Officially, the Rhean and Bastian governments remain neutral. Unofficially, they would back the Free Liberty Party.

The Peacekeepers, as the leading faction in Centauri politics and the controlling force in foreign affairs, chooses to unofficially support the Populist Democratic Party under the table under the direction of Brother Lal, due to how closely the goals of the Populist Democratic Party align with the social engineering put into place by the Peacekeepers. A few memetic engineers design propaganda designed to appeal to the Midean people's sensibilities that supports the ideals of the Populist Democrats, though they do not overtly offer support to the party, as well as propaganda lambasting the ideals of the National Security Party, as having an isolationist party have a major say in the Midean government would be... a nuisance in the newly established relationship, to say the least.

Officially, the Planetary Governate remains completely neutral, and Brother Lal simply sends a message to the Midean people congratulating their adherence to democratic ideals and wishing all of the candidates best of luck as well as cooperation with whoever takes power next.

Officially, the Dominion says nothing about the Midean Elections other than a few commentaries made during their own nightly news shows. Most of the commentaries seemed to dismiss the democratic institutions of the Midean government, with many analysts and authorities preaching the same ideas of the Dominion. "It is foolish to allow political fraction within government institutions. Political factions only lead to choked legislatures and lead to political divisions among the people." These sentiments were basically echoed throughout each show, if not slightly different from show to show.

Unofficially, however, the Dominion took interest in the Midean elections or more specifically the success of the National Security Party. After all, nationalism and militarism were staples of the Dominion and its own policies. Having another planetary power more closely align with them could no doubt prove useful in the future. Agents from the Dominion, thus travel from Veridia Prime to Alpha Centauri, catching a flight from there to Medean's capital planet to get in touch with the National Security party officials. Technically, these agents were business men from popular industries of Veridia Prime and had no official connections with the government. However, anyone who took a close enough glance at Veridia Prime's private sector would soon realize the lines between them and the government were blurred at best. They would come to the party officials with gifts...the promise of money (once they determined the transfer rate)...lots of money.

(OOC: I really wanna use your post to ignite a civil war in Midancient, Veridia... I'm thinking of using the fact that the NSP was working with a foreign power to create a political rift... not sure, though... )

(OOC: That would be indeed interesting. If it does happen, I think I shall have the Bastians move in. Want to use them more.)

(OOC: Indeed. )


With the support provided by the Veridians, the National Security Party has managed to rise to greater prominence, and recent polls give the party the full support of about 17% of the nation, a significant leap in prominence since winning only 4.75% of the Assembly in the previous election, with another 20% of those polled saying that they support at least some portion of the party's platform.

At the same time, the Free Liberty Party and the Populist Democratic Parties have used their foreign support to maintain their current standings, with many polls predicting that they main actually gain a few seats apiece. With the NSP working against them, though, any gains are predicted to be minimal.

The Social Morality Party and the Green Party are polling extremely low, with most analysts predicting only two or three seats will be won by each in the coming election. The Social Labor Party has also taken a beating by the Populist Democratic Party, as the PDP appeals to more moderate liberals who have been swayed away from the SLP by the move right by many parties as they seek to appeal to those swayed by the recent wave of isolationism.

(OOC: Well as those Veridians who were sent are suppose to represent a few wealthy Veridians who've taken interest in Midean politics, that they are, unofficially, agents of the state would of course mean that the Veridian Dominion itself would get involved. Although, naturally, in a diplomatic ways so as not to raise already heighten suspicions ....In short I'm game with helping incite a civil war )

(OOC: Awesome... maybe let slip to an aspiring politician in the NSP that they're backed by the Veridian government, so there's a good chance of them winning? And then I suppose I could have that politician tell his friends, etc. I dunno... I'll find a way to spin whatever you end up doing, so be as creative as you care to be.)

(OOC#2: Guess this means I should finish my military factbook... )

(OOC: Taking, shall we say, some "writer's liberty" here Midancient. If I've portrayed the National Security Party badly in anyway, just say so and I'll edit this post accordingly.)

