President Writinglegend Re-elected
Written by John Laurens and Seva
Edited by Moon, McEntire, Dracondra, and Prov
Written and Published by the EBC; Edited to reflect changes since original publication
Arnhelm, Europeia - In what many viewed as an impending coronation due to his high approval ratings, incumbent President Writinglegend won re-election over former Vice President and multi-time cabinet member Monkey, who led the Government Accountability Office for part of last term. Writinglegend is the first president since the re-merge of the executive branch to be re-elected, and this will be his record-breaking ninth term as President.
The campaign was relatively quiet, and did not even feature a presidential debate between the candidates. Polling showed a massive lead for the Writinglegend/Sarah ticket, with Monkey/Calvin Coolidge ticket only taking up 13% of the vote in the last poll before the election opened.
Writinglegend took an early lead when polls opened, and his re-election was never in danger - his ticket emerged victorious with 80.6% of the vote. The absolute number of votes, 57, broke the record for most votes for a candidate for a contested election in recorded history - records of election results are only available from July 2015 onwards.
The re-election of Writinglegend brings a new Vice President in Sarah, replacing Sincluda who chose not to run for re-election for real life reasons. Sarah was Culture Minister under Writinglegend in the previous term and has been Statsminister of Balder and Delegate of The Rejected Realms in the past.
Since the polls closed, the President has published his
inaugural address where he stated that he "wanted this term more than any of [his] previous terms." As opposed to the last term that was "about challenges and roadblocks", Writinglegend has declared this term will be "about opportunities." He promised to "flip our domestic ministries inside-out to support our ambitious foreign affairs agenda" and to "seek out newfound opportunities", echoing his promises in his
campaign platform. "It is the people of our community," he concluded in a call for all Europeians to get involved in the region, "who harness our greatness."
The President has also appeared on radio to make his cabinet nominations, which were largely well received. The cabinet is as follows, with all members having been confirmed:
Minister of Interior - Calvin Coolidge
Minister of Culture - Istillian
Minister of Communications - Seva
Minister of Radio - Lime
Minister of Foreign Affairs - Sopo
Minister of World Assembly Affairs - Pland Adanna
Grand Admiral - Icarus
Attorney General - United Adaikes.
Although the Senate has voiced mostly support for the nominees, the confirmation process has not been completely smooth. For instance, the nominee for minister of radio, Lime, has faced questions about a term as President where he earned a 5% approval rating and resigned. The consensus, however, seems to be that he is qualified to lead his ministry given his knowledge of and contributions to Europeian media.
Former Minister of Interior Poseidon63 also was nominated as Minister of Interior, but withdrew their name from the table due to outside factors.
Istillian, the nominee for minister of culture, was on a break from cabinet positions during the previous term and therefore faced some questions about his readiness to go back to the cabinet in a position he has never served in before. He has outlined the ways he got involved last term and declared he is "bursting with excitement" about his new role.
Sopo, Icarus, Pland Adanna, Seva, and United Adaikes were all heavily involved in their departments last term, Sopo as the incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs, Icarus, Pland Adanna, and Seva in deputy positions in the Europeian Republican Navy, Ministry of World Assembly Affairs, and Ministry of Communications respectively, and United Adaikes as Deputy Attorney General. Therefore, they were seen by the citizenry as the natural choices for their positions.
Senate By-Election Ends
After the resignation of Senator Poseidon63, a vacancy was left in the Senate halfway through the term. Vice Chancellor Istillian opened up standing on June 23, with polls set to open on the 29th.
Five candidates stood for the vacant seat. Jaydee, Celia (Prov), Gaudosia, Peeps, and Izzy. Jaydee, Peeps, and Izzy are all former Senators. Celia and Gaudosia have never served in the Senate and were seeking their first term.
No candidate received more than 50% of the vote to win outright, so the top two qualified for the runoff election. Gaudosia and Peeps both had strong showings in the polls, winning 23.1% and 42.3% of the vote respectively. The runoff ended with Gaudosia receiving 47.3% and Peeps received 52.7%, with Peeps being elected as the newest Senator. They join the ranks of Speaker Lloenflys, and Senators Gem, Cove, McEntire, Gorundu, and Pichtonia.
FA Media Week
Last term, President Writinglegend and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sopo arranged a series of interviews with the Europeian Broadcasting Corporation featuring prominent foreign diplomats from across Nationstates. Five EBC articles were published, along with four radio interviews. Below is a list of the interviews conducted. We hope you enjoy this rare insight into the many minds that make up the NationStates foreign affairs landscape.
Print Media
Q&A with Toonela, World Assembly Delegate of the Social Liberal Union
PhDre interviews WA Delegate Toonela about the Social Liberal Union. Also discuss the SLU's role in NSLeft, and the newly created Office of World Assembly Affairs
Q&A with Andusre, Co-Founder of Thaecia
Communication Deputy Istillian interviews Andusre (Andy). Discussion spans the growth of Thaecia, and Andy's recent SC commendation.
Q&A with Aynia, Co-Founder and Seasonal Queen of Caer Sidi
Another Co-Founder is interviewed! This time, by Pland Adanna. Discussion topics range from community-building to the Treaty of Cairdeas.
Q&A with Pallaith, WA Delegate of the North Pacific
Phdre interviews WA Delegate Pallaith about his work in TNP and the Versutian Federation. Discussion also covers his work in WALL, as well as his Security Council Commendation.
Q&A with Moon, former Prime Minister of the South Pacific
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sopo interviews Moon. Discussion covers their work in TSP, the Grey Wardens, and Europeia. Topics also include the future of TSP, and their role as Warden-Lieutenant in TGW.
Radio Interviews
Interview with Rejected Realms Delegate Minskiev
President Writinglegend interviews the delegate of The Rejected Realms Minskiev/Walrus. This exclusive EBC Radio interview covers Minskiev's history in NationStates and the Rejected Realms.
Interview with Gorundu
President Writinglegend sits down with Gorundu. Gorundu is a prominent author in the World Assembly, the current WA Officer in The Rejected Realms, and former WA Minister/Comms Minister in The North Pacific. Gorundu discusses his history in NationStates, offers advice for future WA authors, and details his past work in The North Pacific.
Interview with Grea Kriopia
President Writinglegend sits down with First Warden Grea Kriopia to discuss her accomplishments in XKI, TRR, and TGW.
Interview with Hulldom and Whatermelons
Minister of World Assembly Affairs Gem interviews WA Authors Whatermelons and Hulldom on General Assembly and Security Council and the importance of the WA.[/hr][/hr][/hr]