NationStates Jolt Archive


[Elections in Ad'ihan] Post of President of Ad'ihan established

Adihan
26-03-2008, 16:55
(OOC: Apologies for the complicatedness and everything. It's just the start, but hopefully everything will become clear soon. I'm also rather tired and so quite a bit of the post might not make sense. I'll post candidates tomorrow and foreign governments can start backing candidates or commenting about this [arguably useless] exercise at any time.)

Presidential elections now a reality in Ad'ihan

Prime Minister Alex Canning confirmed today that the Ad'ihani Senate had passed into law a constitutional change creating a largely-ceremonial, symbolic position of President of the United Islands. Up till now, the only elections in the country have been for the Senate.

The President's only actual power — even then a formality — will be to swear in a Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The President can hold the position of Prime Minister at the same time, but must be a native-born citizen of Ad'ihan — either in the city/protectorate prior to independence, or within the islands after independence.

The role of President will be rotated among the three administrative regions of Ad'ihan — the City of Ad'ihan, Grand Island, and Barrier Island — every two years, although there is no set order. Each candidate must be backed by a party with at least one seat in the Senate.

A primary-style system of voting within each administrative region's subdivisions (the four districts of the City of Ad'ihan, the six counties and one autonomous region of Grand Island, and the five counties of Barrier Island) will take place if necessary.

Each party may only back one candidate, who will stand in the administrative region they hail from. Each popular vote win in a subdivision's primary is worth two points and a second place is worth half a point. At the end of all the primaries the candidate with the most number of points is nominated as the administrative region's nominee for the Presidency. If there is only one candidate from a region, that candidate will automatically win the region's nomination.

The catch is that no President from a region can hold the position for two straight two-year terms. In each six year rotational cycle, all three regions must have a President. Otherwise, there is no set order that needs to be followed (i.e. if Grand Island holds the Presidency first they can hold it 4th, 5th or 6th but if they held it 3rd they can only hold it 5th or 6th). This system creates a situation where, every third election, there is only one region which is eligible to field candidates, in which case the primaries are skipped and that region's candidates will face each other in the final election.

Responding to criticism that this would be too complicated, Mr Canning said it was to ensure that all three regions would have an equal opportunity to hold the presidency and to prevent any civil unrest that might otherwise occur.

Mr Canning also said that if a President was removed from office or was otherwise unable to discharge his ceremonial duties, the Prime Minister would take over — provided he would otherwise be eligible for the position. Otherwise, he said, a new election would be called between candidates only from the same region, to serve out the term.

Mr Canning announced that all parties with seats had until August 5, 2147 to announce its candidates and that first primaries would be held by August 10, 2147. The first presidential election is expected to take place in late October. Until then, Mr Canning will be Acting President in addition to being Prime Minister.

Mr Canning was born in the city of Ad'ihan in 2099 and is therefore eligible for the post.
Adihan
27-03-2008, 17:08
(OOC: Candidates will come tomorrow instead. Just posting background on the political map of Ad'ihan which lays out the counties.)

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Adihan
30-03-2008, 04:59
Parties announce presidential candidates

The seven parties in the Ad'ihan Senate have announced the candidates they will be backing in the upcoming first-ever presidential race in Ad'ihan. Of the seven candidates, three are from Grand Island, and there are two each from Barrier Island and the City of Ad'ihan regions.

The presidential race is seen as a test for the parties, as the new head of state will have effectively no power. Most analysts expect the public to vote along party lines, which could mean Green Ad'ihan's candidate, Josh Randall (Grand Island), or the Action Front's candidate, Michael Rowand (City of Ad'ihan), could do very well in the polls.

Rowand faces Stephen Jones, the Réseau marxiste d'Ad'ihan (Ad'ihan Marxist Network)'s candidate, in City of Ad'ihan primaries — to take place on August 13 (District 1), August 19 (Districts 2 and 4) and August 21 (District 3) — while Randall faces competition in Grand Island from the Conservative Party's Pierre Gillot and the Nationalist Party's François Paul.

The Parti populaire ad'ihanais (Ad'ihan People's Party) are fielding Taylor Jun on Barrier Island to face the Freedom Movement's Katia Indlada.

Calendar:
August 10 — Southern Zone Autonomous Region, Grand Island
August 13 — District 1, City of Ad'ihan; Coastal County, Barrier Island
August 17 — Rovers County, Grand Island; Harley County, Barrier Island
August 19 — District 2, City of Ad'ihan; District 4, City of Ad'ihan
August 21 — Navon County, Barrier Island; District 3, City of Ad'ihan
August 22 — Barrier County, Barrier Island
August 28 — Dalinn County, Barrier Island; Daniels County, Grand Island
September 3 — Airport County, Grand Island
September 9 — Central County, Grand Island
September 10 — Frontier County, Grand Island; President's County, Grand Island
September 15 — regions' nominees finalised
October 15 — Presidential election (round 1)
October 25 — Presidential election (round 2, if necessary)

In addition to the points system in place, in which a candidate wins two points for a primary popular vote win and half a point for a second place, winning the total popular vote in each region is worth five points. The candidate with the most points on September 15 wins the region's nomination.
Adihan
05-04-2008, 10:33
Canning criticised for overseas trip

Prime Minister Alex Canning has been criticised for visiting Starblaydia for a party during critical stages of electoral campaigning for president. Canning, whose party Green Ad'ihan's candidate, Josh Randall, is trailing in opinion polls to the Conservative candidate Pierre Gillot in the Southern Zone Autonomous Region, which will be the first county to hold its primary.

Randall maintains a lead of 14 percentage points on François Paul of the Nationalist Party but trails Gillot by 6 points in the most recent poll conducted by Radio Ad'ihan International and the United Islands Daily.

The Senate recently passed additional legislation giving the President the power to veto Constitutional amendments, which means the post of President has now become more powerful than was originally expected when elections were announced.

In other developments, the Senate also passed an amendment expanding the Senate to 232 seats from the current 62, with the City of Ad'ihan region being represented by 58 senators, each county in Grand Island being represented by 15 senators, the Southern Zone autonomous region getting 14 senators and each county on Barrier Island being represented by 14 senators. The change will take effect at the next general election, which will, at the latest, be in 11 months' time.

Recent opinion poll on upcoming contests:
Grand Island
Randall/GA Gillot/AC Paul/NP

Southern Zone Autonomous Region (August 10)
ALTSEND 38% 37% 25%
POINTE SUD 29% 34% 37%
OTHER URBANISED AREAS 40% 44% 16%
AGGREGATED - INCL. RURAL 36% 42% 22%

Rovers County (August 17)
PILMINSTER 44% 46% 10%
OTHER URBANISED AREAS 40% 36% 24%
AGGREGATED - INCL. RURAL 39% 39% 22%

City of Ad'ihan
Rowand/AF Jones/RM

District 1 (August 13)
AGGREGATED 77% 23%

Barrier Island
Jun/PPA Indlada/PFM
Coastal County (August 13)
URBANISED AREAS 49% 49%
AGGREGATED - INCL. RURAL 54% 46%

Harley County (August 17)
URBANISED AREAS 62% 36%
AGGREGATED - INCL. RURAL 60% 40%

*Margin of error ± 4%

Party legend:
GA – Green Ad'ihan
AC – Ad'ihan Conservatives
NP – Nationalist Party
AF – Action Front
RM – Réseau marxiste d'Ad'ihan
PPA – Parti populaire ad'ihanais
PFM – People's Freedom Movement
Adihan
07-04-2008, 16:18
BREAKING NEWS
Tories win first elections

The Ad'ihan Conservative Party (AC) candidate, Pierre Gillot, has won the first-ever presidential primary held in the nation, according to media projections shortly after polls closed.

The polls, held in the Southern Zone Autonomous Region of Grand Island, are the first in a series of seven contests between three candidates from three parties to represent the region in the final presidential race in two months' time.

Mr Gillot, facing Green Ad'ihan (GA) candidate Josh Randall and the Nationalist Party (NP)'s nominee François Paul in the race for the Grand Island nomination, won with 51% of the vote in the autonomous region, far more than any opinion poll previously predicted.

With 42% of the vote counted, Mr Randall is lagging in second with 34% of the vote while Mr Paul has just 15% of the vote. Radio Ad'ihan International made its projection that Mr Gillot had won shortly after polls closed at 6:30 pm local time. Satellite television channel NewsOnSat called the race for Mr Gillot around 45 minutes later.

Mr Randall, who at the final opinion poll before today's vote had 36% of the vote compared to 42% for Mr Gillot, has suffered because many previously-unregistered voters felt disgusted by Prime Minister Alex Canning (GA) flying off to Starblaydia for a leaders' party while his party's candidate was left alone campaigning at home. As the vote was mainly along party lines, it is being seen that Mr Canning's frivolous attitude towards the election has harmed Mr Randall.

Mr Paul, who had 22% at the last opinion poll, has also suffered because the Nationalists have recently had a very public falling out over nature conservation, with a significant portion of the party threatening to form a breakaway faction.

All this bode well for Mr Gillot, who racked up the votes from those not willing to support either of his two opponents.

This is a big blow for Green Ad'ihan, as the Conservatives have now taken the early lead in the race for the presidency and may have picked up momentum for the next Grand Island contest in Rovers County in a week's time.

District 1 in the City of Ad'ihan and Harley County on Barrier Island will go to the polls in three days in their respective regions' first primaries.

42% of vote counted:
Gillot—AC—121,803
Randall—GA—81,202
Paul—NP—35,824
Total—238,829
Adihan
12-04-2008, 06:24
Judge orders Southern Zone recount, PPA and AF win first contests

The Civil High Court has ruled a recount of Thursday's presidential primary in the Southern Zone Autonomous Region, in which Pierre Gillot (AC) was declared the official winner with just 51% of the 568,640 votes counted and counting was stopped.

Mr Gillot, who had won 48% of the vote to 35% for Josh Randall (GA) and 17% for François Paul (NP) at the point counting was stopped, had earlier been projected as the primary winner by both Radio Ad'ihan International and NewsOnSat. We at the United Islands Daily chose not to call the race on the day and will not be calling it until further counting takes place.

The most senior civil judge in Ad'ihan, Mr Chief Civil Justice Jason Sharp, said that the vote-counters and primary organisers had "thrown the legitimacy and democracy of the vote into question" when they "called off vote-counting well in advance". His ruling comes after Green Ad'ihan mounted a legal challenge to get all the remaining votes counted, believing Mr Randall could secure enough votes to overtake Mr Gillot.

Mr Justice Sharp agreed, further adding that failure to count the remainder 49% of the vote "would skew final numbers when apportioning final points based on the popular vote," warning that this was "effectively rigging the election."

Mr Justice Sharp also added that he had passed the case file on to his counterpart in the Criminal Courts, Mr Chief Crime Justice Billy Wagner, to investigate whether there was any criminal wrongdoing involved.

Meanwhile, the results have come in from District 1 in the City of Ad'ihan as well as Coastal County on Barrier Island, which both held their region's first primaries today. In early results, Michael Rowand of the pro-Orean Action Front has a huge lead over the Marxist candidate Stephen Jones in the City of Ad'ihan, while the People's Party candidate Taylor Jun leads the Freedom Movement's Katia Indlada in Coastal County. Radio Ad'ihan International has already called both races for the leading candidate.

Full recounted results from Thursday's election in the SZAR are expected by Tuesday, while full results from today's two polls should be out by tomorrow. Rovers County in Grand Island and Harley County in Barrier Island will be the next to go to the polls on Thursday, August 17.
Adihan
14-04-2008, 15:44
BREAKING NEWS
Randall 'wins' Southern Zone

The United Islands Daily is projecting a win for Green Ad'ihan candidate Josh Randall in the Southern Zone Autonomous Region primary held last Thursday in the southern-most subentity of the country.

Original projections by the media, and results announced by the primary organisers, showed that Mr Randall's main rival in the Grand Island race, the Conservative candidate Pierre Gillot, had won with 48% of the vote (51% counted).

However, the Chief Civil Justice of Ad'ihan, Mr Justice Jason Sharp, ordered all the votes to be counted and full results published, calling into question the "legitimacy and democracy" of the vote. First results published today, with 91% of the total vote counted, show that Mr Randall has 41% of the vote, with Mr Gillot having 43% and their other opponent, François Paul of the Nationalist Party, having 16%.

This data suggests that many of the votes that were not counted went to Mr Randall — of the 227,384 more votes counted so far, 110,658 votes, or 48.7%, went to Mr Randall, as compared to 83,306, or 36.6%, for Mr Gillot. Mr Paul has picked up another 33,420 votes (14.7%) so far.

All this data seems to fly in the face of the last opinion poll conducted before the primary, which showed Mr Gillot in a clear six-percentage-point lead over Mr Randall.

The Civil Crime Justice, Mr Justice Billy Wagner, who was handed the case file by Mr Justice Sharp, has said that he is preparing indictments against two people for electoral fraud.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Michael Rowand of the pro-Orean Action Front beat Stephen Jones, the Marxist candidate, in the first City of Ad'ihan primary on Sunday, by a margin of 68% or 21,148 votes out of 31,100, 84% to 16%.

In Coastal County on Barrier Island, the People's Party candidate Taylor Jun defeated the Freedom Movement's Katia Indlada by 231,411 votes to 208,231, or by 5.3 percentage points.

Full results from the Southern Zone Autonomous Region are expected by today, with final announcements tomorrow, and although it seems Mr Randall has won, it might still be too early to tell.
Adihan
24-04-2008, 15:34
Rovers County calls for Gillot

The official result from the Rovers County, Grand Island presidential primary with 63% of the vote counted so far is that Conservative candidate Pierre Gillot has defeated his main opponent, the Greens' Josh Randall, by over 8 points, with the third Grand Island candidate François Paul trailing even farther behind.

Mr Gillot, who lost the first Grand Island primary to Mr Randall after a full recount was ordered in the Southern Zone Autnomous Region by two points (42-44 with 14% of the vote for Mr Paul), officially claimed victory in Rovers County at a winner's rally held in Pilminster.

Mr Randall, who is currently in the country's biggest city, Modna Nord, campaigning ahead of the August 28 primary in Daniels County, conceded defeat in a statement that was presented to the media by his campaign manager, Tammy Henderson. "I congratulate Mr Gillot on his victory today in Rovers County," the statement read.

The result, much like the first, flies in the face of opinion polls, which showed Mr Randall and Mr Gillot neck-and-neck heading into this vote, with 39% of the vote each. However, with Mr Gillot a clear winner, by 46 to 38 points (16% for Mr Paul) it appears that momentum has swung back to his side.

Elsewhere, Taylor Jun (PPA) defeated Katia Indlada (PFM) in the Harley County primary on Barrier Island by 7 points, picking up his second win of the campaign and establishing himself as the favourite to win the Barrier Island race to be a presidential finalist.

District 2 and District 4 in the City of Ad'ihan region vote in two days' time, although both votes are expected to go well in favour of the Action Front candidate Michael Rowand, with the Marxist candidate Stephen Jones having nowhere as much support. The Ad'ihani Marxist Network (RM) has admitted that it was a "strategic mistake" to field a candidate in the CA region, which has never been friendly towards the part.

Completed votes:
August 10 — Southern Zone Autonomous Region, Grand Island
Result: Randall (GA) 251,908 (44.3%) over Gillot (AC) 238,260 (41.9%) and Paul (NP) 78,472 (13.8%)
August 13 — District 1, City of Ad'ihan
Result: Rowand (AF) 26,124 (84.0%) over Jones (RM) 4,976 (16.0%)
August 13 — Coastal County, Barrier Island
Result: Jun (PPA) 231,411 (52.6%) over Indlada (PFM) 208,231 (47.3%)
August 17 — Rovers County, Grand Island
Result 63%: Gillot (AC) projected winner 45.7% over Randall (GA) 38.1% and Paul (NP) 16.2%
August 17 — Harley County, Barrier Island
Result: Jun (PPA) 197,319 (53.6%) over Indlada (PFM) 170,813 (46.4%)

Remaining contests:
August 19 — District 2, City of Ad'ihan; District 4, City of Ad'ihan
August 21 — Navon County, Barrier Island; District 3, City of Ad'ihan
August 22 — Barrier County, Barrier Island
August 28 — Dalinn County, Barrier Island; Daniels County, Grand Island
September 3 — Airport County, Grand Island
September 9 — Central County, Grand Island
September 10 — Frontier County, Grand Island; President's County, Grand Island
September 15 — regions' nominees finalised
October 15 — Presidential election (round 1)
October 25 — Presidential election (round 2, if necessary)
Adihan
28-04-2008, 14:40
Stephen Jones becomes first casualty

The first candidate to withdraw from the race to become the first-ever Ad'ihani President has been confirmed, as the Réseau marxiste d'Ad'ihan (Ad'ihan Marxist Network; RM) candidate in the City of Ad'ihan region, Stephen Jones, conceded defeat to his Action Front rival Michael Rowand.

