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1952 Seinokan general election | Predicica (www.predicica.com/event/1952-Seinokan-general-election)
1952 Seinokan general election
L-R: Viscount Machida Chuji, Magnus Kozu, and Yahya Sumulong
General elections for the 9th Royal Diet were held on November 11, 1952, pursuant to the Skandan Independence Act of 1951, which prescribed the date for the first election with universal suffrage for the Royal Diet.
Background
Originally, the Royal Diet was only elected by Andrennian colonists, members of the business community, civil servants, and the Skandan nobility (approved by the Ko'i) in the Skandan Union, a federation of protectorates dividing Andrennian Skanda. The council initially served in an advisory capacity. Over time, as lobbying developed in the council, its influence grew over the Governor-General. The success of his policy depended on the support of the colonial elite, mostly Andrennian businessmen and Skandan nobles. In the Protectorate of West Skanda, power was centralized in a lieutenant governor residing in the capital Hokkyo who advised the Governor-General, personally lobbying on behalf of local interests.
The Valkyrists took power in Andrenne after the 1932 Royal Massacre. Kamaheo Ko'i Akashikoa started the Koe Revolt, an attempt to secede Skanda during the chaos, but was quickly defeated. The new Andrennian leader Viktor Nyström banned all Skandan political parties, replaced Akashikoa with Hakurakoya, and established a one-party state in Skanda, under the fascist Royal Rule Assistance Association (Taiseiyokusankai).
The Skandan Liberation Army marched into Kuhena in 1951. Most members of the Royal Diet fled to West Skanda. The Taiseiyokusankai was banned by the Skandan Independence Act. The Act laid out the 2-year transition to independence for the Andrennian colony of the Skandan Union. Many of the Taiseiyokusankai refugees claimed they have always been anti-fascists. They formed the majority of restored, pre-1932 political parties. A general election for the Royal Diet was scheduled in 1952.
For the purposes of the Act, the franchise was expanded to universal suffrage. New constituencies for the Diet were created. It expanded the total number of seats to 468. The election was an indirect referendum on the future form of government. The parties elected to the 9th Royal Diet served as the assembly to draft the first constitution of an independent Skanda. For inclusive inter-party approval, votes for the new constitution and subsequent amendments require a 2/3 majority.
In East Skanda, the Socialist Party of Skanda established a provisional socialist republic. The SPS rejected the Royal Diet's authority in West Skanda. They demanded the complete withdrawal of Andrennian forces and ordered the Skandan Royal Army in Hokkyo to obey the Skandan Liberation Army. The rebellious syndicalist wing of the Socialist Party of Skanda dominated the party ranks in West Skanda. Syndicalist leader Yahya Sumulong declared their formal separation, established the Skandan Syndicalist Party, and took over the local SLA militia committees. The militia committees were promptly disbanded. Many joined the Skandan Royal Army. It was part of a secret agreement with Governor-General Ernst Olandernto in return for general amnesty to SLA rebels.
Viscount Machida Chuji replaced Baron Kantaro Suzuki as leader of the National Party, the pro-Andrennian, royalist faction that ruled West Skanda since the protectorate was established. He was appointed caretaker prime minister by Olandernto. Chuji started communications with former Ko'i Akashikoa, who was exiled to Alnaria. He offered the King and his family to visit West Skanda in anticipation of a Kamaheo restoration. The King rejected the offer and insisted on a referendum to let the people decide on reunification with East Skanda.
The issue of unification and the status of the monarchy were hotly debated in the Royal Diet. The pro-republic Liberal Party was on the verge of tearing itself apart, between pro-unification and anti-monarchy. Its leader, Magnus Kozu, explained that their division is "neither about monarchy versus republic nor reunification versus separation, but about democracy versus dictatorship." Due to the limited time frame, the Governor-General threatened to dissolve the diet and let the Andrennian government decide. The Skandan Unification Referendum was held on June 18, 1951. Following universal suffrage rules, it was narrowly rejected by 54.15% of the voters. Anti-republic and pro-unification supporters questioned the legitimacy of the vote due to widespread bribery and violence during the limited campaign period.
The general election was expected to occur the following year. Ko'i Akashikoa pledged to delay his return until the election was finished. He feared his presence might invite royalist subversion. The Skandan Syndicalist Party announced the Democratic Front coalition, inviting all minority parties and independents. They wanted to unite the opposition to win against the colonial establishment.
Campaign
National-Liberal coalition campaign
1952 National Citizens' Alliance poster.
Left subtitle: "The socialists are violent dictators." The right subtitle: "National Citizens' Alliance is democracy."
