[Slokais]

Mallacaland Election Preview

The election will be decided by whoever gets the most seats in parliament or more likely whoever forms a coalition to win a majority of seats. The seats will be decided by multi-member districts based in each emirate in the country, the seats will be one per 10,000 so for example in the emirate of Raoued there are only 50,000 people, therefore a party will have to gain 20% for one seat. As well as the 107 seats assigned to each emirate based on population, there will be 15 seats that will be given to the party with the most votes in every emirate. For example, if as projected NVP gets 60% of the vote and is the leading party in Raoued, they will get 4 seats, 3 from getting 60% of the vote and one for being the leading party in that emirate.

Raoued: 6 Seats (National Values Party is in the lead)
Airana: 10 Seats (NVP is the lead)
Nabeul: 8 seats (NVP is in the lead)
Dar Jariza: 5 Seats (Jariza Island Party is in the lead)
Azrmor: 6 Seats (JIP is in the lead)
Manorba: 9 Seats (NVP is the lead)
Bardo: 8 Seats (Mallacaland Citzen Party is in the lead)
Mallacaland City 48 Seats (For the People Party is in the lead)
Terouba: 3 Seats (New Future Party is in the lead)
Tanzerka 6 Seats(NVP is in the lead)
Somaa: 3 Seats (Green Nation is in the Lead)
Kersa: 3 Seats (Natural Values is in the lead)
Kondar 3 Seats (Shining Light Party is in the lead)
Sbira: 4 Seats (NVP is in the lead)
As you can see National Values Party is leading in rural areas, but it's a close race in the main city emirate where 48 of the 107 seats come from. This looks like to be an exciting election for news on the election keep following NL Daily.

[Slokais]

A new player enters the Mallacaland Election


On Saturday, General Aziz of the Mallacaland Army laid out how he wanted the election to go, in his short speech he laid out his views. "But, I am here to address all of you, in regards to the election, this election will shape the future of the country, you need to be there, why because Socialists like the For the People party could destroy the nation" he then said endorsed National Values. This statement by the General is a continued show of strength who has been in power in the country since the country unified in the 90s. Often King Abdin would collapse under overpressure from the Military, however in 2016 when he died and his son took over, he often made decisions on his own, in fact in 2018, King Abdin II almost called elections but had them canceled after pressure from the Military. In fact, the military helped fund many projects such as the M-5 Highway. However, with his speech he looks to show his power over the country.


We talked with many in Mallacaland who mixed reactions, we talked with Ahmed Mansuar Hadi who told that us that "General Aziz had the right to act the way he does, in fact, if I was still undecided I would vote for NVP after hearing his speech". However many disagreed including an office worker who told us that "It's wrong that people like that, use their power like that". He then told us he was going to vote for For the People, "In fact, because of his speech, I will vote for For The People just to make him mad" he joked.


We talked with Ethan Coopersmith of the Elections Studies Insitute and Director of the Department of East Hespian Studies at New Liverpool Univerity. "This is a common action by military leaders to show their power". He then said, "This is textbook military aggression, I am worried we may see a coup if the Military does get what they want".

The Mallacaland Election will take place in early June, and we will keep you updated here at the NL Daily

[Slokais]

(SIBC News)
Well, it's the start of Election Week 2021 in Mallacaland!
Parties look to get some last-minute campaigning done across the country, the nation of just over a million people looks to decide their first “free parliament” in their history. Following the recent overthrow of both the old regime as well as the regime of the king's personal military, there will be elections held this weekend to decide what the party makeup of the Parliament will be, many parties look to gain seats, and joining me now from Mallacaland City, our reporter Albert Hamad.

Albert: Thanks we're here at the old palace overlooking the city, the city is laid out around this hill where the Royal Palace is. You can see it's empty right now. The King has moved out and future plans for the site have be agreed to be addressed once the elections occur

Host: What is the feeling there on the street, are people excited?