This comes after Mr Rowand resoundingly defeated Mr Jones in presidential primaries in both District 2 and District 4 yesterday, following Mr Rowand's earlier clear win in District 1. The combined vote totals from the three contests in the City of Ad'ihan region give Mr Rowand a commanding lead of nearly 74 percentage points.

The RM issued a statement following the confirmation of results from District 4, saying that it was withdrawing its support for Mr Jones, who is an RM party member. As all candidates must be backed by a party, Mr Jones automatically lost his right to take part in the campaign, although he had already indicated he would ask his party to withdraw his nomination.

This means that District 3, which was due to vote tomorrow, will not have to go to the polls and Mr Randall becomes the first of the three final candidates who will take part in this October's elections.

The RM have not yet decided whether it will back any other candidate still in the race in Grand Island and Barrier Island.

Mr Rowand and the AF, for their parts, have voiced their "understanding" of the circumstances that led to Mr Jones' withdrawal, and have shifted their focus onto the final presidential election campaign.

Analysts say this move gives Mr Rowand a big head-start over his two yet-to-be-determined opponents in the final election, as he now has nearly two months to prepare his campaign for the election.
Adihan
02-05-2008, 15:49
Katia Indlada withdraws from race

The People's Freedom Movement's presidential candidate, Katia Indlada, has withdrawn from the Barrier Island primaries following poll losses in Navon and Barrier Counties in the past two days to the Parti populaire ad'ihanais candidate Taylor Jun.

The two losses meant that Jun mathematically secured the Barrier Island nomination, and will be going against Michael Rowand (City of Ad'ihan) and the yet-to-be-decided Grand Island candidate in the final presidential elections in October.

With the Grand Island race still wide open with only two of seven primaries complete there, it is expected among many analysts that there will be no formal declaration of who will be the Grand Island presidential candidate until the regions' candidates are officially finalised on September 15.

François Paul of the Nationalist Party, who trails the two Grand Island front-runners Pierre Gillot (Conservatives) and Josh Randall (Greens), has indicated that he will become the third withdrawal from this presidential race if he does not obtain a second-place finish tomorrow in Daniels County.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Alex Canning (GA, City of Ad'ihan) has formally announced that a general election for the Senate will be held in March 2148. Mr Canning, who is coming to the end of his three-year term, is seeking a third term in office, although he served a shortened first term of under a year after calling snap elections in 2145.

Campaigning for the general election will officially begin after the presidential elections so as not to mix the campaigning for the presidency and the Senate up.
Adihan
03-05-2008, 12:19
BREAKING NEWS
PPA withdraws from governing coalition

The Ad'ihan People's Party (PPA) has dealt a major blow to the governing Green Ad'ihan party in the Senate ahead of key presidential primaries in Grand Island, with an announcement that it is withdrawing from the governing coalition.

This comes after the Prime Minister, Alex Canning, publicly voiced his support for a right-wing candidate in ongoing Candelaria And Marquez presidential elections.

Mr Canning's centre-left governing coalition, made up of the Greens, the PPA and the People's Freedom Movement, held 31 of the Senate's 62 seats to the opposition coalition (the Action Front and Tories)'s 23. However, with the PPA's withdrawal from the governing bloc, Mr Canning's government now only holds 23 of the Senate's 62 seats.

This public slap in the face for Mr Canning does not bode well for either the Green Ad'ihan presidential candidate, Josh Randall, who is facing a tough set of primaries coming up, but also for the Greens' general election campaign for March's Senate elections.

The Greens, who, based on the latest opinion polls projected to win 71 of 232 Senate seats in March's elections with the Action Front projected to take only 48, now have a lot of work to do to save Mr Randall's campaign, analysts say.

Mr Canning has publicly criticised the PPA in response to today's announcement, denouncing his former coalition partners as "traitors who lack a sense of duty to the nation". However, he did acknowledge that the PPA has promised in its withdrawal not to join the opposition coalition, a move which would leave the government in minority.

Mr Canning is currently in his second term of office and has been in power since the post of Chief Minister was formed in 2144.

Latest extrapolated projections for number of seats in March Senate elections:
Green Ad’ihan (GA) 71
Action Front (AF) 48
Parti populaire ad’ihanais (PPA) 39
Ad'ihan Conservatives (AC) 35
People's Freedom Movement (PFM) 15
Nationalist Party (NP) 15
Réseau marxiste d'Ad'ihan (RM) 8
Independents 1

Margin of error ± 4 seats

Latest presidential opinion poll:
Of the five remaining candidates, who would you most like to see as the first President of Ad’ihan?
Michael Rowand (AF) 33%
Pierre Gillot (AC) 26%
Josh Randall (GA) 23%
Taylor Jun (PPA) 12%
François Paul (NP) 6%

Margin of error ± 6%

Latest government approval rating (following controversy):
Do you approve of Mr Canning's support for an ideological opposite in a foreign land?
Yes 39%
No 61%

Margin of error ± 3%

Do you approve of the job Mr Canning has been doing as Prime Minister?
Before controversy (Margin of error ± 4%):
Yes 68%
No 32%

After controversy (Margin of error ±3%):
Yes 57%
No 43%
Adihan
04-05-2008, 13:47
Greens take sensational Daniels Co. win

Under-fire Prime Minister Alex Canning won a big boost today as his Green Ad’ihan party scored a sensational win in the presidential primary in Daniels County, Grand Island.

Following recent controversy over his backing of right-wing presidential candidate Dr Robyn Motson in Candelaria And Marquez, Mr Canning's Greens were widely expected to lose in Daniels County — home to Ad’ihan's largest city Modna Nord — by significant margins to the Conservatives.

However, the voters of Daniels County have given the Prime Minister a big vote of confidence as the Green candidate, Josh Randall, garnered 53% of the vote in the county, well ahead of his main rival Pierre Gillot, who had only 26%, with 93% of the vote counted. This is the first time in the Grand Island race in which one of the three candidates has polled over 50% of the vote.

The result is seen as a major blow to the Conservatives' challenge, as they were widely expected to win the urban vote in Modna Nord, who were expected to voice their disapproval of Mr Canning at the polls. However, Mr Randall took 62% of the vote in the city to Mr Gillot's 16% with François Paul edging past Mr Gillot into second by taking 22% of the vote in Modna Nord.

With counting still ongoing in the county, there is a real chance that Mr Gillot could place third behind Mr Paul, who has said he will drop out of the race if he fails to get a second-place result in this county.

Mr Gillot spoke shortly after the race was officially called for his rival by the election organisers, saying he was overwhelmed by the results. "I'm very shocked. We certainly expected to do very well here and we will need to go home and consider what went wrong and what we have to do better for our next contest in Airport County." Mr Gillot refused to congratulate Mr Randall, leading Mr Canning to criticise him.

"How can we have someone who refuses to accept defeat in office as President? Josh Randall won in Daniels County today and Pierre Gillot has refused to congratulate Mr Randall. This is outrageous," the Prime Minister told a crowd of supporters in Modna Nord as he prepared to introduce Mr Randall.

Mr Paul has seized on the opportunity as well and similarly criticised his opponent. "I would like to say, I'm delighted with our showing today and I want to heartily congratulate Mr Randall on his win. I am, however, disgusted at the behaviour of Mr Gillot, which has no place in Ad’ihani politics. Mr Randall has won fairly and it is only right to give him the plaudits."

Mr Paul's strong showing in Daniels County had not been expected, as his Nationalist Party is partially made up of elements of the former Grand Island Independent Front — responsible for a terrorist attack in Modna Nord earlier this year which killed over 500 people. There were protests outside L'Hôtel Oriental, which was targetted in April's blast, against Mr Paul and the Nationalist Party. Two people were arrested.

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The Gupta Dynasty
05-05-2008, 03:34
The following is an excerpt from The Times of Chelmar.

Dagora endorses Greens, Randall

AJER, YAFOR 2 - Eliana Dagora's reputation, since her joining Gholgoth, in what has turned into one of the most unpopular decisions a Yaforite leader has ever made, has been in tatters. It is in the field of foreign policy that this is most obvious - Dagora's greatest disasters, such as the Gholgoth debacle, have been in this field. It was a field that, prior to being Elected, Dagora had promised that she would not touch, but, ever since her election, Dagora has systematically abandoned the Sodo Doctrine of nonintervention in international alliance-based politics, and, instead, joined one of the more powerful - and interventionist - alliances in the world, Gholgoth.

However, since that decision, which has proven to be a political deathtrap, Dagora has adopted a more Sodo-esque foreign policy. This has been capped by visits to Wagdog (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=550500) and Amastol (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=554542) earlier this year, in an effort to gain a whole new crop of allies - perhaps less invasive ones. This sharp turnaround in Yaforite foreign policy is indicative of the general mood in the Grand Democratic Duchy, which has consistently been on the side of the non interventionism and diplomacy-based politics, as opposed to the alternative that Dagora has offered in the past. Another part of the Sodo Doctrine of the past was supporting parties all over the world, in an effort to both promote Yaforite ideals abroad, as well as cultivate a crop of international leaders both sympathetic to and interested in the Grand Democratic Duchy.

It is along efforts in these lines that Dagora's recent announcement in support of the current ruling part of Ad'ihan in their already-raging election campaign. Her announcement of support, while not expected, is not entirely surprising, as of all the alternatives, the Green Ad'ihan party is clearly the party most aligned with mainstream Yaforite views, as well as Dagora's own personal views. The party, whose ruling left-center coalition was recently snapped, prior to a stunning primary victory, have had flagging support through much of the electoral season. However, given the nature of politics in Ad'ihan, as well as the way in which they seem to be conducted; it is unlikely that one party or another can go straight downwards for a long time - Ad'ihan's primary-based political system seems geared towards momentum.

"The Green Ad'ihan Party is the best party for Ad'ihan's future," Dagora commented, as she spoke near her offices in the center of administrative Ajer. "Not only does it offer the best alternative for the average Ad'ihani, but it also offers the brightest future for Ad'ihan - both in terms of domestic policy, and in terms of foreign affairs." Dagora continued in this vein, lavish in her praise of the job the party is currently doing in Ad'ihan, as well as what the party promises to do in the future. If anything, Dagora seemed to go a bit overboard in her compliments, though that was most likely a sop to all those Yaforites who disagree with her foreign policy methods and instead like to see this turn-around. If anything, her continued changes in the field of foreign policy indicate an almost return to the years of the Sodo Doctrine and, if not that, a newer future founded on older principles.

The announcement was met with general support from the Yaforite populace. Recent IYPS polls have shown that nearly 68% of Yaforites approve of Dagora's decision to intervene in the Ad'ihani elections, with another 61% supporting her choice of party to support. This is another boost to Dagora's rankings among the populace, which, however, are unlikely to have major changes unless the Grand Democratic Duchy pulls out of Gholgoth all together, which Dagora has ruled out, for the time being, as a plausible choice. For the mean time, however, the Yaforite people seem pleased with the direction that Eliana Dagora is taking in the field of foreign policy, and this decision follows in this new vein of politics.

The show of support is expected, by some political scientists, to have an impact on the race. "This could be the straw that pulls the GA Party back to the top." says one renowned expert, currently working at a think tank in Uharan. Others seem more skeptical. "This race has been going on for some time. I wouldn't expect it to end, just like that." finishes another expert. For the time being, we can only watch and see the effects of this on two countries - on the Grand Democratic Duchy, and on Ad'ihan.
Adihan
05-05-2008, 16:44
Tories lose ground

The Ad’ihan Conservatives have lost ground to the Greens, according to the final result from yesterday's primary in Daniels County, Grand Island, which put the Tories' Pierre Gillot in a weak second place, only just ahead of François Paul of the Nationalist Party.

Official results from poll organisers show the Green Ad’ihan candidate, Josh Randall, with 52.8% of the vote total in the county. Mr Gillot fared badly and only garnered 24.4% of votes cast — that's 120,075 votes — barely ahead of Mr Paul, who picked up 112,201 votes or 22.8%. Mr Randall was the choice of 259,834 voters.

This revelation comes as the Greens received a high-profile foreign endorsement from Yaforite leader Eliana Dagora, in a further blow to the Conservatives, who have been making no secret of their attempts to get foreign backing.

At least two political analysts polled by the Islands Daily agreed that the Tories were now very much on the back foot and had a lot to do if they want to win the next primary, which is in Airport County on September 3.

Voters in Dz'ai are strongly nationalist and if Mr Paul does not withdraw from the race, as he had promised to do if he did not achieve a second place in Daniels County, he can be expected to do well in that city.

In Kinney Road, it was pretty even between Mr Randall and Gillot before yesterday's result. It is still unclear if yesterday's result will tip the scales in favour of Mr Randall, although that is currently the prevailing feeling among the experts.

However, Mr Gillot and the Tories continue to lead in opinion polls in the crucial county of Central County, which includes the two major city suburbs of the City of Ad’ihan region, Dullham and Oldbridge and goes to the polls nearly a week after Airport County.

The final 'big' contest is in Frontier County, a place which holds its primary on the final day of primary season on September 10. That is a key county to win as there are three big urban areas where the Greens and Tories remain neck-and-neck.
Adihan
07-05-2008, 15:51
New blow for Greens with lost bill in Senate

Green Ad’ihan's governing centre-left coalition — and the Greens in particular — has suffered a fresh blow ahead of a crucial presidential primary in two days in Airport County.

The governing coalition, which after the withdrawal of one of its main members now only has 23 of 62 seats, lost a controversial bill vote to the opposition coalition (which also has 23 seats) after its former member, the Parti populaire ad’ihanais, chose to abstain on a vote on watershed restrictions.

The Greens and its partners the People's Freedom Movement had both argued for a removal of the watershed — the time after which less child-friendly content is allowed to be shown on television, saying that it was time for Ad’ihan to move away from its overly-conservative image and be more open to and for everyone.

However, the opposition, led by the Greens' presidential primary rivals the Conservatives, argued that removing the watershed would be severely detrimental to children in their formative years if they were exposed to sexually or graphically explicit content.

The Ad’ihan Marxist Network suggested an outright ban on violence on TV, but this was swiftly rejected by both sides. In the end, with the Conservatives and the Action Front with 23 seats, as well as the Nationalists (4) and Marxists (5) all opposing the bill, the bill failed to pass.

Prime Minister Alex Canning, himself personally against the bill, said it was a "dreadful slap in the face" for his party, even though he felt "personally glad it did not pass".

The two main urban areas voting in Airport County in two days' time, Dz'ai and Kinney Road, are both mostly pro-Green, although the Nationalists have surged in Dz'ai while the Tories remain close in Kinney Road. Some analysts are suggesting that this Senate defeat might be enough to see the Greens slip into second in Dz'ai behind the Nationalists, in what would be a sensational win for Mr François Paul.

However, a majority of experts agree that it is impossible in the current climate, in which the two main parties are receiving new blows every few days, to tell how this will truly impact the primary.
Adihan
09-05-2008, 17:46
Tories suffer big primary loss

The Conservative Party's presidential bid for its candidate Pierre Gillot is in tatters today after suffering a big defeat in Airport County to its main rivals the Greens, even falling into third in the biggest city in the county, Dz'ai, behind the Nationalist Party.

The Green Ad’ihan candidate, Josh Randall, won his second straight primary with over 50% of the vote, picking up a whopping 57.1% of the votes cast, with Mr Gillot winning only 21.8% of the vote — an even closer margin (0.7%) to the Nationalist Party than compared to the previous primary in Daniels County (1.6%), and certainly closer than the Tories would like.

This big win for Mr Randall throws the Tories' presidential campaign into doubt, as the pressure will now grow on Mr Gillot and his party to withdraw. Analysts agree that the Conservatives have a lot of thinking to do in the week ahead leading up to the next primary in Central County — where they once held a commanding lead which has narrowed to a single-digit lead — about whether or not to drag the party through further body blows.

The Tories can still mathematically win the Grand Island nomination, although it would require them winning all three remaining contests in Central, President's and Frontier Counties. Latest opinion polls conducted before today's result had the Tories leading by six points in Central County — where they once held an 11-point lead — but trailing the Greens in both President's and Frontier Counties by significant margins. Mr Gillot has announced that he will make a statement on the future of his campaign "when the time is right".

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party — which picked up 37% of the vote in the heavily nationalistic city of Dz'ai (the Greens took 38% and the Tories 25%) — has announced that despite positive results in the last two primaries, it would be withdrawing its support for its presidential candidate, François Paul, eliminating him from the race on eligibility grounds. They have now committed their support in the national race to the Action Front's Michael Rowand, who won the nomination to represent the City of Ad’ihan region.

This means that should Mr Gillot withdraw from the race, Mr Randall would — against the odds — win the Grand Island nomination. In his victory speech in Kinney Road today, he told jubilant supporters that "we are almost there, but not quite there yet.