IC:
After having little trouble arriving on the Midean homeworld, the Veridian Businessmen (a group of five led, if unofficially, by a man called Lucian) took its some of the sites and sounds of the Midean culture. Naturally, they found it far less stimulating than their own but then again their social engineering by the Dominion ensure such a conditioned response. After taking sometime as tourists of a foreign world, the group took in several public meetings of the National Security Party. They listened with eager ears as the party leaders and politicians running on the party's platform outline the party's vision for a better Midancient. Though there were some discrepancy between the party's platform and the Dominion's own policies, there were naturally enough there to see the similarities the Dominion was hoping to find.

Thus, shortly after one of the last rallies they attended, they introduced themselves. Lucian was the most vocal of the group, discussing with the party representatives that would speak to them. He told them that they came from Veridia Prime, a planet that had no formal relations with their own but one that was currently following their elections through common relations with the Centauri. The two talked at length about policy and, more importantly, the roles of nationalism and militarism in society. Eventually, Lucian proposed a donation to the party. It would come in the form of a resource to which both the Mideans and Veridians held monetary value and something the party could easily sale for the credits they needed to run a successful campaign.

Deliveries of this payment happened almost immediately after an agreement was struck, and the National Security Party soon found themselves filling their campaign coffers with money they did not previously believed they'd ever be able to raise for their campaign. Of course given the large sums that were now being collected, there grew concern among the party ranks that it would soon get them into political trouble. Lucian was may aware of this and was asked if he an his associates were willing to help if trouble was indeed made. Lucian's response was simple, "the Dominion always takes care of its own and their investments." It was an ambiguous statement that easily conferred the Dominion's involvement but also left room to question such an inquiry.

(OOC: Nah, sounds good, I rather like where this is going. )

With the massive influx of wealth into the NSP's coffers, most analysts and pollsters are now predicting that between 26 and 34 percent of the Assembly, potentially enough to significantly influence at least the more controversial of legislation where the NSP can ally with less powerful right-wing parties. In particular, there have been many talks between the NSP and the Social Morality Party to join forces to pursue their common interests together, rather than work against each other.

The recent jump in popularity and wealth of the NSP has caused some far-left commentators to begin to question the legitimacy of their campaign, but for the most part, the leaders of the left-leaning and left-wing parties have simply attributed it to the recent wave of isolationism that has been sweeping much of the nation and have redoubled their efforts to increase support for their own parties.

For the first time in recent history, the Social Labor Party and the Populist Democratic Party, both fairly left-wing yet historically deeply divided over how radically to pursue a liberal agenda, have formed a loose coalition in an attempt to unite their constituencies in the common goal of defeating the NSP in the rapidly approaching elections week. The Green Party has also given its support to and received support from this new coalition, although it has yet to actually join it.

On the other hand, the Fiscal Responsibility Party and the Free Liberty Party have also formed a somewhat more cohesive coalition, having better reconciled their views in the interest of simply maintaining some presence , as both parties fully recognize that with the rapidly developing left-wing and right-wing coalitions, the possibility of a strong libertarian showering is growing ever dimmer with each passing day.

The Chancellor, President, and Speaker have also all taken a particular interest in this election; all hailing from the SLP, except for the Chancellor from the PDP, they have a very definite interest in maintaining the standing liberal control of the legislature.

Rather alarmed at this, the Bastian emperor, known in English as Gaius Marius II because his real name is unpronounceable to humans, sends delegates of his own to Midancient consisting of the three species of the Bastian Dominion. The leader, a Sobekian (think talking deathclaw) named Xarn, made talking with the Free Liberty Party and the Fiscal Responsibility his priority. He also proceeds to donate a fair sum to them. However, they engage in talks with the left wing parties as well for the cause of maintaining peace. Openly doing so as Bastian delegates may have been a mistake, though, particularly when combined with the unusual form of the three species, especially the Sobekians and the Neithians, who resemble a cross between spiders and octopi. It doesn't help that the Bastians cannot form English words due their vocal structure and that the Neithians are deaf and communicate through colors. Sobekians are the only ones who can properly communicate with humans and their appearance is likely terrifying.

