Sanctarian general election, 2025

Sanctarian general election, 2025

February 8, 2025 (2025-02-08)
All 460 seats to the House of Deputies 231 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	64.2%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Bethany Greer Julie Chrisintim Josephine Chari-Jones Party Democratic Left Party Sanctarian Conservative Party Green Party Leader since 2024 2023 2010 Leader's seat SC-14 TM-16 AQ-34 Seats before 216 180 32 Seats won 245 170 21 Seat change 29 10 11   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Paul Jacobs Stuart Bailey Party New Sanctaria Party Christian Union Party Leader since 2021 2019 Leader's seat NA-67 TM-58 Seats before 24 8 Seats won 20 4 Seat change 4 4
Chancellor before election Bethany Greer Democratic Left Party Elected Chancellor Bethany Greer Democratic Left Party

The Sanctarian general election, 2025 was held on 08 February 2025 to elect the 460 members of the House of Deputies and the 40 members of the Senate, the two chambers of the Sanctarian Parliament. The election was called by Chancellor Bethany Greer following the early dissolution of both chambers, approximately two years after the previous general election. Voter turnout was 64.2%.

The Democratic Left Party (DLP) won 245 seats in the House of Deputies, securing an outright majority for the first time since the 2022 election. The Sanctarian Conservative Party (SCP) remained the largest opposition party with 170 seats, while the Green Party, which had governed in coalition with the DLP, fell to 21 seats. The New Sanctaria Party (NSP) won 20 seats, and the Christian Union Party (CUP) won four. The DLP also secured control of the Senate, winning 21 of its 40 seats.

The result made Greer the first incumbent Chancellor in Sanctarian history to win re-election. She was appointed to a second term on 03 March 2025 and formed the eleventh government of Sanctaria, ending the DLP's coalition with the Greens.

Background

2022 general election

The 2022 Sanctarian general election resulted in a hung House of Deputies, with no party securing the 231 seats required for a majority. The DLP, led by incumbent Chancellor Ethan Ringrose, won 216 seats, ahead of the SCP on 180. The Greens secured 32 seats, while the NSP and CUP won 24 and eight respectively.

Following negotiations, the DLP formed a coalition with the Green Party, giving the new government a combined majority of 36 seats. Ringrose remained Chancellor, with Green leader Josephine Chari-Jones serving as Vice Chancellor. The arrangement marked a continuation of DLP government, but left the party dependent on Green support to command a parliamentary majority.

Resignation of Ethan Ringrose

Ringrose resigned as Chancellor in June 2024 following developments in an investigation into political campaign spending. On 07 June, it emerged that the Sanctarian Federal Police had referred the matter to the Public Prosecutions Service, prompting the Greens to demand his departure as a condition of remaining in government.

On 09 June, the DLP announced that it would nominate former Secretary for Foreign Affairs Bethany Greer to succeed Ringrose. Nicola Allman was selected to take over the party leadership on an interim basis, separating the leadership of the DLP from the office of Chancellor.

Greer was appointed Chancellor on 10 June 2024 and formed the tenth government of Sanctaria. She retained the existing cabinet without changes to ministerial portfolios, preserving the coalition with the Green Party. Chari-Jones continued as Vice Chancellor, while Allman remained Secretary for Homeland Security.

Calling of the election

In December 2024, Greer moved to hold an early general election, seeking a mandate from voters after succeeding Ringrose midway through the parliamentary term. The election also gave the DLP an opportunity to secure a majority independent of its coalition partner.

The decision to dissolve Parliament brought forward elections for both chambers. Ordinarily, members of the House of Deputies serve five-year terms, while senators serve seven-year terms, with elections held separately. Under the constitution, however, the Chancellor may dissolve the Senate alongside the House if fewer than 30 months remain in the Senate's term.

As the Senate had last been elected in January 2020, Greer was able to exercise this provision. The resulting dissolution brought about the first simultaneous election for both chambers since Sanctaria's federalisation in 2019.

Electoral system

The House of Deputies consists of 460 members elected from single-member constituencies known as cantons. Seats are allocated among Sanctaria's nine states according to population, and deputies are elected using first-past-the-post voting. A party or coalition must command the support of at least 231 deputies to hold a majority.

The Senate consists of 40 members elected through proportional representation using the single transferable vote. Each of the nine states elects four senators, while a further four are elected by Sanctarian citizens residing abroad. A majority in the Senate requires 21 seats.

The Chancellor is nominated by the House of Deputies and formally appointed by the President of Sanctaria. The government must retain the confidence of the House to remain in office.

Results

House of Deputies

The DLP secured 245 seats, an increase of 29 compared with the previous general election, giving it a majority of 30 over the combined opposition. It was the only party to increase its representation in the House.

The SCP lost ten seats, finishing with 170, while the Green Party experienced the largest proportional decline of the parliamentary parties, falling from 32 to 21. The NSP and CUP each lost four seats, reducing their representation to 20 and four respectively.