"I thank the Nationalist candidate, François Paul, for a competitive race through the four primaries so far, and was disappointed to hear of his withdrawal from the race. However, that means that we are that much closer to securing our goal of the chance to represent Grand Island in the presidential race. I urge Mr Gillot to consider his position in this race right now and make the right decision," he told a cheering crowd.
Austar Union
09-05-2008, 18:57
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b6/Today_%28UK_newspaper%29_logo.svg/189px-Today_%28UK_newspaper%29_logo.svg.png

Govt Silent on Ad'ihan Elections, 'Community Groups' Voice Their Support for Conservatives

ANATOBA CITY - As primaries for the Presidential Elections continue in Grand Island province of Ad'ihan, the Unione of Capitalizt States government has refused to comment on issues that face voters in upcoming weeks, and to support any candidates or parties during this time.

A decision made on the basis that 'the Austarian government does not interfere in the domestic affairs of others, including elections', community groups across the UCS have remained in stark contrast to the government in their approach to the elections, quick to voice their support of Presidential Candidate Pierre Gillot of the Conservative Party after his third consecutive loss in Airport County.

With Tories expected to shortly convene to consider the party's future in the election, Dr. Ashley Walters from the Unofficial Official Office of Public Statements has urged Party Officials to keep on with their support of Mr. Pierre Gillot.

" Although his chances of victory of lower, giving up now could destroy the credibility of the Conservative Party at upcoming Senate elections. "

Experts seem to agree.

" With François Paul now out of the elections, the Conservative Party would do well to position itself as a good alternative to the much more extreme Nationalist Party. Overall, Pierre Gillot serves to become the most electable candidate yet, with the Green Party controlling government and the Conservatives being for the most part--moderate. "

" A moderate President will serve the people of Ad'ihan well, especially considering the more extreme elements that make up the current Senate, nearly all of them able to control government in one way or another. The President needs to remain a decent counter to the more 'controlling' tendencies of government, so not a Green candidate, while maintaining a balance of political interests for the furtherance of the general wellbeing of the people as a whole; the Conservatives remain an only alternative. "

Meanwhile, other political spectators have chosen to take interest in the Green's loss of power in the Senate.

" With the Greens unable to maintain their previously firm partnership with the Ad'ihan People's Party, how can they be expected to maintain any sense of national unity with the position of President also under their control? Not only that, how much have they showed themselves acting in the interests of the people they govern--it has been in fact the Conservatives most interested in protecting them, leading the Opposition which only managed to defeat the bill which would see the watershed removed completely by just one but important vote. "

" I'd be looking at who is fit to govern, more than anything else, and who definitely isn't. I think recent events, not including polls which have struck me as odd, seem to speak for themselves. "
Adihan
13-05-2008, 15:27
Tories out of race following Central County shock

The Ad’ihan Conservatives have made the decision to withdraw Pierre Gillot from the presidential race, handing victory in Grand Island's primaries to Green Ad’ihan's Josh Randall, following new opinion polls ahead of tomorrow's scheduled Central County primaries — now certain to be cancelled — which showed their one-time 11-point lead turn into a four-point deficit, proving that momentum continues to play a big role in Ad’ihani politics.

Mr Gillot made the announcement in front of his supporters in Dullham, in Central County, where his campaign was based. He congratulated Mr Randall on his win but criticised the poll organisers of the first primary in the Southern Zone Autonomous Region, which was originally declared for Mr Gillot before a full recount was ordered and it was found that Mr Randall had scraped a victory.

"We didn't need the negative press we received from that. If I had known that the full result had not been counted I would not have claimed victory. That incident gave us a lot of bad PR and left us with egg on our faces and, more importantly, it gave Mr Randall something to build on against us," Mr Gillot said.

With all three races being concluded ahead of time, there is now an election downtime of a month or so before the first round of final voting — but the campaigning is not likely to let up.

There have also been calls, led by the Marxists and Conservatives, to reform the primary process. Under the Marxist plan, all counties in all three regions would vote in primaries on the same day, thereby deciding the final candidates on the same day. This plan has attracted support from the PPA and PFM, while the Greens and the Action Front have voiced tentative support for it.

The Conservatives, backed by the Nationalists, agree with the Marxist proposal in general, but want three of Grand Island's seven primaries to be held a week prior to the rest of the primaries, in order to help with logistics. The Tories also say that it would help with the phenomenon of momentum.

The Action Front is also pushing for a change to how nominees are selected, and are proposing that instead of the current two-points-per-win system, each county that votes gets a number of points to distribute among the candidates based on popular vote, depending on how many people turned out to vote in that county. This plan, for the moment, has little support.

All three will be debated in the Senate prior to next March's general election.
Adihan
23-05-2008, 14:59
Senate passes primary reform bill

Following over a week of debate, discussions and changes to a controversial bill that would reform future presidential primaries, the Ad’ihani Senate has voted 49-13 to pass the bill.

It comprises elements of all three different suggested changes to the primary process put forward by various parties after Pierre Gillot (AC, Grand Island) withdrew from the presidential race on Grand Island due to falling approval rates in opinion polls.

The changes to the process:
• Primaries in all counties in the City of Ad’ihan and Barrier Island regions will take place on the same day.
• The three most influential Grand Island primaries, in Central County, Frontier County and the Southern Zone Autonomous region, will take place on the same day exactly seven days prior to the primaries in the City of Ad’ihan and Barrier Island.
• The four remaining Grand Island primaries will take place on the same day as the City of Ad’ihan and Barrier Island primaries.
• When only two regions are taking part in the primary process, all the primaries, regardless of location, will take place on the same day.
• During the third rotational slot of the presidency, no primaries will be held, as per the old law.
• Instead of the current two-points-per-win policy, nominees will be selected by the popular vote, with the points nomination system scrapped.

The changes take effect from the next presidential elections in 2149.
Adihan
24-05-2008, 12:32
Parties submit Senatorial candidates, 14 seats uncontested

The final party lists of candidates in the upcoming Senate elections have been submitted today, with 14 seats — three in the City of Ad’ihan, six in Grand Island and five in Barrier Island not being contested by more than one party.

The Ad’ihani legislature, which uses a unicameral chamber of parliament (the Senate), will hold its first elections post-independence in March next year. Of the 232 seats that will make up the new Senate, at least eight will go to the governing Green Ad’ihan, following today's announcement.

The Nationalists picked up one uncontested seat, as did the People's Forward Movement. The Tories and Action Front each picked up two uncontested seats, with the People's Party and Marxist Network both facing competition in all the seats they are challenging for.

Of the 14 uncontested seats, only one is an incumbent Senator from the time of the International Protectorate, Sen Humphrey Coombs, who currently represents Ad’ihan District Three and will do so until the Senate is officially dissolved prior to the elections.

The 14 seats that will not be contested come March 14 are:
City of Ad’ihan District One Seat: Tyler Johnson (Green Ad’ihan)
City of Ad’ihan District One Seat: James Phillips (Action Front)
City of Ad’ihan District Four Seat: Francisco Carlos (People's Forward Movement)
Grand Island Southern Zone Seat 14: Michelle Michaels (Ad’ihan Conservatives)
Grand Island Central County Seat 2: Jason Penders (GA)
Grand Island Frontier County Seat 1: Lixion Hernández (GA)
Grand Island Frontier County Seat 7: Francis David Jacob Boston (Nationalist Party)
Grand Island President's County Seat 5: Peter Barnaby (GA)
Grand Island Rovers County Seat 3: Paul Tilson (AC)
Barrier Island Harley County Seat 11: Roland-Yves Alphonse (AF)
Barrier Island Harley County Seat 13: Jon Denslow (GA)
Barrier Island Navon County Seat 6: Alfred Histon (GA)
Barrier Island Dalinn County Seat 10: Sen. Humphrey Coombs (GA)
Barrier Island Dalinn County Seat 12: Colin Bannister (GA)
Adihan
03-06-2008, 00:55
First test for presidential candidates as potential hurricane looms

The three Ad’ihani presidential candidates face their first real test in the lead-up to polls in three weeks' time as a tropical depression looms large in the Great Mets Sea south of Ad’ihan.

According to the national weather service, the Ad’ihani Islands Weather Agency (AIWA), Tropical Depression Seven, the first cyclone to threaten the country since May 2146 when Ad’ihan was still a part of Liverpool England, "is expected to intensify over the next 24 hours and could become a tropical storm by tonight".

The AIWA adds that the Heartland's main tropical cyclone centre based in Orean, Liventia, has warned that the tropical depression, which would be called "Henry" if it becomes a tropical storm, could become a hurricane prior to making landfall on Barrier Island before weakening.

An AIWA tropical cyclone expert, Dr Tim Larkin, told the Islands Daily that such an occurrence was possible "in the four- to five-day timeframe", but noted that the last storm to threaten the country, Mordrel, never developed beyond a moderate-strength tropical storm and ended up dissipating before it hit Ad’ihan.

However, the presidential candidates are not taking any risks, being all too aware about the image they project ahead of the vote. Barrier Island candidate Taylor Jun (PPA) was the first to react to the news, telling a campaign rally that he would do his best to protect his fellow Barrier Islanders and help in the wake of the storm. He also called on Prime Minister Alex Canning (GA) to declare a pre-emptive state of emergency on Barrier Island to help with mandatory evacuation orders, something the Prime Minister's Office has said he will not do.

The City of Ad’ihan candidate, Michael Rowand (AF), said that declaring a state of emergency now "would only cause panic and trouble for people", adding that with the storm still five days away, it "will not do us any good to speculate". However, he did urge everyone in the islands to keep track of future AIWA forecasts, adding that as president — still meant to be a position with limited powers — he would do anything he could if faced with a similar situation.

Grand Island candidate Josh Randall (GA) is currently in Albrecht, Candelaria And Marquez, on a family visit to his brother and sister-in-law — who is Ad’ihan's ambassador in Albrecht — but his campaign issued a statement not dissimilar to Mr Rowand's comments.
Adihan
03-06-2008, 16:54
SIDE NOTES
Full text of AIWA bulletin and Randall campaign statement

AIWA bulletin:
TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN NR 2
AD’IHANI ISLANDS WEATHER AGENCY
4 PM LOCAL TIME SEPTEMBER 26 2147

TROPICAL DEPRESSION SEVEN IS STILL SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS AND HAS NOT
INTENSIFIED SIGNIFICANTLY YET. TOP WIND SPEEDS NEAR THE CENTRE OF THE
CYCLONE REMAIN NEAR 55 KM/H.

AT 3 PM IT WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 850 KM SOUTH OF ALTSEND, GRAND ISLAND.
IT IS MOVING TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 7 KM/H. IT IS EXPECTED TO
INTENSIFY OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS AND COULD STILL BECOME A TROPICAL STORM
BY TONIGHT.

THE HEARTLAND HURRICANE PREDICTION CENTRE IN OREAN, LIVENTIA CONTINUES TO
FORECAST A HURRICANE OUT OF THIS SYSTEM PRIOR TO LANDFALL ON BARRIER ISLAND.
THIS IS A PLAUSIBLE SITUATION IN THE FOUR- TO FIVE-DAY TIMEFRAME BUT IT IS
STILL FAIRLY EARLY TO JUDGE.

THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO WEATHER CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CYCLONE
AFFECTING THE ISLANDS BUT EXPECT SEAS TO TURN CHOPPY IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS
THE STRENGTHENING CYCLONE APPROACHES FROM THE SOUTH. WINDS SHOULD BEGIN TO
PICK UP IN 48 HOURS OR SO AND POSSIBLY REACH GALE-FORCE WITHIN 72. RAINY
WEATHER - UNRELATED TO THE CYCLONE - WILL SET IN OVER BARRIER ISLAND IN 24
HOURS BUT SHOULD CLEAR UP BEFORE THE CYCLONE NEARS WITH MORE BAD WEATHER.

AIWA CONTINUES TO BE IN TOUCH WITH THE HURRICANE PREDICTION CENTRE IN OREAN
ABOUT THIS CYCLONE. IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO PANIC AT THIS STAGE AND RECALL THAT
THE LAST CYCLONE TO THREATEN THE ISLANDS AND HAD US UNDER TROPICAL STORM
WARNINGS DID NOT PAN OUT AS FORECAST AND DISSIPATED BEFORE REACHING US.

CHECK THAT YOUR HURRICANE PREPARATIONS ARE IN PLACE IN CASE EMERGENCY
EVACUATIONS ARE NEEDED AT ANY POINT.

REFER TO CYCLONE BULLETINS FROM THE HEARTLAND HURRICANE PREDICTION CENTRE IN
OREAN FOR A MORE TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION AND THE FULL FORECAST.

THE NEXT BULLETIN WILL BE ISSUED WHEN NEW INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE OR BY
4 AM TOMORROW MORNING.

AIWA FORECASTER TIM LARKIN

Randall campaign statement:

Mr Randall would like to extend best wishes and thoughts to Barrier Islanders as they prepare to face this possible disaster. Although Mr Randall is currently on a family visit in Candelaria And Marquez, he continues to follow events developing back home in the lead-up to these polls.

He concurs with comments made by Michael Rowand that it would not be wise to speculate about this storm with its possible impacts still so far out and that Taylor Jun's proposal, at this stage, is not feasible.

Mr Randall will return to the islands tomorrow.
Adihan
09-06-2008, 15:49
Islands put under hurricane warning; Canning declares emergency

Prime Minister Alex Canning has declared a nationwide state of emergency following news that both islands are now under a hurricane warning for an approaching storm.

Standing next to his party's presidential candidate, Josh Randall, in what many commentators have described as a move to try to portray Mr Randall as the most suited to dealing with such situations as president, Mr Canning announced the state of emergency, which will last for 72 hours.

This is the first time Ad’ihan has been under a state of emergency since independence. All schools and public offices will be shut down during the emergency, and residents on Barrier Island are being advised to evacuate their homes as Hurricane Henry bears down on the islands.

Mr Randall's two presidential opponents, Michael Rowand (AF/City of Ad’ihan) and Taylor Jun (PPA/Barrier Island), have both criticised what they called the "politicisation" of the emergency declaration, although Mr Canning has defended his candidate by pointing out that any state of emergency declaration is by nature a political move.

The Ad’ihani Islands Weather Agency (Aiwa) has warned that Henry is the first tropical cyclone to ever necessitate hurricane warnings for the islands and could "cause severe damage". It is expected to make landfall near Navon Beach within the next 36 hours, according to Aiwa's latest bulletin.

Full text of latest Aiwa warning
TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN NR 12
AD’IHANI ISLANDS WEATHER AGENCY
4 PM LOCAL TIME OCTOBER 1 2147

WARNING. HURRICANE WARNINGS IN EFFECT. SEE PARAGRAPH TWO.

HURRICANE HENRY CONTINUES TO CHURN NORTHWARDS TOWARDS BARRIER ISLAND
AND CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY. TOP WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS
DANGEROUS CYCLONE ARE NEAR 160 KM/H.

AT 3 PM THE GOVERNMENT OF AD’IHAN HAS ISSUED A HURRICANE WARNING FOR
THE ENTIRE COASTLINE OF BOTH GRAND AND BARRIER ISLANDS. THIS IS THE
FIRST TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS THAT HURRICANE WARNINGS
HAVE BEEN NEEDED FOR A CYCLONE. ALL AREAS INLAND ARE ALSO UNDER
HURRICANE WARNINGS.

THE HURRICANE WARNINGS MEAN THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS, INCLUDING WINDS
EXCEEDING 120 KM/H, ARE POSSIBLE IN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 24 HOURS.

AT 3 PM IT WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 180 KM SOUTH OF POINTE SUD ON
GRAND ISLAND. IT IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 6 KM/H. THIS
HURRICANE IS A CATEGORY TWO CYCLONE AND COULD CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE TO
THE ISLANDS. ON THIS CURRENT COURSE THE HURRICANE SHOULD MAKE LANDFALL,
POSSIBLY AS A CATEGORY THREE STORM, ON BARRIER ISLAND NEAR NAVON BEACH
WITHIN 36 HOURS.

THE LATEST WARNING FROM THE HEARTLAND HURRICANE PREDICTION CENTRE IN
OREAN SUGGESTS THAT THE STORM WILL MAKE LANDFALL IN ABOUT 30 HOURS AS A
MAJOR HURRICANE WITH WINDS OF 190 KM/H. THIS WOULD BE A POSSIBLY
DEVASTATING SCENARIO AS THE ISLANDS ARE NOT FULLY PREPARED FOR A STORM
OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

CURRENTLY, HURRICANE HENRY IS PRODUCING LARGE SWELLS OFF THE COASTS OF
THE ISLANDS OF UP TO 7 METRES. HIGH WAVES AND CHOPPY SEAS CONTINUE AS
THE STORM APPROACHES. DO NOT VENTURE INTO THE SEA.

THE LATEST GUST READING FROM POINTE SUD IS 86.3 KM/H AND THE LATEST GUST
READING FROM ALTSEND IS 79.9 KM/H. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN
LOCALLY WITH GUSTS TO HURRICANE STRENGTH AS THE CYCLONE PASSES TO THE
EAST OF GRAND ISLAND.

HEAVY RAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OUTER BANDS OF THE STORM ARE ALREADY
FALLING ON THE ISLANDS.