*The Ordenreich ambassador, Order Scribe Henry decided to not attempt to influence the Midean race. The Ordenreich had nothing to gain from manipulating another power it had just met and so decided to stay neutral. However, Scribe Henry decided to see this form of democracy in action by wandering the various cities and towns of the Midean homeworld. He dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Ordenreich and delegated his duties to his second-in-command. Once that was done he began observing the democratic process and took mental notes of it as the Ordenreich had only a little democracy in the form of city and planetary govenor elections but nothing beyond that. His visit was unofficial and he brought no guards so apart from causing local shopowners to have heart attacks in the presence of an alien diplomat coming into their stores unexpected and asking questions about the elections he was harmless.*

(OOC: I'm picturing a baker carrying a cake, seeing Henry walk into their store, and then just falling down right onto the cake. )

(OOC#2: I'll reply later, after I've taken care of the various tests and projects and readings I have today.)

(OOC: Maybe lol. I just think an alien and a diplomat alien would cause some people to be startled)

Agents of the Planetary Governate monitoring the developments of the elections in Midancient are startled by the strong and rapid turn to nationalism and isolationism by the Mideans. A turn to such policies would be... unfortunate, and it would certainly hamper attempts to influence this only recently contacted state, and as a result the Governate continues to offer support to the PDP, now the socialist and liberal coalition. Though the Planetary Governate was not quite ready to go so low as to directly offer funds to the group, as Lal found the idea of using money to directly affect an election morally and ethically unacceptable, he was quite willing to indirectly influence it in any way he could.

And thus through front groups not so dissimilar to the Super PACs in 21st century America, memetic engineers under the direction of Brother Lal create elaborate works of propaganda designed to appeal to voters in a rather fundamental fashion and begin to buy space for them on the Midean media, though the involvement remains completely undercover and there is no direct attempt to support or oppose any party. Rather, the advertisements are for more general concepts like democratic government, international cooperation, social democracy, and anti-militarism. The ads are more designed to limit the right-wing more than anything - though they would prefer liberals remain in power, the libertarians would be acceptable as well, and so long as the nationalist element of the right-wing did not come into prominence the Governate would be satisfied enough.

(OOC: It goes to show how freaked out the Bastians are when they are a fairly conservative society, given that they've been a monarchy for a very long time.)

(OOC: Well, in practice, the Chancellor generally serves for several decades unless they seriously screw up, since they're elected through the Senate, which is elected by the various planetary and stellar assemblies... the election of the Chancellor is so far removed from the general populace that it takes a lot to unseat him/her. But, otherwise, Midancient is traditionally fairly liberal, yeah...)

As various foreign influences begin to throw their support behind various parties, the political scene in Midancient has become more divided and heated than ever before in recent history. For the first time in at least two or three centuries, there is a chance of the right-wing taking a significant portion of the vote in a national election, and for the first time in decades the political discussion throughout the nation has become extremely heated. Tensions are rising ever higher in the offices of political party headquarters and political leaders have been closely following changes of even a tenth of a percentage point in polls, in a political culture that has historically been followed by no less than three-quarters of a percentage point.

Given the massive expansion of funding across all parties, the Secretary of Elections has called for an investigation of the parties' finances, focusing specifically on comparing their financial records from the past several elections to this one and looking more closely at the sources of that funding. The call, however, is likely to go unheeded unless endorsed by the Keeper of the State, especially since there are only a few weeks until the elections begin, and so a lack of time to sufficiently investigate and announce a definitive ruling before the first votes are cast.

The call, however, has been taken up by the more extreme of party leaders, with the left-wing calling foul of the right and vice versa, and with party leaders scrambling to clean-up their financial records and ensure that any foreign money has been sufficiently laundered.

The three coalitions are now rapidly approaching a three-way tie in the electorate, with the right and libertarian wings both holding roughly 30% of the nation and the left wing holding roughly 40%.

When the calls for examination of party funding are made, Lal is privately very smug for ordering that the money be directly spent for the dissemination of propaganda on advertisements, not given to the various parties. Besides that, however, nothing more is done.