Albert: Well it's a feeling of anxiety yet also excitement for the first free elections in History. I talked to one man who said he was worried that his party would not win, and some others were hopeful that their party could form a government. It looks as if overall they want this to be over and get to governance.

Host: Well from how many parties there are there might not be a government for a while.

Albert: Yeah, there are many parties, I talked with one man who said it would take months to get a government. You could have some interesting coalitions, the key here are the more “centrist parties” like JIP and Mallacaland Citizen Party, then again not many people support the old regime.

[Slokais]

Today is the first day of voting with voting today being in rural areas or on Jariza Island, as it takes time for the vote counts to be brought to and verified by the Central Elections Office. Some precincts do it online, though it requires a stable internet connection, a thing not that common outside of Mallacaland City. Our reporters followed an election team in a precinct in a town near the Mallacaland Border.

The Sun rises as our truck moves slowly up a mountain road past carts and houses built into the mountain itself. Soon we are going down the mountain and into a small valley. A wood sign lets us know where we are in the town of Masdar Alkur or Creek Source. A crowd is gathered in the main square a stone platform surrounded by the city hall as well as the local school where the Election Commission will set up. Voting here is done by paper ballot as the generator is often being used however today it is for people to watch the Olympics. We step out of the van and into the main square, people are huddled around a large tv above the only restaurant in town. We step out as the Mallacaland Baseball Team has a narrow lead on the Xiomera Team. A few people step away from the game to help the Election Officials bring out their ballot boxes as well as an ink stamper. Basically, you put a stamp next to the party your voting for and then you close the ballot and put it in through a slot. The box can not be opened by anyone on the team, only people with a special key can open it. This is a new feature designed to stop vote tampering.
People slowly file during breaks in the game. We talk to an older lady who tells us that this is her first time voting
"I never felt like people respected my voice until now Kasib Saber really speaks to me and many other people for his vision for the country, I feel like Socialists and Seculars will ruin this country, they want to get rid of religion, in fact, they just hate Islam".
This is an idea shared by many in this Emirate as projections show that NVP will win the Airana Emirate. We watch as Mallacaland survives Xiomera pulling off a massive upset, the crowd celebrates the victory with flag-waving and a few fireworks, then a lot of people come over to go vote.

[Slokais]

The Ballots are being counted as of now inside the Mallacaland Elections Building, it was used during the creation of Mallacaland in 1997 but it's now empty except for election day, where many poll workers are counting results from all the Emirates of the country. This team is scanning ballots through a machine as we speak, let's go to our reporter inside, Edwards Vallario.

As you can see behind me, poll workers are taking boxes and then scanning them one by one, then being taken then election room, where results will be announced, so far we have gotten two exit polls, one from the Mallacaland City Election Authority and then one from Mallacaland Overseas Agency. So from Mallacaland City, 35% of people said they voted for For The People followed by New Future at 32% then NVP all the way down at 12%. Various other parties have also some support, we excepted this, however, the low percent from NVP is not good for Kasib Saber as it could be hard for him to form a government with either party if he does not get enough seats, though remember that an extra seat is given to the winner of each Emirate so that is where NVP can pick up some seats in rural areas. Now to the poll from Mallacaland Overseas who are the body that counts votes from the various Mallacalanders overseas. It's 40% for New Future, 20% For The People then 25% for National Values. These overseas votes are mostly from Slokais the largest area with a diaspora. Hold on let's go back to the studio there are some new polls.

We have our first real results and seats given in Jariza Island, 11 seats will be given out we can predict 7 seats in total for JIP, 3 for For The People, and 1 for New Future Party. This is a real surprise as polls even a month ago showed Jariza Island haveing a more commanding lead, We will update you on the election as the day plays out.

[Slokais]

Mallacaland Election Results are IN



As you can see, NVP won the most seats yet not enough to make creating a govermeant that easy, with 34 seats they can easily combine with Shining Light at 9 but that lives them 18 seats short. For the People and New Future will probably work together, but the lives them 10 short, they can get that either from MCP or from various other parties, either way, the steps of forming a govermeant will be a long road. There is happiness among some, yet there is no clear winner. All eyes are on party leaders who will negotiate with each other. We will update you on the process of govermeant building.

