NationStates Jolt Archive


General election approaching in Copiosa Scotia

Copiosa Scotia
21-12-2004, 08:01
Prologue

Meet the candidates: A guide to positions, issues, and history
(Reprinted by permission)
Terrence Lawson, The Aberden Herald-Sun
August 9, 2004 - Five months before the election

The dust of the party primaries has settled, and the race for Speaker of the Assembly has begun. Here's the early line on the candidates:

Michael MacFarlane, 39 (Liberal Party) is running for re-election after a first term in which he received the highest approval ratings in over fifty years. MacFarlane is a proponent of unregulated free trade, extensive individual freedom, and minimal government. On the international level, he has taken a hard line against imperialism, frequently employing Copiosa Scotia's armed forces as a deterrent against other nations' imperialist policies.

Ian Carter, 57 (Progressive Party) is running on a platform of "common-sense regulation" including increased regulation of business, reintroduction of living wage laws, moderate tariffs, and a flat income tax to replace the national goods and services tax as the government's primary source of revenue. A lifetime politician, Carter has served in the Senate for 22 years, and just finished a four-year term as governor of West Scotia. Carter trails MacFarlane by roughly 40% in the most recent polls.

Jared Greznikov, 46 (National Party) favors high tariffs and a "self-contained" foreign policy in which Copiosa Scotia would end its "entangling alliances" with former members of the now-defunct UnAPS and cease its policy of aggressively opposing imperialism. Greznikov trails MacFarlane by over 45% in the most recent polls.

Chris Slayton, 49 (Federal Party) is a former CEO of Scotia Energy and current representative to the Assembly for the state of Vanden. Slayton calls for high tariffs, stating that they are "the only way to prevent the outsourcing that has plagued some sectors of the Scotian economy." Also supports restrictions on organization of labor. Not seen as a serious contender, but his party could pick up a few seats in the Senate.

Carl Kenson, 52 (Conservative Party) is a social conservative who, if elected, would ban "hard" drugs such as heroin and cocaine, support a constitutional amendment to legalize capital punishment, and institute moderate tariffs with the aim of protecting Copiosa Scotian businesses. Not seen as a serious contender.

Samantha Whiting, 44 (Socialist Party) advocates sweeping changes to the Copiosa Scotian economic system and government structure, including a progressive income tax, government control of education, and free comprehensive healthcare. Not seen as a serious contender, and her party could lose a few seats in the Senate.

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Most recent poll results (Evans Composite, 3% margin of error):
MacFarlane (L) 59%
Carter (P) 20%
Greznikov (N) 11%
Slayton (F) 5%
Kenson (C) 2%
Whiting (S) 1%
Other/None 2%

(OOC: This RP will run roughly from now until January 9. Feel free to try to influence the election in any way you think would make for interesting RP. I've got a general idea of where I want this to go, but participation from others always makes an RP more fun. Just keep in mind that if your support is too blatant, it could turn into quite an embarrassment for the candidate you thought you were helping.)
Forum Feline
21-12-2004, 12:17
(OOC: What are your campaign finance laws like?)
Copiosa Scotia
21-12-2004, 17:20
(OOC: What are your campaign finance laws like?)

(OOC: Virtually non-existent. Transparency is required by law, however, and as I noted before, too much funding from international sources could prove embarrassing for a candidate. This would be less of a problem for minor party candidates, though.)
Copiosa Scotia
21-12-2004, 17:38
(OOC: While I'm at it, a bit on the structure of the election system, courtesy of a common high school government textbook.)

From Copiosa Scotian Government and Politics, 9th ed., p. 328

Section Review
- Copiosa Scotia's legislature is bicameral, comprised of the Senate and the Assembly.
- The Assembly is the more powerful of the two houses, and has 11 seats, two for each state and one for the Speaker. Each state votes for its own representatives, and the nation as a whole votes for the Speaker.
- The Speaker of the Assembly is Copiosa Scotia's head of state.
- The Senate has 400 seats which are allocated to parties based on the percentage of the vote earned by their candidate for Speaker.
Forum Feline
21-12-2004, 17:55
We would like to donate $3,000,000 to Samantha Whiting.
Ilek-Vaad
21-12-2004, 17:59
The Free Republic does not become involved in elections that are a purely internal matter of a sovereign nation. The Republican Council will work with whom ever is duly elected by the people.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ilek-Vaad