Having apparently caught wind of other large states intervening in Midean affairs, Burnination condemns the interference of any government in the internal affairs of another government.

(OOC: Best post so far, Burn. )

(OOC#2: Gonna jump forward a couple weeks, just over a week before Elections Week, for the sake of speeding things along.)

With the political deadlock still very much holding back the progress of all of the parties, the Keeper of the State has finally endorsed the call to investigate the financial records of the three coalitions, spurred at least in part by a desire to put the right-wing out of the election to keep the left-wing in command of the government. Given that there are only eight days until the election, however, the investigation was ordered to be as quick as possible, but also as thorough as possible, given the time constraints. With the Keeper of the State backing the call to investigate, the Keeper of the Treasury has agreed to turn-over the parties' tax records and income and expense reports and the Director of Security has turned the attention of his Financial Crimes, Electoral Fraud, and Corruption Units towards furthering the investigation.

Naturally, the investigation focused primarily on the National Security Party, the first to exhibit signs of potential legal infractions, although to maintain an image of fairness and transparency the Director of Security also ordered investigations of the left-wing coalition (now named the "Democratic Populist Labor Coalition" and made official for at least this election) and the libertarian coalition (now officially named the "Libertarian Front Coalition" for at least this election). Due to the nature of the allegations against the NSP, the Social Morality Party has abandoned the idea of forming a right-wing coalition with the NSP. While the Green Party has also officially shut-down any idea of joining the DPLC for the same reason, they have nonetheless continued to endorse it, though have decided not to accept financial support in return as originally planned.

As per Midean National Law, the parties involved have been ordered to turn-over their records within 8 hours, a far cry from the usual 72 to 96, and have been threatened with an official police search of their headquarters and various offices if they fail to comply, something allowed under the "Emergency Police Powers Act" passed around 235 years ago, which allows investigators to by-pass having to obtain a warrant in a criminal or foreign investigation if the matter is deemed to be of significant urgency or of a nature that would make giving the accused advance warning of a search impractical.

Bastian money should not be hard to find, considering that they pretty much openly did so.

The Democratic Populist Labor Coalition, having distanced themselves from foreign money as much as possible from the beginning, freely surrendered their records within a few hours, knowing that the first party to do so would be the least likely to be publicly indicted and condemned.

The National Security Party and the Libertarian Front Coalition were a little more hesitant, and sent partially redacted copies of their records about two hours after the DPLC released theirs, citing the privacy rights of their contributors as the reason for the redactions. Upon receiving the redacted documents, the National Guard immediately notified the two groups that their deadline gave them only a few more hours, in response to which both groups filed separate lawsuits to force the Guard to obtain proper warrants should they continue to demand the un-redacted records. At the same time, they filed a joint lawsuit against the Keepers of the State and of the Treasury, the Secretary of Elections, and the Director of Security alleging that they had used their positions to slander and libel the NSP and the LFC in order to further the cause of the left-wing, citing the DPLC as a direct beneficiary of the investigations.

For the first time so far in the debacle, the Chancellor has intervened by formally asking the Midean High Court (which holds jurisdiction over matters of a national election) to reject the lawsuits as frivolous and merely seeking to unreasonably stall a crucial government investigation. A decision on whether or not to hear the case is expected within hours; if the court decides to hear the case, the investigation could well be stalled for several days, giving the NSP and the LFC time to consider other possible solutions to their problem of how to sufficiently hide the exact nature of their sponsors and contributors.

The LFC has shown no sign of wanting to pursue the lawsuits in the individual planetary courts, and top LFC leaders have gone on-record as saying that they will stand-by the decision of the Midean High Court. The NSP, on the other hand, has threatened to pursue its lawsuits in each of the planetary courts if the high court refuses to hear the case; unless a case is actually heard and decided by the high court, it is not considered exhausted in its ability to pursue other judicial pathways.

The NSP and the LFC have both covertly approached their respective foreign sponsors and given them fair warning of the possibility of impending trouble, while continuing to promise to keep the exact nature of the contributions as secret as possible, of course being as diplomatic as possible in the interest of not further alienating their allies abroad.