[Slokais]

Northern Isles is home to 360,000 People or 4 Seats, so 25% is needed for Representation Nationwide, Provincial Assembly needs 1% per seat. The capital is Dundelan, with a population of 18,000. The largest party here is the Conservative Party, and they are expected to have a large turnout compared to the 2020 election. Northern Isles was admitted in 1897 and has remained the smallest province by population, although it's the 2nd largest by land area, including a number of outlying islands, called the Far’awa Islands, home to large fishing grounds. Fishing is the dominant occupation in the Northern Isles with sheep and farming being other major industries. Outer Islanders have their own unique culture and dialect of English, often with unique words such as “out-da” and “goin-da dere”.

In the town of Scollway, fishers bring in fresh catch from the ocean. Like Scollway much of Slokais Islands was based around fishing, however, in recent years, much of the production has moved overseas. Much of the fishing is done by scraping the sea floor by multi-person trawlers. There we meet Langston Stockham, the captain of the Lady of Scollway. He tells us in a heavy accent about his disdain for fishing regulations that have gone into effect across the region in an attempt to protect carbon beds. “It, ai-nt right man, we only got wit we find out wit the hoi toid, fee-din our people, no dingbatters, goi-in tell me nuttin”. The Conservative Party has made its promises to cut these protections and allow commercial fishing. “Dingbatters, over-wutter are tak-in our jobs, we need to fight back”.



The town of Dundelan, the capital of Northern Isles Province.

Tamlah National Party is an Outer Islander Regional Party, Outer Islanders are descended from Scots-Irish fishermen who intermarried with the local Enlai ethnic group. The Outer Islanders are mostly farmers who live on the more remote islands, unlike the Northern Lion Party the INP is left-wing they split from the NLP in 2019 after issues over social issues, and they could be defined as Left-Libertarian as they support lower taxes, pro-choice, loosening of gun restrictions while excepting some elemental regulation. Their leader Colton LaNoch is a farmer turned activist, and writer.

[Slokais]

South Acadia Province

609,000 people live in South Acadia, meaning 8 seats, so 12.5% per seat. This province is mostly inhabited by rural working-class farmers and has a high population of Blancos, with a strong Outer Island population. This province also has the highest rate of gun ownership with 81% of households owning firearms. The capital and largest city are Clydewood with a population of 78,000. Overall it's seen traditionally strongly Conservative with Northern Lion doing well as well with Green being the main opposition. There is a provincial legislature with 68 members.

South Acadia is the largest producer of soybean in Slokais, with major crops such as rice, wheat, and corn making up the rest of the industrial mix. This is due to the large Acadian Plains along the coast, making it suitable for growing crops as compared to many other provinces. At higher elevations, although there is less farming, it's a major producer of trout and other freshwater fish, as well as many springs, often used as sources for bottled water. Finally, in Elba Township the terrain is much more barren, with sheep farming and wool production being major industries.

A short drive into the mountains from Cyldewood is South Hills Township. In the town of Jiufen, every September, the Slokais Islands Arms and Ammo Festival is held. During this multi-week event, 100,000 people come to buy, sell and use firearms. Traditionally, most rural households had arms, as a conflict in rural areas was common. This only increased during the Slokaisan Civil War when various armed militias were formed. This left behind many weapons in civilian hands, although gun ownership has decreased in some provinces, and in rural areas, gun ownership remains high. However, unlike in many countries, gun ownership is not associated with right-wing politics. The Green Party of South Acadia for example has a festival booth and the members of the Party List answer questions. One of the most asked topics is economic policy. Unlike much of the Green Pary, this provincial branch is less focused on social issues and more on having an appeal to farmers. Despite all of this, South Acadia is one of the most solidly conservative provinces.