2014 Manchurian presidential election
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| Turnout | ▲ 58.9% (51,112,229) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2014 Manchurian presidential election was held on April 2, 2014 following the surprise resignation of Jin Pai Nai as President of Manchuria following the Rehe Province crisis which saw Rehe Province be annexed by the Republic of China following escalating protests and later riots which lead to small-scale fighting used to justify Chinese intervention and the subsequent annexation of the province. The ensuing crisis caused a major political crisis which lead to a snap presidential election. The election ended with the election of Liu Zhou of the governing Manzuxiehui be elected president winning 58.5% of the popular vote.
In accordance with the country's two-round system, the top three main candidates would be those that managed to reach over 10% of the vote in the first round. Zhou managed to achieve this and her other opponents, Yu Zhenggao of the New Progressive Party and Chang Shengzou of the Socialist Party, had also achieved this threashold. This was also the first time that the Progressive Alliance for Manchuria had contested a presidential election with Zhenggao being their candidate after winning the alliance's primary election.
The first round was conducted on April 2 where the MNA, New Progressive, and Socialist candidates had advanced to the second round which was held on April 18, 2014. The election ended in a victory for Zhou and ensured the contiuation of her party's dominance and influence over Manchu politics since the 2005. Despite losing, the Progressive Alliance had shown to be a major force in Manchu politics and would gain ground in future elections. Shengzou's defeat would be one of the main events that would result in the 2016 Socialist Party of Manchuria leadership election two years later.
Background
In the 2010 Manchurian presidential election, Jin Nai Pai was elected President of Manchuria and ran on preserving Manchuria's national sovereignty from the neighboring Republic of China which had gained international criticism for the increasing levels of corruption and authoritarianism within the Chinese government. Pai stated his intent to preserve the 2003 Manchu-Chinese Friendship Agreement and sought peace with China, but had still voiced concerns over its president, Ren Longyun, and how he was increasingly beeing seen as a autocratic ruler. Throghout his presdiency, Nai Pai had increased the size of the National Border Guard and floated the possibility of national service in case of emergencies, though he never acted upon in during his tenure.
In February 2014, a series of protests and demonstrations broke out in Rehe Province, a province of Manchuria located southwest on the border with China. The protestors were demanding the province be designated as a special autonomous province and be given more autonomy than other provinces citing the distinct cultural differences between Rehe Province and the rest of Manchuria. Provincial police cracked down on the demonstrations, but this fueld the demonstrations which grew in size and more and more began demanding that the province be allowed to join China. Both the protests and the response from the provincial government had gained attention from international observers and was condemened by the Chinese government and saw Ren Longyun hold an emergency meeting with the National Security Council to discuss a possible military intervention which was approaved.
By March, forces of the Republic of China Army and Air Force had been deployed and pushed into Rehe Province encountering virtually no resistence due to the Manchu forces being ill-equipped and unprepared for an invasion. Both sides suffered minimal losses, though large numbers of Manchu border police, security personnel, and provincial government, security and police personnel were captured and briefly held in Chinese captivity and would remain in Chinese captivity as prisoners of war until May 1, 2014. After the annexation, Jin Nai Pai gave an adress to the nation where he apologized for "not being able to withstand Chinese agression" and announced his formal resignation with his last act as president being ordering a snap election to be held in April which the Supreme National Assembly allowed to have.
Candidates
| Candidate | Party | Position | Notes | ||
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Liu Zhou | Manzuxiehui | Chairwoman of the Supreme National Assembly
(2004-2014) |
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Yu Zhenggao | New Progressive Party (Progressive Alliance) |
Assembly Member for Baishan
(2000-present) |
Nominee for the Progressive Alliance for Manchuria | |
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Cheng Shengzou | Socialist | First Secretary of the Socialist Party (2004-2016) Assembly Member for Daxing'anling
(2000-present) |
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He Yufen | Democratic Union | Leader of the Democratic Union for Change (2001-2017)
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Ri Ki-nam | United People's Party | Assembly Member for Hunchun
(2010-present) |
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