National results

Party	2022	2025	Change	Seats (%)
Democratic Left Party	216	245	+29	53.26
Sanctarian Conservative Party	180	170	−10	36.96
Green Party	32	21	−11	4.57
New Sanctaria Party	24	20	−4	4.35
Christian Union Party	8	4	−4	0.87
Total	460	460	—	100

Results by state

State	DLP	SCP	Green	NSP	CUP	Total
Aquitanium	51	9	11	0	0	71
Corpus	10	1	1	0	0	12
Galvium	51	14	8	0	0	73
Glorionis	36	31	0	0	0	67
Haven	7	2	0	0	0	9
Novum Aeternum	33	39	0	2	0	74
Novum Limium	31	38	0	0	0	69
Sanctus	15	1	1	0	0	17
Terra Monticolarum	11	35	0	18	4	68
Total	245	170	21	20	4	460

Regional results

The DLP secured majorities in six of Sanctaria's nine states, winning every seat except two in Sanctus and all but three in Haven. It also won ten of Corpus's 12 seats, retaining its dominance in the three city-states.

Aquitanium and Galvium returned the largest DLP delegations, with 51 deputies each. The party also narrowly won a majority in Glorionis, securing 36 of its 67 seats. In contrast, the SCP remained the largest party in Novum Aeternum and Novum Limium, winning 39 and 38 seats respectively.

Terra Monticolarum produced the most fragmented result. The SCP won 35 seats, followed by the NSP on 18, the DLP on 11, and the CUP on four. The state accounted for 18 of the NSP's 20 deputies and the entirety of the CUP's parliamentary representation.

The Green Party retained seats in only four states, with its representation concentrated in Aquitanium and Galvium. It won 11 seats in Aquitanium and eight in Galvium, alongside single seats in Corpus and Sanctus.

Senate

The DLP also secured an outright majority in the Senate, winning 21 of its 40 seats, an increase of five compared with the 2020 election. It was the first time since federalisation that the party had secured a Senate majority in its own right.

The SCP retained ten seats, while the Greens fell from six to four. The NSP won three seats, the CUP one, and independents one.

National results

Party	2020	2025	Change
Democratic Left Party	16	21	+5
Sanctarian Conservative Party	10	10	—
Green Party	6	4	−2
New Sanctaria Party	4	3	−1
Christian Union Party	2	1	−1
Independents	2	1	−1
Total	40	40	—

The outcome gave the DLP control of both chambers of Parliament and removed the need for agreements with other parties to secure a Senate majority. The party had previously relied on the support of other senators to control the upper chamber's business.

Notable outcomes

Defeat of Josephine Chari-Jones

Among the election's most significant individual results was the defeat of Green Party leader Josephine Chari-Jones, who lost Aquitanium's 34th Canton to the DLP. Chari-Jones had led the Greens since 2010 and had served as Vice Chancellor under both Ethan Ringrose and Bethany Greer.

Her defeat deprived the Greens of their parliamentary leader at a time when the party was also losing its position in government. Although the Greens retained 21 deputies, the DLP's majority meant that their support was no longer required for the formation of a government.

Return of Harry Bell

Harry Bell returned to the House of Deputies after winning Galvium's 54th Canton for the DLP, defeating incumbent Green deputy Lucian Dedrick. Bell had previously represented Galvium's 53rd Canton before losing his seat at the 2022 general election.

A former government minister, Bell subsequently rejoined the cabinet following the formation of Greer's second government.

Women's representation

The number of women elected to the House of Deputies rose from 184 in 2022 to 216 in 2025, an increase of 32. Women accounted for approximately 47% of deputies, compared with 40% at the previous election.

The result left the House with 244 male and 216 female deputies, narrowing the gender gap from 92 seats to 28 and bringing the chamber closer to gender parity than at any previous election.

Aftermath

Formation of the eleventh government

The newly elected House of Deputies nominated Greer to continue as Chancellor, and she was formally appointed by President Katherine Saunders on 03 March 2025. She subsequently formed the eleventh government of Sanctaria, consisting solely of DLP ministers. Nicola Allman, who remained leader of the DLP, became Vice Chancellor.

The formation of the new government ended the coalition with the Green Party that had existed since December 2022. It also established a parliamentary majority for Greer, who had originally taken office following Ringrose's resignation rather than through a general election.

Parliamentary leadership

Oliver Combs, a DLP deputy, was elected Speaker of the House of Deputies on 03 March 2025, succeeding Green Party deputy Amber Woodrow. Woodrow had been re-elected to the House in Galvium's 37th Canton but did not retain the speakership.

In the Senate, Julian Harcourt, a DLP senator for Corpus, was selected as Moderator on the same day. He succeeded Seth Leveson, the long-serving DLP senator for Aquitanium, who had retired at the election.