2021 Uppasala election protests
Part of the 2020–2021 Superian political crisis | |
Demonstrators protesting in front of the Uppasala Commonwealth Building. | |
Date |
June 30, 2021 – present (3 years, 4 months, 3 weeks and 4 days) |
---|---|
Location | Superior |
Type | Protests, riots |
Cause | Supposed voting fraud in the 2021 Uppasala gubernatorial election; Re-election of Liberal Democratic Governor Larry Parker; Ongoing political crisises |
Participants |
Supporters of Daniel Meijer and the United Conservative Party counter-protestors |
Deaths | At least 2 |
Non-fatal injuries | 102 |
Arrests | 202 |
The 2021 Uppasala election protests are a series ongoing protests and riots across the Superian state of Uppasala and other parts of Superior against the re-election of Liberal Democratic Governor Larry Parker, who protestors believe stole the election through voter fraud and ballot harvesting. Protests would begin on June 30th, 2021 following the conclusion of voter fraud claims investigation by Uppasala Attorney General Roger Ferguson, who would concluded that individual and accidental cases of voter fraud had occurred during the election, but did not alter the election's results.
Protesting would begin almost immediately following the conclusion of the investigation, with over two thousand protestors appearing in New Michigan and demonstrating at the Uppasala Commonwealth Building. Protests would also emerge in other parts of Superior, particularly in states with conservative leanings. Riots in New Michigan would begin near the end of the day, with protestors and counter-protestors, reportedly from the group Antide, would clash in the streets. Since the start of the protests, at least 2 people have died, with over two hundred people arrested and charged with a variety of crimes, largely vandalism and assault. President Granholm and the federal government have condemned the protests,
Background
On March 1, Larry Parker of the Liberal Democratic Party ran against Daniel Meijer of the United Conservative Party for a third term. Due to Parker's low approval ratings, controversies, and Meijer's bipartisan-focused campaign, the election was tight with all other state parties endorsing the Liberal Democratic and United Conservative candidates respectively. Due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, counting the ballots took over a week with the results being announced on March 10 with Parker being declared the winner by the Uppasala Board of Elections. While Parker was declared the winner and was set to be inaguarated for this third term, Meijer refused to concede making claims of voter fraud and ballot harvesting waging a legal campaign to overturn the results or push for a recount.
Protests
Reactions
The protests were met with immediate condemnation by Parker, his government, and the Uppasala Liberal Democratic Party who condemned the protests as an irrational reponse with other progressive state parties condemning it as well. Parker himself called the protests outside of the Commonwealth Building "morbidly dangerous" and Ferguson himself accused the protests of being "the prime example of right-wing intolerance towards democracy". Roger DeCaprio, the Mayor of New Michigan, would institute a state of emergency and curfew in the city after the protests and issued warnings to members of the state legislature warning that the protestors were threatening their safety.
Donald Hartford, House Delegate from Arrowhead, endorsed the protests calling for demonstrations across all states in Superior, regardless of political leanings, to protest the results. Isaac Dillon, Leader of the Opposition and the United Conservative Party, said that the protests were "a sign of distrust in biased institutions and failed leadership" and called for a recount of the election results. Amy Lloyd, President of the UCP, reiterated her support for a recount stating that the results were "way too close for their not to have been some rigging behind the scens".