IF YOU ARE ON THE ISLANDS PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS ISSUED A
STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARATION. THE PUBLIC IS STRONGLY ADVISED NOT TO
VENTURE OUT. IF YOU ARE IN BARRIER ISLAND, YOU ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED
TO EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST EVACUATION CENTRE.

AIWA'S FORECAST FOR THIS CYCLONE DOES NOT DIFFER MUCH FROM THE HEARTLAND'S
HURRICANE PREDICTION CENTRE IN OREAN. IT CALLS FOR LANDFALL, POSSIBLY
DIRECTLY ON NAVON BEACH, AS A STRONG CATEGORY TWO OR LOW-END CATEGORY
THREE HURRICANE WITHIN THE NEXT TWO DAYS.

REFER TO CYCLONE BULLETINS FROM THE HEARTLAND HURRICANE PREDICTION CENTRE
IN OREAN FOR A MORE TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION AND THE FULL
FORECAST.

THE NEXT BULLETIN WILL BE ISSUED WHEN NEW INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE OR
BY 4 AM TOMORROW MORNING.

AIWA FORECASTER JUSTIN HOLMES
Adihan
10-06-2008, 16:21
Hurricane "will cause severe damage" to islands

Just two weeks ahead of the first round of voting in Ad’ihan's first-ever presidential elections, the Ad’ihani Islands Weather Agency (Aiwa) has issued a stark warning that the approaching Hurricane Henry "will cause severe damage" to what it termed "unprotected areas" of Ad’ihan.

Aiwa added that as huge parts of the nation are not fully ready to take on a storm this strong, "severe damage elsewhere is also possible". Henry, which has strengthened into a Category Three hurricane in the past six hours, is the strongest storm on record ever to threaten the islands.

The three presidential candidates issued a joint statement late this afternoon through their respective campaigns calling on all Ad’ihanais, regardless of political leanings, to come together and support the community in the face of, and subsequently in the wake of, the cyclone.

"We should all, as Ad’ihanais, continue to maintain our sense of unity as one nation through these trying times like we have done in the past," the statement added.

Prime Minister Alex Canning, who declared a nationwide state of emergency earlier today, has left the City of Ad’ihan region to take shelter at his private residence in the nation's largest city, Modna Nord.

Aiwa forecaster Tim Larkin, speaking to the Islands Daily, said that the storm should pass over Barrier Island in "a matter of hours" and clear out of southern-most Grand Island within two days. However, he also warned that winds would not die down fully and could continue at or above gale force beyond that time period.

TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN NR 12-A
AD’IHANI ISLANDS WEATHER AGENCY
10 PM LOCAL TIME OCTOBER 1 2147

WARNING. HURRICANE WARNINGS IN EFFECT. SEE PARAGRAPH TWO.
STAY IN SHELTER!

HURRICANE HENRY HAS INTENSIFIED INTO A CATEGORY THREE CYCLONE AND
CONTINUES ITS RUN TOWARDS BARRIER ISLAND. THE ONE PIECE OF GOOD
NEWS IS THAT THE CYCLONE COULD BE REACHING PEAK STRENGTH NOW AND
SHOULD START TO WEAKEN. TOP WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE
HENRY ARE NEAR 190 KM/H.

AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE — 10 PM — A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN
EFFECT FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY. THE COASTLINES OF BOTH GRAND AND
BARRIER ISLANDS, AS WELL AS AREAS INLAND, ARE ALL UNDER HURRICANE
WARNINGS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS
THAT HURRICANE WARNINGS HAVE BEEN NEEDED FOR A CYCLONE.

THE HURRICANE WARNINGS MEAN THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS, INCLUDING WINDS
EXCEEDING 120 KM/H, ARE POSSIBLE IN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 24 HOURS.

AT 9 PM HURRICANE HENRY WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 145 KM SOUTH-SOUTHEAST
OF POINTE SUD ON GRAND ISLAND AND MOVING NORTH-NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 7 KM/H.
HURRICANE HENRY IS A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE AND WILL CAUSE SEVERE
DAMAGE TO UNPROTECTED AREAS OF THE ISLANDS. SEVERE DAMAGE ELSEWHERE
IS ALSO POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY AS MANY AREAS ARE NOT FULLY PREPARED FOR
A HURRICANE OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

GALE-FORCE WINDS OF 65 KM/H OR MORE EXTEND OUTWARD ABOUT 270 KM FROM
THE CENTRE OF THE HURRICANE. STORM-FORCE WINDS OF 93 KM/H OR MORE
EXTEND OUTWARD ABOUT 180 KM FROM THE STORM CENTRE, WHILE HURRICANE-
FORCE WINDS OF 120 KM/H OR MORE ARE TO BE ANTICIPATED AS FAR AS 100
KM FROM THE CENTRE.

THE HURRICANE IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL, LIKELY AS A CATEGORY THREE
STORM, NEAR NAVON BEACH IN ABOUT 24 HOURS. THE HEARTLAND HURRICANE
PREDICTION CENTRE IN OREAN CONTINUES TO WARN ON A SIMILAR OUTCOME AND
IS NOT CURRENTLY FORECASTING WEAKENING OF THE STORM.

CURRENTLY, HURRICANE HENRY IS PRODUCING LARGE SWELLS OFF THE COASTS OF
THE ISLANDS OF UP TO 8 METRES. HIGH WAVES AND CHOPPY SEAS CONTINUE AS
THE STORM APPROACHES. DO NOT VENTURE INTO THE SEA. STAY INDOORS!

LATEST MAXIMUM WIND READINGS FROM THE ISLANDS ARE:
POINTE SUD — GRAND ISLAND 91 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 114.3 KM/H
ALTSEND — GRAND ISLAND 85 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 95.8 KM/H
PILMINSTER — GRAND ISLAND 69 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 81.1 KM/H
FLITTON — GRAND ISLAND 71 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 77.3 KM/H
NAVON BEACH — BARRIER ISLAND 82 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 92.0 KM/H

WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN LOCALLY WITH GUSTS TO HURRICANE
STRENGTH AS THE CYCLONE PASSES TO THE EAST OF GRAND ISLAND. WINDS
WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN ON BARRIER ISLAND. IN NORTHWEST
GRAND ISLAND, EXPECT WINDS TO GALE FORCE AT FIRST. HURRICANE-FORCE
GUSTS MAY BE POSSIBLE IN A FEW DAYS.

HEAVY RAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OUTER BANDS OF THE STORM ARE ALREADY
FALLING ON THE ISLANDS.

IF YOU ARE ON THE ISLANDS PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS ISSUED A
STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARATION. THE PUBLIC IS STRONGLY ADVISED NOT TO
VENTURE OUT. IF YOU ARE IN BARRIER ISLAND, YOU ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED
TO EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST EVACUATION CENTRE.

REFER TO CYCLONE BULLETINS FROM THE HEARTLAND HURRICANE PREDICTION CENTRE
IN OREAN FOR A MORE TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION AND THE FULL
FORECAST.

THE NEXT BULLETIN WILL BE ISSUED WHEN NEW INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE OR
BY 4 AM TOMORROW MORNING.

AIWA FORECASTER JUSTIN HOLMES
Adihan
11-06-2008, 15:35
Hurricane-force winds batter Ad’ihan, two dead

Altsend, AD’IHAN (Islands Daily)— At least two people are known to have died as hurricane-force winds from the approaching Hurricane Henry begin to set in on the islands of Ad’ihan. The hurricane, which is expected to make landfall on Barrier Island in the next day, battered the southern areas of Grand Island with heavy rains and winds in excess of 120 km/h.

Southern Zone Autonomous Region officials told the Islands Daily that one person was killed when a strong gust blew him and his bicycle off a hilly course south of Altsend. The other death occurred in extreme south-eastern Rovers County, according to local sources, when a motorist lost control of a van in the heavy rain and skidded into a tree.

Five others are missing in southern Grand Island, with at least 30 reports of injuries. Officials say that with worsening conditions, it is unlikely any search-and-rescue mission to look for the five missing persons will be organised.

The Ad’ihani Islands Weather Agency (Aiwa) is warning that the category three hurricane could wreak more havoc on the islands before it clears out. Altsend reported its highest-ever gust reading at 2:03 am earlier today, meteorologists say, when the Aiwa weather station there recorded a gust to 143 km/h.

On Barrier Island, authorities in the southern-most county, Navon, have said that they believe 75% of residents in the county have either taken refuge in evacuation centres or have left the county for safer ground. The other quarter of residents had refused to leave, officials said, sparking fears for their safety in an area not familiar with hurricanes.

Prime Minister Alex Canning, speaking at a hastily-arranged early-morning press conference at 3:50 am in Modna Nord, said that if post-storm conditions warranted, he would seek to postpone the first round of presidential elections back ten days to October 25.

Justin Holmes, a tropical cyclone expert at Aiwa, told the Islands Daily that Hurricane Henry is expected to make landfall near Navon Beach in about 14 hours from the last warning — around 7 pm tonight — as a major hurricane.

However, he did have some good news that the hurricane might be weakening and hurricane warnings for the extreme northwest of Grand Island might be downgraded to tropical storm warnings later today if the hurricane continues on its current path.

TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN NR 13
AD’IHANI ISLANDS WEATHER AGENCY
4 AM LOCAL TIME OCTOBER 2 2147

WARNING. HURRICANE WARNINGS IN EFFECT. SEE PARAGRAPH TWO.
STAY IN SHELTER!

HURRICANE HENRY, STILL A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE, IS STILL HEADING
ON A PATH TOWARDS SOUTHERN BARRIER ISLAND. LANDFALL NEAR NAVON BEACH
COULD OCCUR AS SOON AS 8 PM TONIGHT. THE STORM HAS STRENGTHENED
SINCE THE LAST ADVISORY BUT IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN FROM HERE. TOP
WIND SPEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CYCLONE ARE ABOUT 195 KM/H.

AT THE TIME OF THIS BULLETIN — 4 AM — A HURRICANE WARNING IS STILL
IN FORCE FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. ALL AREAS ALONG THE COAST AS WELL
AS INLAND GRAND AND BARRIER ISLAND REMAIN UNDER A HURRICANE WARNING.
AREAS IN NORTHWEST GRAND ISLAND COULD SEE THIS WARNING BE DOWNGRADED
LATER TODAY IF THE CYCLONE CONTINUES ON ITS CURRENT PATH.

AT 3 AM TODAY, HURRICANE HENRY WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 105 KM
SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF NAVON BEACH ON BARRIER ISLAND AND MOVING NORTHEAST
AT ABOUT 8 KM/H. A TURN TOWARDS THE NORTH LATER TODAY COULD OCCUR AND
BRING IT ON COURSE FOR A DIRECT HIT ON NAVON BEACH.

HURRICANE HENRY IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND DEADLY CYCLONE. LATEST
MEDIA REPORTS INDICATE TWO CONFIRMED DEATHS ON GRAND ISLAND. MORE
DEATHS, ACCOMPANIED BY SEVERE DAMAGE, COULD OCCUR LATER TODAY IN LESS
WELL-PREPARED AREAS.

THE WEATHER STATION AT ALTSEND ON GRAND ISLAND RECORDED ITS HIGHEST-
EVER GUST READING AT 2:03 AM TODAY, WITH A GUST TO 123.1 KM/H. ELSEWHERE,
POINTE SUD REPORTED STORM-FORCE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 110 KM/H WITH GUSTS
TO 129.1 KM/H AT 3 AM.

AT 3 AM TODAY, GALE-FORCE WINDS OF 65 KM/H OR MORE EXTENDED OUTWARD
UP TO ABOUT 250 KM FROM THE CENTRE OF THE HURRICANE. STORM-FORCE WINDS
— 93 KM/H OR HIGHER — EXTENDED OUTWARD UP TO ABOUT 175 KM FROM THE
STORM CENTRE. HOWEVER, HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS OF 119 KM/H OR HIGHER
EXPANDED IN RADIUS AND WERE FELT UP TO 110 KM FROM THE CENTRE.

THE HEARTLAND HURRICANE PREDICTION CENTRE IN OREAN, LIVENTIA, NOW
FORECASTS A WEAKENING OF HURRICANE HENRY FROM HERE ON OUT. IT COULD
WEAKEN TO A MID-CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE BY THIS TIME TOMORROW.

CURRENTLY, HURRICANE HENRY IS PRODUCING LARGE SWELLS OFF THE COASTS OF
THE ISLANDS OF UP TO 8 METRES. HIGH WAVES AND CHOPPY SEAS CONTINUE AS
THE STORM APPROACHES. DO NOT VENTURE INTO THE SEA. STAY INDOORS!

LATEST MAXIMUM WIND READINGS FROM THE ISLANDS ARE:

POINTE SUD — GRAND ISLAND 110 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 129.1 KM/H
ALTSEND — GRAND ISLAND 103 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 123.1 KM/H
PILMINSTER — GRAND ISLAND 78 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 86.9 KM/H
FLITTON — GRAND ISLAND 84 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 92.3 KM/H
NAVON BEACH — BARRIER ISLAND 97 KM/H WITH GUSTS TO 110.6 KM/H

WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN LOCALLY IN GRAND ISLAND, AT TIMES
SUSTAINED AT HURRICANE STRENGTH. IN NORTHERN GRAND ISLAND EXPECT
STORM-FORCE WINDS WITH THE OCCASIONAL HURRICANE-FORCE GUST. NORTHWEST
GRAND ISLAND CAN EXPECT SUSTAINED GALES, SOMETIMES GUSTING ABOVE STORM-
FORCE.

HEAVY RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO 40 CM IN MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF
GRAND ISLAND ARE POSSIBLE. EXPECT AT LEAST 255 MM OF RAIN OVER A 24
HOUR PERIOD ACROSS THE NATION.

IF YOU ARE ON THE ISLANDS PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS ISSUED A
STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARATION. IT IS TOO LATE TO EVACUATE. IF YOU HAVE
NOT DONE SO, STAY INDOORS IN A SAFE LOCATION AND DO NOT VENTURE OUT!

THE NEXT BULLETIN WILL BE ISSUED WHEN NEW INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE
OR BY 4 PM LATER TODAY.

AIWA FORECASTER TIM LARKIN
Adihan
14-06-2008, 11:35
Records smashed as hurricane hurls into Barrier Island

Pointe Sud, AD’IHAN (Radio Ad’ihan Intl.)— Long-standing rainfall and high wind records have been toppled this week as Hurricane Henry, a powerful category three storm, crashed into Barrier Island west of Navon Beach.

Sparing the city a direct landfall, Hurricane Henry made landfall just over 80 km (50 miles) west of the outskirts of town, causing widespread damage and power failures throughout southern Barrier Island.

It made landfall at around 5:50 pm, according to the Ad’ihani Islands Weather Agency, which had been tracking the storm. Expert forecaster Tim Larkin told Radio Ad’ihan International that the previous record high wind speed recorded on the islands in history, of 140 km/h (75 knots, or equivalent to a category one hurricane), had been smashed.

"Our readings from Navon Beach a few hours before landfall indicated a maximum wind speed in the cyclone of 190 km/h, making it a category three hurricane," Larkin said. "This also shatters the previous record of 140 km/h recorded on May 7, 2003, near present-day Altsend.

"The hurricane sped up a bit before landfall and thus made landfall earlier than expected. This was, to us, a good thing, as it meant landfall during daylight and not in the darkness, when it could have been more dangerous for the general public.

"The storm is [as of 6:40 pm] about 55 km north of Navon Beach and the whole of Barrier Island is currently experiencing these very severe conditions," Larkin added.

All communications with the island have been cut off due to the power failures, according to reports. Reports also speak of at least six deaths — three on Grand Island — before the storm made landfall. Four people are still missing.

The three presidential candidates, who are all taking refuge in the western Grand Island city of Hatton, have expressed their concern at the situation. Barrier Island candidate Taylor Jun of the PPA has also confirmed that he will be making a trip to Navon Beach for himself as soon as the conditions allow.
Adihan
18-06-2008, 14:35
Presidential elections postponed as islands count toll from storm

Ad’ihan, AD’IHAN (Islands Daily)— The Ad’ihani Senate today unanimously passed an emergency resolution postponing the first round of the presidential election originally scheduled for October 15 by five days to allow Barrier Island communities to recover from devastating Hurricane Henry, which slammed through the nation three days ago.

Speaker of the Senate, Evan Bell, made the announcement to the press shortly after an emergency session held in the City of Ad’ihan. Of the 62 senators, only 18 were present, although the remaining 44 were able to attend the session via video link.

"All sixty-two senators voted in favour of emergency resolution 313, proposed by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Alex Canning. This binding resolution puts the date of the first round of voting in the upcoming presidential election back five days to the twentieth of October, from the original fifteenth of October.

"This resolution does not affect the date of the second round of elections, if such is needed; any second round vote would still be held on the twenty-fifth of October."

Hurricane Henry, a category three "major" hurricane, killed at least 27 people across the nation — two in the City of Ad’ihan, 12 in Grand Island and the remaining 13 in Barrier Island — and left over 100 injured. Damage assessments are still ongoing but damage is thought to amount into the tens of millions of Tazos.

