Scoitan legislative election, 2008
The legislative election for the Georgeland island state of Scoita was held on February 8, 2008 following the dissolution of the state legislature on January 10 after a constitutional crisis. The election was held approximately eighteen months before the expiration of the current legislative term - a new election had not been expected before June-July 2009.
The incumbent Conservative government, led by Chief Minister Brad Zimmerman, won a fourth term of office, though it was the first election fought since Zimmerman became leader.
The opposition Liberal Democrats will attempted to win power in the state for the first time, and to form the first non-Conservative government in Scoita since 1996. The Leader of the Opposition and Liberal Democratic candidate for Chief Minister was Neil Connors.
Though the Conservatives won a fourth term, they did not win a majority in the legislature. With the support of the Georgeland Alliance and the Free Scoita Party, Zimmerman formed the state's first minority government since 1953.
Election timetable
- January 10: Dissolution of the state legislature.
- January 12: Issue of electoral writs by Governor Mendez. Candidate nominations begin.
- January 19: Enrollment closes - those who fail to register to vote by this date are ineligible to vote.
- January 25: Candidate nominations close.
- February 8: Polling day.
Party standings
At the 2005 election, the parties won the following numbers of seats:
- Conservative: 52
- Liberal Democrat: 19
- Scoitan Labour: 5
- Georgeland Alliance: 5
- Free Scoita Party: 3
- Greens: 2
- Independent (Ken Romani): 1
In 2007, Romani was elected to the United Islands Senate. The Conservatives won his constituency of Emilypolis Central, giving them 53 out of 87 seats in the legislature.
In order to form government, the winning party will need to win 44 seats. For the Liberal Democrats, this will be extremely difficult, as it would require them to win an additional twenty-five seats.
Background
The election was not scheduled to be held until July 2009, as the Scoitan legislature has a four-year term. However, on December 15, 2007, the government introduced the Police Powers (Terrorism and Deliquency) Act and the Scoitan Security Review (Police and Judiciary) Act, two pieces of legislation designed to significantly increase police powers relating to terror suspects and, in particular and contraversially, juvenile offenders. The acts also cut down on administrative and judicial oversight for sentencing.
The state's Governor, Don Mendez, elected in September, expressed his dissatisfaction with the legislation in late December. On December 29, he stated that if the legislation was passed he would not give it his assent, effectively vetoing it. He later clarified his position and declared he would use the governor's official veto power, which the legislature cannot override.
The government passed the bills in the unicameral legislature on January 8. The same day, Governor Mendez refused to sign the bills, though he did not use the veto power as he had indicated he would. On January 10, Zimmerman announced that by agreement, the Governor had dissolved the legislature rather than use his veto power. Though not explicity stated, Zimmerman implied Mendez had agreed to allow the bills to pass if the government were to be re-elected.
Issues
Campaign
Result
House of Commons | |||||||||||||||||||
| Registered Voters | 2,552,203 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Votes Cast | 1,848,955 | Turnout | 71.54% | ||||||||||||||||
| Informal Votes | 23,006 | Informal % | 1.26% | ||||||||||||||||
| Party | Leader | Seats contested | Primary Votes | % | Swing | Seats won | Change | ||||||||||||
| Liberal Democratic Party of the United Islands | Neil Connors | 87 | 745,352 | 40.82 | +9.5% | 30 | +11 | ||||||||||||
| Conservative Party of Georgeland | Brad Zimmerman | 87 | 665,741 | 36.46 | -7.2% | 41 | -12 | ||||||||||||
| Georgeland Alliance | Frances Shuttleworth | 87 | 140,598 | 7.7 | +3.2% | 6 | +1 | ||||||||||||
| Green Party of Georgeland | Ivan Holmes | 87 | 69,386 | 3.8 | +0.5% | 3 | +1 | ||||||||||||
| Scoitan Labour | Sean McMinn | 87 | 65,734 | 3.6 | -1.2% | 2 | -3 | ||||||||||||
| Free Scoita Party | John Darrow | 52 | 45,649 | 2.5 | -3.2% | 2 | -1 | ||||||||||||
| Others | Various | 26 | 93,489 | 5.12 | -1.6% | 3 | +3 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 1,825,949 | 100% | 87 | ||||||||||||||||
| Previous election 2005 |
General Elections in Scoita 2008 |
Next election 2011 |