Micronesian General Election, 2015

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The 2015 Micronesian General Election will be held on June 15, 2015. The election was called on May 13, 2015, when House Speaker John Robinson called for the election on the advise of President David Ray. Ray had asked for an election since the upcoming budget for the fiscal year was facing imminent defeat, since the Green Party (who held the balance of power) said that they would not support the budget.

Timeline

  • May 10 - Reports emerge that David Ray will call for an election by May 13 after the Independence Day holidays have ended.
  • May 13 - The election is officially called by Speaker John Robinson.
  • May 14 - The first commercials for the campaign are released, including one with Reform leader David Warren saying on gay marriage "In the eyes of the law, those men aren't married." Warren is criticized for the comment he made in 2004, but says that the quote was taken out of context.
  • May 15 - Another ad campaign comes from the Liberals, calling out Warren's lack of experience compared to President Ray. Main tagline: "And now he wants to become President?"
  • May 21 - Writers' Debate occurs. The debate is notable in the fact that there wasn't much interest from the media and from the voters. When asked afterwards if the Writers' Debate should be abolished, David Ray said that it was fine, Matthew Turner called for its' abolishment, while David Warren said that more interesting questions should be put in.
  • May 23 - Surveys from the debate show 42% of those who intended to watch the debate had no clue on who to vote for, while after the debate the number rose to 53%. This solicits some controversy, but the Election Board cleared the survey group of any wrongdoing, given that the survey did not explicitly ask which party they would vote for, but whether or not they had a good idea on who to vote for.
  • May 25 - The Reform Party releases an ad claiming Mike Hamilton, Michael Collins and the Green Party will raise taxes by 25% if elected. Hamilton denies the allegations. Collins was not available for comment.
  • May 29 - Leaders' debate occurs. MNP leader Matthew Turner calls Green Party leader Mike Hamilton an "environmental bible thumper," and that his nagging is turning off any momentum. Reform leader David Warren says President David Ray has "led Micronesia to mediocrity."
  • May 30 - Green Party releases an ad saying Matthew Turner "doesn't pass the smell test," with people holding boxes with Turner's image on it holding their noses. Turner called the ads "a bit silly."
  • June 1 - Ad from the Liberal Party comes out, claiming that Mike Hamilton will bring more "doom and gloom" if elected, and advised voters to "vote with their heart, not with their fears." Hamilton claimed the ads were part of a smear campaign.
  • June 4 - A phone poll is circulated across the country asking voters "Would you vote for President Ray if you found out he supported terrorism?" Ray calls out against the allegations, calling the polls "desperate." The polls are traced back to the Reform Party, sparking controversy. David Warren denies him running the polls, but said that the subject matter of the polls was "inappropriate."
  • June 8 - Peoples' debate occurs. David Warren criticises Matthew Turner, claiming that he thinks he's a "saint" and that he will "wait for everything to fall on his lap in order." Warren is also blasted for his push polls, and Hamilton is criticised for his agreesive policies. David Ray is given the most criticism, being called "incompetent" and "useless" by the other candidates.
  • June 10 - A survey suggests that 95% of people who watched the three debates didn't change their opinion on who they were voting for, either because they were staying with their initial choice or they were still unsure on who to vote for. Out of those who were unsure, 28% seriously considered spoiling or rejecting their ballot.
  • June 11 - The Green Party takes out a full page "wraparound" ad on the front page of The Daily National, copying their style and font of the front page, with the headline, "Mike Hamilton works for Micronesia." The ad is criticised for being too deceptive, as it looked like an exact copy of what a front page looks like, but the Election Board cleared the party of any wrongdoing, since the message "Paid Advertisement" was present.
  • June 12 - A news survey says politicians are less truthworthy than lawyers, doctors, and auto mechanics, but more truthworthy than telemarketers.
  • June 14 - A survey taken by all three news channels (Channel 4, Global, MBC) all show that most people "just want the campaign to end," citing the endless mudslinging and contentious debates over the course of the last month.
  • June 15 - Election Day.
    • The Liberal Party wins the most seats, despite having a net loss of six seats in the election. Well off from their overall goal of a majority, David Ray will stay on as President, having said that the odds of another election in the fall was "unlikely." The MNP will form the official opposition, having won 33 seats and having made signficant gains in Washington and Newfoundland.
    • Having placed in third despite expectations that they would form the official opposition, Green Party leader Mike Hamilton will step down as leader despite having a net gain of two seats in the election. He said that the party needs "a new direction for the future," given the lack of progress since his initial 19 seats (out of 97) in 2008.
    • The Reform Party placed fourth with 13 seats, ironically matching their historical record of 13 seats set back in 1996. Warren did not issue a speech on the eve of the election. The Alliance Party, new for 2015, gained two seats in parliament, while the Libertarian Party failed to make progress on their vote share from 2012. Libertarian Party leader Alex St. Clair announced his resignation the day after the election.
  • June 17
    • Reform leader David Warren announced his resignation as party leader, and apologized on behalf of the former Conservative Party for "the actions and events which occurred during the administration of Tyler Holmes." Warren revealed that he served as a clerk to Holmes from 1998 to 2002, aiding in the police action during the 2000 police riots and the coverups of bribery in 2002, among other things. He hoped that his resignation would serve to "change the way things are run in this country," hoping to make sure that a President does not repeat the same actions Holmes did in the past.
    • Final figures for the election are released, upholding the results initially published on Election Day with no major changes. The turnout figure is also released, with the percentage of eligible voters being 33.2%, a record low for Micronesia and for a national election in North America. Turnout in some ridings fell below 25%, while only three ridings surpassed the 50% mark.

Endorsements

The following media outlets made endorsements during the campaign:

Liberal

  • Fourside Star
  • Washington Post

Reform

  • The Hart Times
  • Jacksonville Express

Micronesian National

  • Newfoundland Daily

Alliance Party

  • Ander Post (as a protest vote)

Expicitly Not Endorsing Any Party

  • Manitoba Times
  • Saskatchewan Press
  • Dawson Gazette
  • The Washington Times
  • Oregon Post

Explicitly Encouraging Voters to Not Vote

  • St. John's Times
  • Milton Gazette

Standings

Party Party Leader Seats
2012 Elected
Liberal David Ray 42 36
National Matthew Turner 5 33
Green Mike Hamilton 15 17
Reform David Warren 39 13
Alliance Chuck McGann 0 2
Libertarian Alex St. Clair 0 0
Elections to the Micronesian Parliament - seats won/lost by party, 2012-2015
Party 2012 Gain from (loss to) 2015
Liberal MNP Green Reform Alliance Libertarian
Liberal 42 (7) 1 (3) 5 (1) (1) 36
MNP 5 7 4 17 33
Green 15 3 (1) (4) 4 17
Reform 39 1 (5) (17) (4) (1) 13
Alliance -- 1 1 2
Libertarian 0 0
Total 101 12 (6) (28) 5 (7) 27 (1) (2) 101