Parts of western Navon Beach suburbs will be "uninhabitable for weeks if not months," according to a disaster relief expert at the Ad’ihani Islands Weather Agency (Aiwa).

The three presidential candidates are all scheduled to make separate visits to the affected areas today. Taylor Jun (PPA), the Barrier Island candidate, will be in Navon Beach, which took the full brunt of the storm. Michael Rowand (AF/City of Ad’ihan) will be attending the funeral of one of the two killed in the CoA before flying to Mountbatten Junction, where four people were killed.

Green Ad’ihan's Josh Randall, the Grand Island candidate, will be visiting both Altsend and Pointe Sud in the Southern Zone Autonomous Region, according to his campaign. Both towns suffered severe wind damage.

Meanwhile, in the lead-up to March's general election, the Greens have lost a crucial vote in the Senate. The vote was conducted 'live' among the 18 present senators and electronically via email for the remaining 44. Pushing for a ban on all vehicles, the Greens failed to get its coalition partner, the People's Freedom Movement — which has eight senators — to support it.

This blow for the Greens could be softened, however, as another key vote is due in the week following the presidential election on the issue of developing new towns in areas that are environmentally protected by law, which Green Ad’ihan is expected to win.
Adihan
25-06-2008, 15:19
Barrier Island communities rebuild ahead of tomorrow's vote

Two weeks after Hurricane Henry slammed into Barrier Island, Navon Beach looks exactly like it did before the storm. Rebuilding work, led by People's Party presidential candidate Taylor Jun, has helped communities that were severely affected on the island recover and restart their lives.

The final damage total from the storm came to over 102 million Tazos*; Barrier Island took damage totalling about Tz 87 million. Mr Jun, who is the candidate representing Barrier Island in the election, donated Tz 5 million from his campaign funds to help rebuild the island, leading some to criticise him for politicising the disaster.

Thirty-nine people were killed in total by Hurricane Henry; twenty-one on Barrier Island, five in the CoA and thirteen in Grand Island. Mr Jun and his two presidential rivals, Josh Randall (GA/Grand Island) and Michael Rowand (AF/City of Ad’ihan), all suspended campaigning following the hurricane and instead helped out with recovery efforts.

So, with the first round of the elections, which were originally supposed to be held four days ago, to be held tomorrow, where do the three candidates stand in the opinion polls?

Taylor Jun (PPA, Barrier Island)
Has the majority of Barrier Island support. His Tz 5 million donation to recovery work on Barrier Island made him more favourable; 4% of people on Barrier Island polled who said they would vote for Mr Jun also said that the donation was what made them decide that they would vote for Mr Jun.

47% of Barrier Islanders view his party in a "positive glow"; 31% in a "negative light" and 22% had no opinion. However, this does not appear to be affecting Mr Jun, as his personal approval rating on the island hovers around 58%.

Mr Jun is expected to easily take his home region and the region he is representing. However, he is a political unknown in Grand Island and the City of Ad’ihan, and is not likely to challenge in those votes. This has led some to question why one of the 'big three' parties in Ad’ihan would choose to select such an unknown for the election.

Josh Randall (GA, Grand Island)
Randall, who has foreign backing from Yaforite leader Eliana Dagora, is, along with the Action Front candidate Michael Rowand, one of the two front-runners of this election. He is expected to split many Grand Island and City of Ad’ihan contests with Mr Rowand — indeed, his approval rating in the CoA (69%) is higher than his approval rating in his home region of Grand Island (53%).

His campaign has been dented multiple times due to criticism over his party's leader, Prime Minister Alex Canning. Mr Randall's closeness to Mr Canning — even appearing next to Mr Canning when the latter declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Henry — has hurt him somewhat.

He is unlikely to win the vote in any of the five Barrier Island counties — most predictions have Taylor Jun and Michael Rowand splitting the five — and is also not expected to win enough votes to make a second round of voting unnecessary.

Michael Rowand (AF, Grand Island)
Michael Rowand, by all accounts, is the favourite to win the presidential election. He is the one candidate who has a chance — a slim one, but it exists — of winning the election outright without the need for a second round.

Nationwide polls have him picking up well over 40% of the vote, although 51% is needed to ensure that there will be no runoff election. The AF have traditionally been the PPA's legislative rivals, although this time around Mr Rowand and his party are seeking to ensure that the Greens do not control both the presidency and the Senate at the same time.

*OOC equivalent: US$178.5 million
Adihan
29-06-2008, 05:44
Anchor: "You're listening to Radio Ad’ihan International. I'm Jerry Liscombe in the Ad’ihan city studio, and this is Election Night Special."

The signature tune of the programme plays.

JL: "It's eight p.m. in Ad’ihan on the twentieth of October, twenty-one forty-seven. Welcome to Radio Ad’ihan International's special elections coverage. Today, Ad’ihanis went to the polls in the first round of voting for the country's first-ever president. We have correspondents on standby all around the country as the results come in. First, the news in detail."

Newsreader: "Radio Ad’ihan International. The news at eight-one p.m., I'm Francine Edwards.

"Voters across Ad’ihan have been voting in the first-round election for the country's president. Turnout is reported to have been high, despite unseasonably warm weather. Polls closed an hour ago, and counting is now underway in the City of Ad’ihan and Grand Island. However, there have been technical hiccups on Barrier Island, as James Kennedy reports from Navon Beach."

The report plays:

JK: "Voting in Barrier Island, especially in areas ravaged earlier this month by Hurricane Henry, got off to a slow start today, but not long after, lines of human traffic began queueing back a few hundred metres. This island, still in the process of rebuilding, is suffering from regular electricity cuts as workers try to restore public buildings.

"As the voting was done electronically, this caused problems at at least four voting stations here in Navon Beach and its outskirts alone. Generators were quickly powered up, and election officials here delayed the closing of polls by a half-hour.

"However, once again the gremlins have struck, and counting, done electronically, has been halted due to a power surge. Officials here are hopeful that when power returns, they will be able to send the load to the City of Ad’ihan, which is usually the first region to finish counting due to its small size."

FE: "The forty-first NationStates football World Cup is getting underway in Daehanjeiguk and Ad’ihan, with thirty-two teams, including newcomers Taeshan and Kelssek, battling it out for the championship. Neither host has won the tournament before, although Ad’ihan reached the quarter-finals two cups ago. And those are the top headlines at this hour, it's eight-five p.m."

JK: "Hello and welcome to Radio Ad’ihan International's special elections coverage. Jerry Liscombe is in the studio in the capital, and I'm James Kennedy in Navon Beach, Barrier Island.

"As you've just heard, here on Barrier Island voting has been beset with technical glitches with the software due to power surges. Right now, power is just only returning to Navon Beach, and indeed, we're broadcasting via a generator and satellite phone..."

To be continued...
Adihan
08-07-2008, 15:17
Two hours later

JL: "You're listening to Radio Ad’ihan International's Election Night Special, it's ten o'clock. I'm Jerry Liscombe, and after the news we'll be going back to Barrier Island where we are finally expecting the first results to be released any moment now."

FE: "Radio Ad’ihan International. The news at ten p.m., I'm Francine Edwards.

"Voters across Ad’ihan have been voting in the first-round election for the country's president. Turnout is reported to have been high, despite unseasonably warm weather. Polls closed three hours ago, and counting has just concluded on Barrier Island, where the election was beset by electrical faults. Elsewhere, the City of Ad’ihan reported a seventy-one percent turnout, while turnout was slightly lower in Grand Island at sixty-eight percent.

"In the City of Ad’ihan, with seventy-four percent of total votes in the four districts counted, the City of Ad’ihan candidate, Action Front-backed Michael Rowand, had accumulated over sixty per cent of the vote. Mr Rowand led the Grand Island candidate Josh Randall of the Greens, who had twenty-seven percent, and Taylor Jun, who had thirteen. Over a quarter of the votes there have yet to be announced, but it Mr Rowand is unlikely to lose a significant chunk of his lead.

"Meanwhile, Radio Ad’ihan International's Yvonne Thomas was in Modna Nord as the first results from Grand Island were announced."

The report plays:

(Audio clip): "Official results from the first-round election for the office of the President of the United Islands of Ad’ihan in Grand Island. Southern Zone Autonomous Region..."

YT: "The first-ever election for a president of this newly-unified country is a major milestone in the development of Ad’ihan. It is worth bearing in mind that until April earlier this year, this was still a part of Liverpool England's Outer Islands, and what was known as Ad’ihan was just a small protectorate, now the City of Ad’ihan region.

"Modna Nord saw the worst of the pre-independence violence that ultimately led to the protectorate becoming independent and expanding to include the island it was an enclave of. Hundreds of people died in February here when the Oriental Hotel was the target of a double suicide bombing by the Grand Island Independence Front.

"Still, many Grand Islanders have been more upbeat since becoming part of Ad’ihan, and the militants have since laid down their arms to join the democratic process, with some more moderate factions within the GIIF now part of the Nationalist Party.

"A sixty-eight percent turnout was, as one official told me, just about expected, and with around forty percent of the districts within the six counties and the Southern Zone Autonomous Region now declared, the Grand Island candidate, Josh Randall, has a lead of about six points over his two rivals. However, with nearly sixty percent yet to declare, the balance could easily shift here in Grand Island."
Adihan
12-07-2008, 13:30
FE: "And we have some news just in. Liventian Prime Minister Patrick Danahue has informed his Ad’ihani counterpart, Alex Canning, that Ad’ihan's former protectors will be cutting diplomatic ties unless the Nationalist Party, partly made up of members of the former Grand Island Independence Front, which Liventia considers a terrorist organisation. More on this story as we get it. That's your latest news from Radio Ad’ihan International."

JL: "And welcome back to election night special broadcasting on Radio Ad’ihan International, I'm Jerry Liscombe in the City of Ad’ihan studio. Before we continue our coverage of today's elections, we want to bring you up to date with the developing story you just heard coming through from Orean.

"Our correspondent in Orean is Pearline McCarthy. Pearline, what's the latest news you have for us?"

PMC: "Yes, Jerry. This story came through literally just minutes ago. The Prime Minister's Office here in Orean issued a statement about ten minutes ago which was then picked up by the wires. It says that the Prime Minister of Liventia, Patrick Danahue, spoke by phone to Ad’ihan's Prime Minister Alex Canning earlier today, expressing his concern that the Nationalist Party continued to be represented in government by members Liventia considers to be terrorists for their acts in Modna Nord in February when Grand Island was still a Liventian territory. We're expecting Mr Danahue to make an address to the press some time later this morning, as it's already past one a.m. here."

JL: "Thanks, that was Pearline McCarthy in Orean. We'll keep you posted on that story. Meanwhile, the first results from Barrier Island are just being announced, we're going live to Navon Beach."

Vote announcer: "Official results from the first-round election for the office of the President of the United Islands of Ad’ihan in Barrier Island. Navon County, turnout fifty-nine percent. Total votes cast two hundred and four thousand, five hundred and sixty three. Twenty-seven votes were spoilt.

"Taylor Jun, Parti populaire ad’ihanais, received eighty-nine thousand, two hundred and sixty votes. Josh Randall, Green Ad’ihan, received sixty-six thousand, four hundred and two votes. Michael Rowand, Action Front, received forty-eight thousand, eight hundred and seventy-four votes.

"In Navon County, Taylor Jun, PPA, takes forty-three point six percent of the vote; Josh Randall, GA, takes thirty-two point five percent of the vote; Michael Rowand, AF, takes twenty-three point nine percent of the vote."

JK: "This is James Kennedy in Navon Beach. The result from Navon County has just been announced, and there is certainly a sense of surprise and despair in the air from the Action Front camp here at the vote tallying centre.

"Michael Rowand, who easily won the vote in the City of Ad’ihan and put up a strong showing in Grand Island, was not expected to necessarily beat local favourite Taylor Jun, but his poor showing, behind his Green rival Josh Randall by over nine points, certainly has not gone down well.

"The Action Front's Barrier Island spokesman, Lucas Instance, has just walked by. Let's try to get a word... Mr Instance! James Kennedy, RAI. Could you spare a few moments please?"

LI: "Very quickly, please, James, I have to get on the line to party headquarters."

JK: "Of course. Thank you, Mr Instance. An unexpected result, to say the least?"

LI: "Very much so. We were, as you may know, expecting Michael Rowand to perform strongly here on Barrier Island, or at least ahead of Randall. Nine points is a pretty big gap and we need to sort out where we lost it."

JK: "Now, unlike the primaries, the actual election itself does not use a point-based system of any kind, but rather the popular vote. I take it that Mr Rowand's performance in the City of Ad’ihan helps?"

LI: "Yes, but as I'm sure you know, the City of Ad’ihan isn't very big and the proportion of total votes across the nation that comes from the City region is less than fifteen percent."

JK: "Thanks for your time, Mr Instance, I'll let you go do what you need to do. Back to the studio. Jerry?"
Adihan
13-07-2008, 15:27
Rowand, Randall to face off in four days

Ad’ihan, AD’IHAN— The results are in and the people of Ad’ihan have spoken — and stayed true to media predictions: Michael Rowand and Josh Randall will face off in a second round of voting in four days' time. Mr Rowand (AF/COA) and Mr Randall (GA/GRI) saw off the challenge of Taylor Jun (PPA/BRI), who polled the lowest number of total votes in the three regions.

Mr Jun won the vote in only one county in the nation, Navon County, which he took by nearly twenty points. Most analysts have put this down to the fact that he personally donated time and money to the Navon Beach recovery effort following Hurricane Henry — something he did not do in the rest of the island.

By contrast, his two rivals each won a significant number of contests. Mr Rowand overwhelmingly won all four City of Ad’ihan districts (the final tally from the region had him up by forty points on Mr Randall) and two Grand Island counties, while Mr Randall won the Southern Zone Autonomous Region, the remaining four Barrier Island counties, and the remaining four Grand Island counties.

In fact, according to the official tally, Mr Randall fell just around forty thousand votes short of winning the election outright, in what is being seen as a major blow for Mr Rowand, who was expected to perform strongly. — Wires
Adihan
13-07-2008, 16:31
Liventia cuts diplomatic ties with Ad’ihan

Orean, LIVENTIA (Radio Ad’ihan Intl.)— Prime Minister Patrick Danahue has announced that Liventia is cutting all diplomatic ties with Ad’ihan effective immediately over what he calls the "Canning administration's refusal to co-operate in terrorism matters".

This stems from an incident earlier this year when the Grand Island Independence Front (GIIF) — a group Liventia designates a terrorist organisation — claimed responsibility for a double bomb blast in the then-Liventian city of Modna Nord which killed over 500 people.

After Ad’ihani independence, the GIIF disbanded, with more moderate elements forming the Nationalist Party of Ad’ihan and taking up four seats in the Senate which had been, as part of the terms of protectorship, occupied by the governing Liventian party.

The leader of the GIIF, Henri Mathieu alias Henry Matthew, is still a free man in Ad’ihan, with the government of Prime Minister Alex Canning having made no moves whatsoever to find and prosecute Mathieu. Mathieu's predecessor as GIIF leader, Jacques Badonner, is on death row in CCL.

All this has irked Mr Danahue, who is stepping down as Prime Minister in May 2148 for Parliamentary elections, in which his Federal Conservative Party, which has heralded in a string of electoral and territorial reforms, is expected to win handily for the first time ever.

"The Canning administration in Ad’ihan has failed its former protector. Its refusal to co-operate with us on the issue of terrorism has strained the relationship between our nations. The Nationalist Party of Ad’ihan is made up of terrorist elements, a fact the government of Alex Canning has refused to acknowledge.

"Until such a time this situation is resolved, and upon consultation with my Cabinet, I have decided to suspend all diplomatic ties with Ad’ihan and recall the Liventian ambassador back to Orean until further notice," he said in a statement.

The Liventian ambassador in Ad’ihan is the former Governor of the International Protectorate of Ad’ihan, Cmdr Simon Collins. Leaving his residence, Cmdr Collins expressed his "profound sadness" at Mr Danahue's decision, but acknowledged he had no control over it.

The Nationalist Party of Ad’ihan has criticised Mr Danahue for his actions, calling them "an unfair burden on the nation of Ad’ihan for the actions of a small minority". The Nationalist Party statement did not make any comment on the issue of terrorists within their ranks.

For his part, the Ad’ihani Prime Minister has described the move as "regrettable", but stressed that trade and economic relations between the two countries, a key source of Ad’ihan's profit, would not be affected by the move. Ad’ihan has no official envoy in Liventia.
Adihan
18-07-2008, 17:53
Breaking News
Josh Randall 'wins' presidential election

Ad’ihan, AD’IHAN (Islands Daily)— Green Ad’ihan candidate Josh Randall has won the second round of voting in Ad’ihan's first-ever presidential elections, according to early results.

With nine of the sixteen counties or county-level districts around the country reporting 100% of votes counted, Mr Randall has a lead of around 1,210,000 votes, a significant margin unlikely to be overcome by his opponent, the Action Front's Michael Rowand.

Mr Randall's unexpected win gives the Greens control of both the Senate and the presidency, a move which should consolidate power with the party for the next few months until the March general election.

Despite the early numbers, neither candidate has made an official speech yet, with analysts believing Mr Rowand is unlikely to concede until the final result is announced. A turnout of around 61–64% was reported around the country, which was, on average, lower than turnout for the first round of voting.

Earlier in the day, befor polls opened at 10 a.m., both candidates made final statements on live television. Mr Randall used his airtime to hit out at Liventian Prime Minister Patrick Danahue's recent moves to cut off diplomatic ties with the islands, while Mr Rowand made almost no mention of that diplomatic incident except a line about "predatory foreign governments". Professor Harry Santana at the Ad’ihan Institute of Global Affairs thinks this may have had an impact on voters.

"Randall's fierce defence of Ad’ihani sovereignty will have scored with the voters. Despite the presidency being an office of limited powers, voters heard what they needed to hear, that Randall would protect the islands at all costs.

"Also, he defended the Nationalist Party's formation. This was key to winning him votes as the Nationalists had endorsed Rowand. I have little doubt that people who would otherwise have voted Action Front chose Randall thanks to his final statement."
Adihan
27-07-2008, 13:14
Randall to be sworn in Nov. 20

Green Ad’ihan's Josh Randall will be sworn in as President of Ad’ihan in three weeks following confirmation of his win in the second round of presidential elections against Michael Rowand of the Action Front by 1.9 million votes.

President-elect Randall, who is 43, will serve a maximum of two years before the next election is held to transfer power to either a Barrier Islander or a City of Ad’ihan politician.

Mr Rowand, 47, conceded defeat to his rival at around 11:30 pm last night, shortly before the full official results were announced at 12:03 am this morning which showed that Mr Rowand won the vote in only City of Ad’ihan District 1, Coastal County, and Harley County.

In his victory speech, President-elect Randall again criticised Liventian Prime Minister Patrick Danahue's move to cut ties between the two countries, and said that he would work to ensure Ad’ihan's foreign policy was strengthened against "imperialists and people who want to steal Ad’ihan's sovereignty", in the strongest rhetoric on that issue yet by an Ad’ihani official.

Mr Randall's election solidifies power in the executive and legislative with Green Ad’ihan, as the President has a veto over constitutional amendments, and Green Ad’ihan currently leads the government, albeit in minority. With five months to go to the general election, and with presidential elections over, full-scale campaigning for the general election has now begun in earnest.
Adihan
30-07-2008, 16:15
Danahue threatens invasion of Ad’ihan, then retracts statement

The Liventian Prime Minister Patrick Danahue has offered an apology to his Ad’ihani counterpart Alex Canning this evening after making controversial comments earlier in the day.

Mr Danahue, speaking at his weekly press briefing, was responding to a question about his recent decision to cut diplomatic ties with Ad’ihan over what he has termed the "Canning administration's refusal to co-operate in terrorism matters".

"I think, if Alex Canning and his so-called government do not sort the matter over the GIIF (the former Grand Island Independence Front, now minimally a part of the Nationalist Party) quickly, and he continues to work with terrorists in government, we may have to send Liventian troops in to get these men we want," Mr Danahue reportedly responded.

The Ad’ihani government reacted angrily to the news, with President-elect Josh Randall, who in his victory speech called Mr Danahue an "imperialist who wants to steal Ad’ihan's sovereignty", warning the Orean government not to interfere in Ad’ihani politics. Prime Minister Canning called the remarks "abhorrent", and warned that the high level of rhetoric would "do neither side any good."

Mr Danahue has now apologised for his comments, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office in Ad’ihan. Danahue conveyed his apologies "through Commander Collins", according to the statement. Commander Simon Collins was Liventia's envoy in Ad’ihan until he was recalled last week over this issue. Cmdr Collins spoke to Mr Canning by phone from Orean, the statement said.

There has not yet been an official statement from Mr Canning reacting to the apology.
Adihan
01-11-2008, 08:58
Election Day: March 7

In his annual New Year's speech to the Senate, Prime Minister Alex Canning has announced that the nation will return to the polls for the second time in five months on March 7, this time for a general election.

Speaking during yesterday evening (January 9)'s session, Mr Canning told the Senate that President Josh Randall had approved the election date following talks between the two men. He also announced that he will be seeking a third term in office as head of government, having first taken office as Chief Minister in 2144 before winning a snap poll less than a year later.

The Action Front, which lost the presidential election to Green Ad’ihan, has said that its former presidential candidate Michael Rowand will lead the party into the upcoming general elections, thus giving him a shot at the job of Prime Minister. John Baines (Parti populaire), Paul Tilson (Conservative), Stephen Jones (Marxist), Marie-Jeanne Kuszac (People's Freedom Movement) and Francis Boston (Nationalist) will also lead their respective parties into the general election.

Mr Canning indicated that the campaigning period for the upcoming election would begin immediately, and in his speech to the Senate also confirmed that he would ask President Randall to dissolve the Senate in the third week of February.

Mr Canning also introduced a bill into the Senate to rename the legislative body, insisting that the term "Senate" implied a small, ineffective body which, while perhaps suitable for its current 62 members, would no longer suit the much larger incoming legislature, which will have 232 seats. The bill is expected to easily pass, with only the Conservative Party (8 seats) opposing the bill. The Tories' opposition partners, the Action Front, have voiced support for the bill, which would see the 232 members of the new legislation be, rather more generically, Members of Parliament. By extension, the Cabinet posts with the title of Senatorial Secretary will also drop the term "Senatorial".

Recent opinion polling suggests that the Greens have a safe lead, although about 30 seats short of what is needed for a majority government (117). An extrapolation of the opinion polls suggest that currently, Green Ad’ihan will take 84 seats, their traditional allies in the People's Freedom Movement with 12, and former coalition partners the Parti populaire with 32. Should the number of projected seats not change wildly, this would be enough for the Greens to form a coalition government in majority. This extrapolation would see the opposition coalition between the Action Front and the Conservatives pick up 84 seats, not enough to block legislation unless the Parti populaire declines to be in coalition with the Greens, forcing a minority government.

Most recent extrapolated seat count from opinion polls:
Green Ad’ihan (GA) 84
Action Front (AF) 55
Parti populaire ad’ihanais (PPA) 32
Ad'ihan Conservatives (AC) 29
People's Freedom Movement (PFM) 12
Nationalist Party (NP) 11
Réseau marxiste d'Ad'ihan (RM) 8
Independents 1

Margin of error ± 3 seats
Includes uncontested seats: 8 Green Ad’ihan, 2 Ad’ihan Conservatives, 2 Action Front, 1 People's Freedom Movement, 1 Nationalist Party
Adihan
08-11-2008, 09:30
Senate passes tax reform

In what is being seen as a double victory for Prime Minister Alex Canning's Green Ad’ihan party ahead of next month's elections, the Senate has voted to pass two major pieces of legislation introduced by the Greens, including a tax reform which had been strenuously opposed by the Ad’ihan Conservatives.

The tax reform will see people who fill out their tax forms be given the option of where they want their tax dollars spent, be it on the military, on social welfare, on foreign aid, on health, or on education. The new bill will also slightly increase taxes on the richest people in Ad’ihan, from 40 per cent of their annual salary to 43 per cent.

The opposition Conservatives mooted for an overall cut in taxes by seven points, but lost the support of their traditional allies in the Action Front when they suggested the lost revenue would be spent by decreasing the military budget. Action Front leader Michael Rowand criticised the Tories' plan, saying the country could not afford to cut its military budget in a time of "threats from hostile rivals", referring to Liventia.

Ultimately, the Conservatives found no backers for their alternative, and the tax reforms passed with a clear majority, which many see as a boost for Mr Canning's chances of being re-elected Prime Minister.

The Greens also managed to get legislation banning pesticides and additives from foods passed following recent controversy in which the pro-government broadsheet the Nationwide Express exposed the widespread use of such chemicals in Ad’ihan's agriculture, sparking an outcry from concerned citizens.

Campaigning for the upcoming elections has been continuing, and recent opinion polls have showed a stronger trend for the Greens. With just six weeks to go to election day, the Action Front and Conservatives both have a lot of ground to make up if they want to deny the government a fresh majority.

Most recent extrapolated seat count from opinion polls:
Green Ad’ihan (GA) 87
Action Front (AF) 53
Parti populaire ad’ihanais (PPA) 33
Ad'ihan Conservatives (AC) 27
People's Freedom Movement (PFM) 13
Nationalist Party (NP) 13
Réseau marxiste d'Ad'ihan (RM) 6
Independents 0

Margin of error ± 3 seats
Includes uncontested seats: 8 Green Ad’ihan, 2 Ad’ihan Conservatives, 2 Action Front, 1 People's Freedom Movement, 1 Nationalist Party
Adihan
14-11-2008, 16:47
Senate dissolved for final time

The President of Ad’ihan, Josh Randall, has dissolved the Senate for the first and final time on advice from Prime Minister Alex Canning ahead of elections in exactly three weeks' time. The 62-seat Senate will be replaced by a 232-seat Parliament following the March 7 polls.

In a nationally-televised address, the President announced that he was dissolving the Senate, in a move that marks the start of the final campaigning rush leading up to the vote. As a consequence of the move, all 62 senators will lose their title "Senator", although they will remain in their elected positions until election day itself and will continue to be paid.

The opposition Action Front, which had been losing ground in opinion polls, have made a concerted effort in campaigning in the City of Ad’ihan, which is widely viewed as their best chance at getting a substantial number of seats. The small region will have 58 Members of Parliament representing its four county-level districts, slightly more than half of the 104 representing Grand Island.

Meanwhile, the Ad’ihan Conservatives' plan for the Ad’ihani economy to stay afloat should the party be elected into power has been greeted with derision by Mr Canning's Green Ad’ihan party. The Minister of State for Trade and Finance, Andrew Adams, and the Minister of State of the Treasury, Javier Fuego, both criticised the proposal, saying that rather than help keep the nation financially sound, it would send Ad’ihan spiralling into massive debt.

Mr Fuego further criticised the Tories' finance spokesman, Trevor Donaldson, saying "no financial expert" would agree with all the points in the proposal. However, these comments have been jumped on by the Conservatives and their Action Front allies, with Mr Donaldson issuing a statement describing the remarks by Mr Fuego as "defamatory", adding that both he and his party were looking into legal action against the minister. It is yet unclear what effect this spat will have on the next set of opinion polls.

Most recent extrapolated seat count from opinion polls (February 18–21, 2148):
Green Ad’ihan (GA) 91
Action Front (AF) 56
Parti populaire ad’ihanais (PPA) 37
Ad'ihan Conservatives (AC) 30
People's Freedom Movement (PFM) 8
Nationalist Party (NP) 7
Réseau marxiste d'Ad'ihan (RM) 3
Independents 0

Margin of error ± 3 seats
Includes uncontested seats: 8 Green Ad’ihan, 2 Ad’ihan Conservatives, 2 Action Front, 1 People's Freedom Movement, 1 Nationalist Party
Adihan
16-11-2008, 15:57
"Expert" scandal hits Green numbers, Tories gain

The fallout from supposedly defamatory remarks made by Minister of State of the Treasury, Javier Fuego, has begun to take effect. The most recent opinion polls, from February 22–25, in the period immediately following Mr Fuego's comments about the Ad’ihan Conservatives' financial plan.

Mr Fuego had criticised the plan and attacked the Tories' economy spokesman, Trevor Donaldson, by saying "no financial expert" would have endorsed such a plan. Mr Donaldson, who has been the Conservatives' main financial point-man since 2144, has threatened legal action, and the Prime Minister, Alex Canning, has been forced to condemn his minister's remarks.

Speaking during a campaign visit to Pointe Sud, to help former senator Sarah Stevens campaign for the parliamentary seat, Mr Canning distanced his party from Mr Fuego's remarks. "Green Ad’ihan as a whole shares the minister's views that the Conservatives' economic policy will be a disaster for the country. However, we cannot and will not tolerate remarks that defame others, and Green Ad’ihan wishes to apologise to Trevor Donaldson as a party."

The Ad’ihani public has reacted, with the latest polls showing a 4.1% gain for the Conservatives and 1.9% for their Action Front allies, while the Greens suffered a 6.3% drop. The trend will be worrying for Green strategists, some of whom have privately voiced concerns the scandal could escalate into defeat in the general election.

For his part, Mr Fuego has defended his remarks, saying they were part and parcel of election campaigning. "If he (Donaldson) isn't up to it, perhaps he shouldn't be a politician," Mr Fuego told reporters during a press conference. The Prime Minister has so far declined requests from the Tories and Action Front to sack Mr Fuego, saying the Cabinet would be changed post-election anyway.
Austar Union
16-11-2008, 17:56
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Business Council of the U.C.S. Endorses Ad'ihan Conservative Economic Platform

Political observers were surprised early this morning as Business Council of the U.C.S. President Ronald Wallenquist announced that he and the other eleven members of the Board of Directors would be officially endorsing the Conservative Party's plan for the Ad'ihan economy in the up and coming general elections. Criticising current Prime Minister Alex Canning and his Green Party colleagues for their recent tax reform, the announcement marks a change in policy for the organisation regarding their policies on commenting on non Austarian-centric issues.

" The economy of Ad'ihan is like a caged beast, " commented Wallenquist, known to be one of several advisors to the U.C.S. Treasury and other government departments. " The opportunities for foreign investment are all there, I have no doubt that with more a more business-focused government the island group will be an economic hub of activity. "

He went on to say that the Canning administration was not only failing in its foresight regarding the environment by way of a lack of forward thinking, but that he had forgotten the role of government which is to improve the conditions of its citizens. Wallenquist said that he had 'no doubt' that a Conservative administration would provide not only a cheaper and more prosperous 'mood' in which to do business, but by allowing companies to invest in greener technology in the way of making projects more feasible, would do a better job in protecting the environment.

" The answer is always less regulation, less bureaucracy, and lower and fewer taxes. "
Adihan
18-11-2008, 01:47
Fuego quits
Minister of State of the Treasury had been under fire over allegedly defamatory comments on opposition spokesman

The Prime Minister, Alex Canning, has accepted the resignation of the tarnished Minister of State of the Treasury, Javier Fuego, the Islands Daily understands.

It is understood that Mr Fuego, who has come under fire for comments he made suggesting the Conservatives' economic spokesman was not a "financial expert", tendered his resignation personally to Mr Canning yesterday evening at the Prime Minister's residence.

Mr Fuego's comments were widely criticised by many, including from inside his own party and the Prime Minister. While Mr Canning had declined to remove Mr Fuego from his position, it became clear that the lack of action against the minister was dragging Green Ad’ihan down in the polls — one recent right-leaning poll has the Greens down to about 24% of the popular vote nationally, whereas it had been near 39% before the scandal.

Mr Canning, who is due to hold a press conference later today, now has the option of appointing a new Treasury Minister to serve out the remainder of this Cabinet, or leaving the position empty until after the elections, when the next Prime Minister will fill it.

The Tories' economic plan has been met by a surprise endorsement from abroad, as the business council of the UCS of Austar Union voiced its support for it. Political watchers in Ad’ihan are no strangers to the UCS, and many will point out that during the presidential race, many small groups in Austar Union endorsed the Conservative candidate, Pierre Gillot.

According to Dr Michael Duberry, senior politics expert at the City of Ad’ihan University, the endorsement is likely to have a small, but profound, impact on the race. "It will probably help some undecided voters make up their minds. Most Ad’ihanis are naturally protectionists — remember a few years ago when the domestic football league tried to open up to foreign players? This will mean a large chunk of undecideds might decide to swing against the Conservatives.

"However, there are plenty of parties for them to choose from and they might not necessarily swing to support the Greens. Then there are those who are rigidly pro-business who've struggled slightly in the climate of centre-left government. While it was already likely that they would likely end up voting Tory, this endorsement will only help the Conservatives win voters who want foreign investment to come in and better the country."

Mr Canning is expected to comment on the endorsement during his press conference later today.
Adihan
24-11-2008, 17:02
Canning criss-crosses nation on campaign's last day

Prime Minister Alex Canning has been criss-crossing the country on the last day of the campaign ahead of this Thursday's general election, the first since the country gained independence last year.

The leader of the main opposition party the Action Front, Michael Rowand, has also been on the campaign trail today, capping his eighth straight month of campaigning. He was also his party's presidential candidate, and lost in the second round of voting to President Josh Randall.

Mr Rowand campaigned in Altsend and Pointe Sud in the Southern Zone Autonomous Region, hoping to build on recent numbers showing a surge of support for his party in that part of the country. Mr Canning, meanwhile, appeared at campaign rallies in Hatton, Frontier County; in the City of Ad’ihan; in Altsend; in Dz’ai, Airport County; and in Dalinn, his only stop of the day in Barrier Island.

Over the past week, Mr Canning has desperately been trying to make up ground in poll numbers lost over what has been termed "Treasurygate", the incident involving former Minister of State of the Treasury Javier Fuego and his remarks about the Conservative economic spokesman Trevor Donaldson.

With the final opinion poll numbers suggesting the Greens' attempts to move on from the scandal have not been wholly successful, Mr Canning will no doubt be worried over what will unfold over the course of Thursday.

Should Green Ad’ihan fail to secure a majority 117 seats, they have the option of forming a governing coalition with traditional partners the People's Freedom Movement and the People's Party. However, with the People's Party having grown disenfranchised with the leadership of Mr Canning leading up to last October's presidential polls, resulting in their withdrawal from the last government, this may not be such a viable option.

The other option would be to govern in minority, which has never been attempted in Ad’ihani history. Most political spectators have dismissed this possibility, pointing out that should the traditional opposition coalition of the Action Front and the Tories win enough seats together, they might well form the next government of Ad’ihan. And if that happens, everything will be up for grabs.
Adihan
25-11-2008, 15:44
Live text: Ad’ihani General Election

The nation of Ad’ihan goes to the polls to elect a new Parliament for the first time since independence last year. Prime Minister Alex Canning is seeking a third term in office, having already served a shortened one-year term as Chief Minister and being re-appointed to a second full three-year term, guiding the nation through independence.

All times Ad’ihani

By Michael Lewis
March 7

1800: Evening, all, and welcome to the Islands Daily online's live running coverage of Ad’ihan's first post-independence General Election. Over the course of the next 30 hours we will find out how the new 232-seat Parliament will look, and of course, who will be the next Prime Minister. Remember that Green Ad’ihan already have eight unchallenged seats; the Nationalists have one uncontested seat, as do the People's Forward Movement. The two main opposition parties, the Action Front and the Ad’ihan Conservatives, each have two uncontested seats. The Parti populaire ad’ihanais (People's Party of Ad’ihan) and Réseau marxiste d'Ad’ihan (Ad’ihani Marxist Network) both did not field candidates in areas with no challengers.

1803: Remember that of the remaining 218 contested seats, only 120 are expected to be declared today. The other 98 will be declared tomorrow, barring any close races that require recounts or counting of votes from expat Ad’ihanis. Here's the schedule:

1930 hrs today - Polls close in Coastal County (14 seats up for grabs) and Harley County (12 seats) on Barrier Island, the first polls to close. The first few seats will likely be declared by 2000.

2030 hrs - Dalinn County and Navon County close. There are 12 contested seats in Dalinn County, and 13 in Navon County.

2100 hrs - Barrier County (14 seats) closes, the last Barrier Island county to close. All 65 Barrier Island seats are expected to be declared today.

2115 hrs - All City of Ad’ihan polls close. The polls work slightly differently in this region, as the candidates are running for one of 14 seats in each of the region's four districts and there are no smaller constituencies. This is compared to Barrier and Grand Island, where candidates run for individual seats. There are two more seats in the CoA, which will be awarded to the parties based on the regional popular vote. Three of the 58 seats are not being contested. All 55 contested seats are expected to be declared today.

2200 hrs - All Grand Island polls close. There are 13 seats up for grabs in the Southern Zone Autonomous Region and Frontier County; 14 seats in Central, President's and Rovers Counties; and 15 seats in Airport and Daniels County. Paper votes cast will be brought to central lock up in each of the counties.

0100 hrs tomorrow - All 120 seats on Barrier Island and in the CoA, barring exceptional circumstances, should be declared by now.

1100 hrs - Counting of votes in the Southern Zone starts. Any recount of votes from first day races will also start now.

1300 hrs - Counting of votes from Frontier County and Central County begins.

1500 hrs - Counting of votes from President's County and Rovers County begins.

1700 hrs - Counting of votes from Airport County begins.

1730 hrs - Counting of votes from Daniels County begins.

1900 hrs - Finalised results of Barrier Island races announced.

1945 hrs - Finalised results of City of Ad’ihan races announced.

2030 hrs - Southern Zone, Frontier County, Central County and President's County seats declared.

2130 hrs - Rovers County, Airport County and Daniels County seats declared. Barring major incidents, this will mark the end of the election.

2230 hrs - Finalised results of Grand Island races announced.

2330 hrs - Barring legal challenges, new Parliament sworn in, to sit on March 10 to debate the (re)appointment of the Prime Minister.


1815: With over an hour still to go before the first polls close, we'd just like to remind you that you can get in touch with us by email: electiontext[at]islandsdaily.co.ad, or leave us an SMS text message at 32459 if you're in the islands, or (+491) 843 4753 2459 from abroad.

1822: Prime Minister Alex Canning voted earlier today in Ad’ihan city centre, his home city and where he is standing for re-election in District Three. Opposition Action Front leader Michael Rowand, who lost the presidential race to the Greens' Josh Randall, also voted in the City of Ad’ihan. He is standing in District Two. The third party, the Tories, are being led into this vote by Paul Tilson, who is standing, unchallenged, in Rovers County. He is monitoring the vote from Orean, Liventia, where he was called away to for a family emergency.

1827: On that note, here's the list of MPs who have already won their seats by virtue of not having any challengers (or, in the case of the three City of Ad’ihan MPs, not enough challengers): Tyler Johnson (GA/COA), James Phillips (AF/COA), Francisco Carlos (PFM/COA), Michelle Michaels (AC/SAR), Jason Penders (GA/CTC), Lixion Hernández (GA/FRC), Francis Boston (NP/FRC), Peter Barnaby (GA/PSC), Paul Tilson (AC/RRC), Roland-Yves Alphonse (AF/HLC), Jon Denslow (GA/HLC), Alfred Histon (GA/NVC), Humphrey Coombs (GA/DLC) and Colin Bannister (GA/DLC).

1830: Just another hour, then, until the first polls close...

1833: I guess it might be a good idea for me to head for some dinner. It's going to be a long night ahead. Tim Vallainos will sit in until I'm back.

By Tim Vallainos
1839: So, while Michael goes off to enjoy some prime canteen food, I'll be here for the next half hour or so. Election night's always fun, isn't it? We did just have two a few months ago, but hey. The more the merrier.

1842: Via text on 32459 from Stewart in Flitton: "Wonder how Treasurygate will play out. Think it could really harm the Greens in some areas."

1848 BREAKING: Some news just coming through on the wires of problems in a few constituencies in Dalinn County, due to close its polls at 2030 tonight. Some machines are apparently refusing to read paper ballots, and those will have to be deposited in safe keeping for counting by hand. We're as yet unsure if this will result in a delay in the time the polls close in Dalinn County.

1900: Via email from Harris in Orean, Liventia: "I voted from abroad today here at the Ad’ihan Affairs Office in Orean. The Tories' Paul Tilson was here greeting voters as they emerged from the polling station. I'm from City of Ad’ihan, and I voted for the Action Front. It's time for some change in Ad’ihan. We've had enough centre-left rule."

1901: The City of Ad’ihan, of course, is where the Action Front is expected to do the best, relative to other races. 58 seats are up for grabs in the region and the Action Front have been saying they expect to win in excess of 35 from the four districts.

1911: The Ad’ihani embassies in the Ariddian Isles and in Candelaria And Marquez were both open for expats to vote, with the voting having started and ended two days early there so the votes could be flown back here. On that note, all of Ad’ihan's foreign ambassadors have been recalled to the islands for the election.

1923: That's it from me, Michael Lewis is back from his dinner, and just in time for the first poll closures in seven minutes.

By Michael Lewis
1925: Remember to get in touch with your thoughts. Nearly there now.

1930 POLL CLOSURES: Polls have closed in 11 of the 14 races in Coastal County and all 12 races in Harley County. The other three races will close at 2000, after minor issues with voting. We can expect preliminary results by that time.

1933: Prime Minister Alex Canning is watching the results come in from his official residence in the City of Ad’ihan. He will later join his party's official election-night event at party headquarters in Central Building.

1940: Via international text from Jeff in Albrecht, Candelaria And Marquez: "Voted at the embassy here for the race in my constituency in Navon County earlier this week. Agree with earlier emailer; time for change."

1943 RESULT: The first result is in! One of the races in Harley County has been called for Green Ad’ihan candidate Julia Warricker, ahead of the Tories in a surprise second and the Nationalist Party in third.
Seat count: GA 9 AC 2 AF 2 NP 1 PFM 1 PPA 0 RM 0

1944 RESULT: Another race has been called, this time in Coastal County. The race for Seat 1 has been won by Nancy Hammond of the Parti populaire ad’ihanais, which gives them their first seat in the new Parliament. GA 9 AC 2 AF 2 NP 1 PFM 1 PPA 1 RM 0

1949 RESULTS: Six races have been announced in the past two minutes, with the People's Freedom Movement — whose traditional base is here on Barrier Island — picking up two seats in Harley County and another in Coastal County. The Tories won one in Harley County, as did the Parti populaire, while the Marxists picked up their first seat of the election in Coastal County. GA 9 PFM 4 AC 3 AF 2 PPA 2 NP 1 RM 1 Seats called: HLC - 5/12, CSB - 3/14

1953 RESULTS: Another four races, all in Coastal County, have been called. The Action Front picked up two seats, Green Ad’ihan one, and the PFM another. This brings the total to GA 10 PFM 5 AF 4 AC 3 PPA 2 NP 1 RM 1, with 26 seats of the 232 now filled. Seats called: HLC - 5/12, CSB - 7/14

1955 RESULTS: Four Harley County races have been called, and another four in Coastal County. Big gains for the right-leaning opposition in Barrier Island as of the eight seats, six (three each) have gone to either a Conservative or Action Front candidate. The Greens and Parti populaire also each picked up one, but as it stands the seat count is: GA 11 AF 7 AC 6 PFM 5 PPA 3 NP 1 RM 1. Seats called: HLC - 9/12, CSB - 11/14

2000 POLL CLOSURES: The polls have closed a half-hour late in the three remaining Coastal County races. Assuming there are also no issues with the voting equipment, we should have full Coastal County results by the bottom of the hour. Via text from 32459 from Mandy in Pilminster: "I'm a supporter of the Greens and it's killing me to know that I won't know how my vote has affected the race until tomorrow." Indeed, Grand Island results will only be counted tomorrow, so it's a waiting game.

2006 RESULTS: Two more results from Harley County... the Nationalist Party, who have traditionally not been allied to either the government or the opposition, and indeed are new to the political scene, have taken one of the races. The PPA have won the other. GA 11 AF 7 AC 6 PFM 5 PPA 4 NP 2 RM 1 Seats called: HLC - 11/12, CSB - 11/14

2009: Finally, a little breather from all of that. There's plenty of that still to come. Will the opposition coalition be able to sustain their surge in the Barrier Island races? Or will Mr Canning's administration hold on? Answers on a postcard.

2014 RESULTS: The final result from Harley County sees the People's Freedom Movement winning another Barrier Island race. Also a result from the first of the delayed closures, with the Action Front winning another seat. GA 11 AF 8 AC 6 PFM 6 PPA 4 NP 2 RM 1 Seats called: HLC - all, CSB - 12/14

2025: Via international text from Mike Omragh in Kirkenes, Kelssek: "Been following your coverage from here in Kirkenes, Kelssek. As a foreigner who's been watching Ad’ihani politics from afar, I can't help but to think Prime Minister Canning could've run a smoother, more efficient campaign."

2030 POLL CLOSURES: Voting in eight of 12 Dalinn County races are now closed, as are the 13 races in Navon County. The other four will see their polls close at 2100 due to technical issues.

2033 RESULTS: The final two results from Coastal County are in — and in a shock twist, the Marxist Network has taken both of them. This was certainly not expected. GA 11 AF 8 AC 6 PFM 6 PPA 4 RM 3 NP 2

2035: Quick refresher on when we report poll results: when polls close, counting begins immediately. Electronically-cast ballots are mainstream, and those are usually counted within 10-15 minutes of poll closure thanks to available technology.

If there are enough returns, with a sufficient buffer, to make a call, the county's electoral overseer will announce the preliminary result. Counting of other ballots will continue, and if a change needs to be made, the result is re-announced prior to confirmation of all results tomorrow from central election headquarters.

2041 RESULTS: A whole bunch of results just in, from six of the eight reporting Dalinn County constituencies as well as from seven of the 13 in Navon County. Here's who has picked up what: The Parti populaire ad’ihanais has picked up four seats, Green Ad’ihan has three, the Nationalists and the Action Front two each, and the Conservatives and the People's Forward Movement one each. As we stand now: GA 14 AF 10 PPA 8 AC 7 PFM 7 NP 4 RM 3 (Seats called: DLC - 6/12; NVC 7/13)

2044: That batch of calls brings us up to 53 seats of the 232 having been filled. The City of Ad’ihan's polls all close in a half hour, so by 2230 tonight we should be getting, hopefully, a clearer idea of how the new Parliament will look. As it currently stands, the incumbent governing coalition has 21 seats (with another eight leaning pro-government), and opposition coalition has 17, with seven more not affiliated to either camp.

2053 RESULTS: Two more results just in, called in two Navon County races. Two more seats for the opposition coalition as the Ad’ihan Conservatives and Action Front each pick up one more. Four Dalinn County races and all 14 Barrier County ones close in 7 minutes, which will mark the end of voting on Barrier Island. GA 14 AF 11 AC 8 PPA 8 PFM 7 NP 4 RM 3 (Seats called: DLC - 6/12; NVC 9/13)

2059: Via email from Stuart Mackintosh in Dullham, Grand Island: "Results so far not looking great for the Greens, one has to say. They've picked up only six seats. Compare that to the Action Front, who've picked up nine."

2100 POLL CLOSURES: All polls have closed on Barrier Island.

2101 RESULTS: Results in from two more Dalinn County and four more Navon Beach seats as follows: the Parti populaire ad’ihanais, Green Ad’ihan and the Nationalist Party have each picked up two seats. This gives the Greens 16 seats as we stand, five ahead of the Action Front. GA 16 AF 11 PPA 10 AC 8 PFM 7 NP 6 RM 3 (Seats called: DLC - 8/12; BRC 0/14)

2105: This is certainly turning out to be a better-than-expected performance by the Nationalists. At the last official extrapolated seat count from opinion polls, they had only seven seats in the entire 232-seat chamber; they've already got six and their main base is on Grand Island.

2109: We're just a few minutes away from the polls closing in the City of Ad’ihan. 58 seats in that region, with 53 being contested. Two more will be delegated after the vote based on the region's overall popular vote. While the polls close there at 2115, we don't expect the earliest results until around an hour later, due to how complicated that region's voting works.

2113 RESULTS: An early result from Barrier County. Seat 11 has gone to Green Ad’ihan's Geraldine Pearsons. And as I typed that we've had another two results, these in from the late closures in Dalinn County. The Greens and the Action Front have each taken one more seat. GA 18 AF 12 PPA 10 AC 8 PFM 7 NP 6 RM 3 (Seats called: DLC - 10/12; BRC 1/14)

2115 POLL CLOSURES: All polls in the City of Ad’ihan are now closed. Counting works by district, with each district's 14 seats being distributed to the parties based on their district popular vote. The top two parties with the highest regional popular vote will split the two other seats (unless the party with the largest regional popular vote has a ten-point or more advantage, in which case they get both). It's important to note, however, that a party must win at least five per cent of the popular vote in each district to win any seats in that district.

2119 RESULTS: Seven more races called, one in Dalinn County and another six in Barrier County. Don't hold your breath. The People's Freedom Movement's traditional Barrier Island advantage has helped, with the addition of three MPs from that party. The other four seats were split between the PPA, the Nationalists, the Action Front and the Ad’ihan Conservatives. GA 18 AF 13 PPA 11 PFM 10 AC 9 NP 7 RM 3 (Seats called: DLC - 11/12; BRC 7/14)

2121: With that, the People's Freedom Movement has ten seats, two more than was last projected in official numbers. They're unlikely to win any races on Grand Island, though, so barring an exceptional performance in the City of Ad’ihan they probably won't win too many more seats.

2130: Via text on 32459 from a J. Escrite in Airport City: "Really surprised the Nationalists have done this well." You're not the only one, J.

2134 RESULTS: Three more Barrier County seats have been called. The People's Freedom Movement, the People's Party, and the Action Front have each taken another seat. GA 18 AF 14 PPA 12 PFM 11 AC 9 NP 7 RM 3 (Seats called: DLC - 11/12; BRC 10/14)

2136 BREAKING: Some news coming in on the wires from Radio Ad’ihan International that the remaining seat in Dalinn County that has yet to be called, Seat 11, is simply too close to call right now. Officials estimate that with some 1,300 votes left to count, the Green candidate Jonathan Manning is only 650 votes ahead of the Tories' Julian Maschowitz. There's a possibility, we understand, that should the winning margin for either candidate be under 500 votes, there will be a recount tomorrow morning. Of course, even if the margin is greater than that, don't rule out the losing candidate or their party asking for a recount.

2140 RESULTS: Two more Barrier County seats have been called. Again, the Action Front and the PPA gain seats. The Action Front have traditionally been strong in the City of Ad’ihan, but are certainly putting on a challenge here in Barrier Island. GA 18 AF 15 PPA 13 PFM 11 AC 9 NP 7 RM 3 (Seats called: DLC - 11/12; BRC 12/14)

2143: We understand that we can expect a result from District Two in the City of Ad’ihan — where opposition Action Front leader Michael Rowand is standing — at around the top of the hour. It must be said, however, that it's almost certain he will be elected: as long as his party win even a single seat in the district you can be sure he'll be the name on that list.

2149 RESULT: Result from one of the Barrier County races. The Tories' Hubert Trembles has beaten out his Green rival by four per cent of the vote and will take his place in the new Parliament. Update on Seat 11 in Dalinn County: 850 or so votes still to count, and Jonathan Manning leads Julian Maschowitz by about 750 votes, having gained about a hundred more than his opponent. GA 18 AF 15 PPA 13 PFM 11 AC 10 NP 7 RM 3 (Seats called: DLC - 11/12; BRC 13/14)

2155 RESULT: That Dalinn County race has now been called for Jonathan Manning of Green Ad’ihan. With around 600 votes left to count, Mr Manning now has an insurmountable lead over his Conservative rival. We're hearing reports that the Tories are preparing to challenge the result and ask for a recount, however. GA 19 AF 15 PPA 13 PFM 11 AC 10 NP 7 RM 3 (Seats called: BRC 13/14)

2200 POLL CLOSURES: Polling went off mostly without a hitch in Grand Island and polls are now closed across the nation. The Grand Island votes will now be transported to central lock-up for counting tomorrow.

2204 RESULT: The last Barrier Island result is in, with the People's Forward Movement rounding off a good night on the island they are based with another win, bringing their total to 12 seats in the new Parliament. GA 19 AF 15 PPA 13 PFM 12 AC 10 NP 7 RM 3

2210 RESULTS: Results in from District Two of the City of Ad’ihan as follows:

The Action Front won the largest share of the vote, with 29.25 per cent. Green Ad’ihan was not too far behind with 24.0 per cent. The Parti populaire took 14.35 per cent; the Conservatives 12.45 per cent; the People's Forward Movement 10.3 per cent; the Nationalist Party 5.75 per cent while the Marxists picked up 3.9 per cent of the vote. 23,412 people cast their votes in District Two. The 14 seats are thus awarded as follows: AF 5, GA 3, PPA 2, AC 2, PFM 1, NP 1. Current seat count: GA 22 AF 20 PPA 15 PFM 13 AC 12 NP 8 RM 3

2216: We're hearing we probably won't get the next batch of results for another half hour. It's a good time to take a look at the current seat count. The Greens have 22 seats, and their coalition partners the PFM have 13. There are also 15 PPA MPs that are pro-government. The opposition coalition of the Action Front and Ad’ihan Conservatives currently have 20 and 12 seats respectively, so they're still trailing by a good 18 seats.

2224: Michael Rowand, who lost the presidential election to Josh Randall, has been elected to Parliament in District 2 in the City of Ad’ihan. He's been giving a speech to supporters at the Action Front headquarters in the CoA. Key phrases being repeated a lot are "fresh faces", "change", "proud and honoured". You get the drift.

2230: While we wait for the next batch of results, I'm off for a short break. My fingers are quite literally sore after all of that for the past three hours. I'll be back in ten, though.

2240 RESULTS: Results in from District One in the City of Ad’ihan, where 36,508 people voted. Only 12 seats up for grabs here, as two were unchallenged for. Strong gains for the opposition.

Action Front 35.7 per cent, four seats; Ad’ihan Conservatives 25.5 per cent, three seats; Green Ad’ihan 13.5 per cent, two seats; Parti populaire ad’ihanais 12.0 per cent, two seats; People's Freedom Movement 9.1 per cent, one seat; Nationalist Party and Marxist Network both under the five per cent threshold. Which leaves the seat count as follows: AF 24 GA 24 PPA 17 AC 15 PFM 14 NP 8 RM 3

2251 RESULTS: Results in from District Three, which is Prime Minister Canning's area. Unsurprisingly, the Greens and their former coalition partners the Parti populaire did the best here. The Tories and Action Front together picked up less of the vote than the Greens did. 31,627 voted here, as follows:

Green Ad’ihan 28.8 per cent, four seats; Parti populaire ad’ihanais 26.2 per cent, four seats; Ad’ihan Conservatives 19.0 per cent, three seats; Action Front 8.1 per cent, one seat; Nationalist Party 7.8 per cent, one seat; People's Freedom Movement 7.3 per cent, one seat; Marxist Network 2.8 per cent. This gives the Greens the edge again in the overall seat count: GA 28 AF 25 PPA 21 AC 18 PFM 15 NP 9 RM 3

2300: Just results from City of Ad’ihan's District Four left to reveal tonight before we all take a nice break for the night.

2304 RESULTS: And the final results of the night from District Four (13 seats), where 37,865 voted, are in, as follows: Action Front 33.6 per cent, four seats; Green Ad’ihan 29.4 per cent, four seats; Ad’ihan Conservatives 15.5 per cent, three seats; Parti populaire 11.9 per cent, two seats; the other three parties did not meet the minimum threshold. Seat count: GA 32 AF 29 PPA 23 AC 21 PFM 15 NP 9 RM 3

2307 RESULTS: This also means the two seats for the overall regional popular vote have been called, with the Action Front and the Greens splitting the two. That ends our coverage for tonight — we'll be back with more live text at 1800 hours tomorrow. Seat count after Day 1: GA 33 AF 30 PPA 23 AC 21 PFM 15 NP 9 RM 3. Seats filled: 134/232.
Adihan
27-11-2008, 17:18
By Michael Lewis
March 8

1800: Evening, all. Ready to find out who will be the next Prime Minister? We should have everything wrapped up by midnight tonight. Counting of votes from Grand Island has been going on all day today, as well as a recount of votes from one race yesterday, in Dalinn County. That particular race, won by Green Ad’ihan candidate Jonathan Manning, was challenged by the Tories, whose candidate lost by 800 votes.

1803: The finalised result from that recount will be made known when all finalised results from yesterday are announced in about an hour.

1829 BREAKING: Reports coming in on the wires of a "disturbance" at central electoral headquarters. More as we get it.

1832 BREAKING: More on that... it appears police have subdued a protestor who tried to enter the headquarters for an as-yet-unknown reason. It is also not known if the man was armed.

1839 BREAKING: Security around electoral headquarters has been markedly increased in the last few minutes, correspondents on the ground report. Another man, believed to be an accomplice of the first, has been arrested as well. Neither were armed, and we still do not know what their motives were. We're expecting a police statement soon.

1850: Just ten minutes until we get the first of the finalised results from Barrier Island, including from that one race that went to a recount.

1854: Police statement about the earlier incident being read now. Two men, 29 and 41, arrested for breaching a secure area and conspiracy to commit fraud. Police suspect the men may have been trying to destroy some votes that had been cast for a certain candidate. Police confirm they had prior intelligence suggesting such an incident was going to take place.

1900 RESULTS: The finalised results from the Barrier Island races are now being confirmed. We'll let you know if there are any changes from yesterday's declarations.

1913: Via email from Stewart in Flitton: "Greens have been doing okay so far but Grand Island will be the real test of Treasurygate."

1928 RESULT: The result from the recounted race is in, and it's been confirmed that Green Ad’ihan candidate Jonathan Manning will be the new MP for Seat 11 in Dalinn County.

1940: That's all the Barrier Island races announced, with no changes. Here's the seat count for Barrier Island's 70 MPs: GA 15 AF 14 PPA 13 PFM 11 AC 8 NP 6 RM 3

1945 RESULTS: Finalised results from the City of Ad’ihan races now being announced. Another 45 minutes until we get the first batch of Grand Island results, totalling 54 seats.

2010: I know updates have been intermittent but we really haven't had much to update you on. We know what's being announced as there haven't been any changes, yet, from yesterday's declared results.

2021: We understand Prime Minister Alex Canning has arrived at Green Ad’ihan's headquarters to watch the Grand Island results come in live. Just another nine minutes.

2024: Michael Rowand has also arrived at the Action Front headquarters now. Via text on 32459 from John Connolly in Hatton, Grand Island: "Can't wait. Voted for the Greens. Canning's done a lot of good things for this country. Leading us through independence has to count for something. The tension is killing me!"

2030 RESULTS: Results in from all 54 contested seats in the Southern Zone, Frontier County, Central County and President's County: 19 seats to Green Ad’ihan, 17 to the Tories in a surprise gain, just 11 to the Action Front and 7 to the Parti populaire. No seats won by any of the three other parties. Now another hour until the end of the election and we can hazard a guess as to who will be the next PM. GA 52 AF 41 AC 38 PPA 30 PFM 15 NP 9 RM 3. Seats filled: 188/232.

2042: Cheers ring out at the Conservative party headquarters after those results were announced. A bit of a groan at the Action Front election party, they certainly expected more than 11 seats from 54. Green Ad’ihan and the People's Freedom Movement now have a combined 67 seats; 97 when the PPA's are added. They are not far off from reaching a coalition government in majority.

2051 ANALYSIS: Dr Michael Duberry, senior politics expert at the City of Ad’ihan University, believes the Conservatives may just be able to supplant their allies, the Action Front, as the second party in Ad’ihani politics. "The Action Front has traditionally been pro-Orean. Prior to independence they were the Federal Action Front, in huge favour of Liventia's federal system and wanting Ad’ihan to become part of that. Since independence, they've moderated their stance a lot but with the recent Liventian aggression, they may well lose votes."

2103: Prime Minister Canning has been seen to be pacing around Green Ad’ihan headquarters impatiently.

2126: Almost there now, just 44 more seats to be declared, which they will be in four minutes' time.

2130 RESULTS: The moment we've all been waiting for. Results from the final three counties. Four seats picked up by the Parti populaire.

2131: Nine seats for the Tories.

2133 FINAL RESULTS: Celebrations go off at Green headquarters as it's announced they've won 21 votes in the remaining three counties, with ten for the Action Front. However, the Greens' final seat total of 73 is well under what had been expected, which almost certainly means Treasurygate lost them key races. Let's have a look at the final seat count: GA 73 AF 51 AC 47 PPA 34 PFM 15 NP 9 RM 3. Seats filled: 232/232.

2140: Prime Minister Canning is giving a speech at Green headquarters praising his party's resilience through the Treasury scandal. The Tories, beneficiares of that scandal, did nearly 20 seats better than expected.

2144: While the appointment of a new Prime Minister still has to be approved by Parliament, it's almost certain Mr Canning has won a third term in office. His incumbent coalition has 88 seats, which when coupled with the Parti populaire' gains gives them 122 seats, which is a majority of seats. It seems likely the Parti populaire will rejoin the governing coalition, seeing how it would be in their interests to have a centre-left government, rather than a centre-right one.

2150: All newly-elected MPs are making their way to the City of Ad’ihan now to prepare for the swearing-in at 2330 tonight, at which point they will officially be able to use the suffix "MP".

2153: Michael Rowand has made a speech congratulating his party and their Conservative allies for their gains, with no mention of the Green victory.
Adihan
28-11-2008, 12:03
Canning to serve third term

Ad’ihani Prime Minister Alex Canning (Green Ad’ihan, COA) is to serve a third term as the islands' head of government, his Green party has confirmed.

The party issued a joint statement with the People's Freedom Movement and the Parti populaire ad’ihanais, its two coalition partners with whom it controls a majority in Parliament, saying the three parties had agreed "in principle" to back Mr Canning for a third term of office when the new Parliament sits tomorrow to appoint the prime minister.

Mr Canning, who turns 49 in October, served a shortened term from October 2144 to July 2145 as Chief Minister of the International Protectorate and was re-elected as Chief Minister in the 2145 polls. He led the country through independence in the middle of last year.

His new term is set to expire in 2151, although some political analysts have been suggesting he might step down prior to that and hand the reigns over to someone younger in the party.

The President of Ad’ihan, Josh Randall, who is also a Green politician, has mostly stayed neutral through this election, and congratulated all parties on their election performances. He will attend Parliamentary proceedings during the process of the appointment of the Prime Minister, and swear him in as soon as that is completed.
Adihan
30-11-2008, 11:41
(CROSS POST)

Canning breaks with party line, backs K-P Workers

City of Ad’ihan, AD’IHAN— Prime Minister Alex Canning, fresh off the back of successful elections for his Green Ad’ihan party, has broken with party lines for the second time in a year to endorse a foreign party not aligned with his own.

Less than a year ago, Mr Canning voiced support for Candelaria And Marquez's Modern Liberal Party in the build up to Candelarasian presidential elections, a move which cost him the support of the Parti populaire ad’ihanais in the old Senate until the two parties reconciled following the recent elections.

The party charter of Green Ad’ihan, the party founded by Mr Canning, states support for "all other environmentally-inclined, green parties around the globe in their multiple green endeavours regardless of political ideology", although the party has not directly endorsed any foreign party at any time. By this standard, Green Ad’ihan would be supporting the Farmers' Party. However, Mr Canning has once again decided to split from the party line, officially endorsing the Kura-Pellandi Workers' Party.

Mr Canning was keen to avoid confrontation with the Parti populaire again and thus chose not to endorse any right-of-centre parties, said a government source close to Mr Canning on the condition of anonymity.

Another source, from within the Green Ad’ihan party, admitted there had been some unease amongst party members at Mr Canning's abrupt departure from party lines for the second time in under a year, and that there had been minority voices within the party calling for Mr Canning to step down as Green Ad’ihan leader.

In what is being seen as tension among Green members of parliament, the highest-ranking Green Ad’ihan MP after Mr Canning, his deputy prime minister, Phillipe Dubois, has publicly endorsed the K-P Farmers' Party, marking an astounding admission of friction within Ad’ihan's ruling party, all over the matter of Mr Canning's repeated interference in foreign politics.

However, while the effect of the two endorsements are still yet to be known, it seems unlikely that the internal party conflict is likely to grow worse, and most people will admit that party members are still deeply loyal to the Prime Minister.

Mr Dubois, though, is likely to find himself being demoted when Mr Canning announces his new Cabinet later this week, with Parti populaire ad’ihanais leader John Baines expected to become Mr Canning's new deputy.
Adihan
03-12-2008, 15:42
New Cabinet revealed; Parti populaire given key jobs

Prime Minister Alex Canning has announced his new Cabinet to Parliament, with his main coalition partner, the Parti populaire ad’ihanais, being given six positions in the new government.

Of the six, five are considered to be key positions. PPA leader John Baines has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister, while its former leader and Speaker of the Senate, Evan Bell MP, has been named Justice Secretary. The PPA was also given the Health, Labour and Industry, and Treasury portfolios, as well as the slightly more minor position of Regional Secretary for Grand Island.

The other party in the majority coalition, the People's Forward Movement, has two MPs in the new Cabinet, with June Armand MP (Food Safety and Agriculture) and Sandy Welsh MP (Regions) being appointed.

Of the new 25-member Cabinet, 11 members have been newly appointed. Six MPs in the old Cabinet have been given new portfolios. The other eight Cabinet members have kept their positions, including one non-MP in Dr. Tomasz Kaczinski, the Secretary of State for Legal Affairs.

The PPA have also been given the position of Secretary to the Cabinet for Housing and Development, a Cabinet-level minister who will attend Cabinet meetings but is not a full Cabinet member.

The biggest move sees former Deputy Prime Minister Phillipe Dubois MP (GA, President's County), who is also Mr Canning's deputy in Green Ad’ihan, demoted to the position of Secretary of State for Information and Media Affairs. This move is widely seen as the culmination of internal conflict within the party which has seen Mr Dubois split from Mr Canning.

The new Cabinet also sees the first Muslim appointment to the Cabinet, in Hameed Derjia (PPA, Rovers County) to the Health portfolio.

The full Cabinet, listed by seniority:
(New appointees in bold)
Prime Minister: Alex Canning MP
Deputy Prime Minister: John Baines MP
Interior Affairs: David J. Caine MP
Attorney-General: James Alexander MP
Information and Media: Philippe Dubois MP
Foreign Affairs: Thomas Desaiye MP
National Security: James Stewart MP
Defence: Rt. Gen. Anthony Edwards MP
Justice: Evan Bell MP
Legal Affairs: Tomasz Kaczinski
Trade and Finance: Frances Osbourne MP
Treasury: Andy Graves MP
Labour and Industry: Anhui Wen MP
Transport: Francis Sevillon MP
Environment: Julia Owens MP
Health: Hameed Derjia MP
Education and Schools: Laura Dennis MP
Culture, Sport and the Arts: Mitch Holmes MP
Food Safety and Agriculture: June Armand MP
Energy Resources: Ron Kelly MP
Regions: Sandy Welsh MP
Communities and Children's Affairs: Adrienne Scierie MP
Regional Secretaries: Alfred Webster MP, Gavin Taylor MP, Humphrey Coombs MP