Most national polls indicated that the Skandan Syndicalist Party and its Democratic Front coalition partners were more popular than the National Party and the Liberal Party. To increase their odds, the National and Liberals joined forces to enter the election as the "National Citizens' Alliance." In drafting a new constitution, they wanted to establish a constitutional democracy with Skandan suffrage. The new Royal Diet would become bicameral with an elected lower house. The Skandan nobility and government appointees would become members of a hereditary upper house. They promised to restore Ko'i Akashikoa to the throne with full sovereignty rights. Based on a Goyanean parliamentary framework, the executive government will be subordinate to a strong parliament.
Their campaign focused on the first Skandan Red Scare. In early 1952, mass purges were ongoing in East Skanda. Enemies of the Socialist Republic were labeled "anti-revolutionaries." These included anarchists, syndicalists, SLA mutineers, Andrennian colonists, Taiseiyokusankai members, and royalist rebels. Thousands were sent to the Hokya prison camp system. There were purge survivors in West Skanda, mostly Valkyrist collaborators and ex-SPS members. Stories of their survival and eyewitness accounts of the prison camps were often published in Yomiuri Shimbun, Daihoku Andrennian Financial, and other mainstream newspapers.
One campaign poster depicted the contrast between a seemingly paranoid socialist East Skanda and peaceful royalist West Skanda, subtitled with the respective slogans "社会主義者は暴力的な独裁者です。"("The socialists are violent dictators") and "「国民同盟」は民主主義です" ("National Citizens' Alliance is democracy."). It implied the socialist movement, including the Democratic Front, shared the authoritarian policies of the Socialist Party of Skanda.
The base of the Liberal Party was the middle class. Its upper-class supporters led the Nationalist Party and gave the coalition the advantage of huge donations. The Skandan nobility owned the most desirable lands in the countryside, including major trade centers and housing for the rural population. Through vote buying and coercion, Nationalist nobles and businessmen influenced their tenants in a rotten borough system to install their favored candidates. Provincial and county councils were only elected by nobles. The economic program of the Liberal-Nationalist manifesto was designed to create a free-market economy by promising subsidies to Zaibatsus, redistributing farmlands to well-off and middle-class smallholders, and building a literate, industrial base with compulsory public education to industrialize Seinoku's agricultural economy.
Democratic Front campaign
Commander Luwai Taruc reading a newspaper with a headline on SLA amnesty
The Democratic Front campaign rallied behind the Skandan Syndicalist Party manifesto, A New Skanda. It was a radical transformation to "democratize the country in all walks of life." It promised to redistribute land, nationalize key industries, empower trade unions, expand the public health service, and disband the Zaibatsus. Their plans for the new constitution featured a republican democracy and a separation of powers. Gun ownership would be enshrined as a civil right. A popularly elected president would lead the executive branch. The unicameral diet would be retained without hereditary or appointed seats. A supreme court would strike down unconstitutional acts. The manifesto suggested a soft Skandan unification in "two separate, socialist republics under a federal union" in the future.
SSP's wartime role as the local branch of the Socialist Party of Skanda was widely publicized. In the countryside, the Skandan Liberation Army killed Andrennian and Skandan landlords to liberate peasants. It was part of a wider effort to deplete crucial supplies to the Taiseiyokusankai regime. Supporters in heavy industry and public transport helped the SLA commit industrial sabotage, dismantle railways, and blow up military warehouses. Their actions were often romanticized in folktale and guerilla press stories of a fictional SLA rebel named "Noragami" (Stray god), the archnemesis of Andrennian colonial overlords and Taiseiyokusankai collaborators. The general public saw the SPS as defenders of the poor and victims of injustice.
Governor-General Olandernto understood SPS's immense popularity meant they could not be excluded from the elections. He negotiated with the SPS branch in West Skanda to allow their candidates to run in the 1952 election. Yahya Sumulong, as a secret syndicalist, had been planning a coup in the Provisional Socialist Republic of Skanda. Syndicalists were purged from the SPS leadership by the Akirist socialists. He was advised against the coup plot by West Skandan SLA commander Luwai Taruc. Instead, after securing amnesty for SLA activities from Olandernto, they formed the Skandan Syndicalist Party.
The Democratic Alliance appealed to the masses. The majority were poor tenant farmers, poor smallholders, and factory workers. Zenaigakuren, the SSP student wing, alone, had 120,000 members. The coalition united leftist organizations, the largest of them were the National Farmers' Union and the SSP, all led by former commanders in the Hukbalaad, East Meterra Anti-Kamaheo Armed Front, and the Blue Eagles. The coalition also included progressive organizations such as the League for National Liberation, Anti-Traitors League, Anti-Andrennian League, and the Civil Liberties Union, controlled by the intellectual elite of the upper and middle classes.
Violence
Royal Skandan Constables with captured election saboteurs.
Olandernto allowed ex-SLA members to keep their weapons as part of their amnesty agreement. This allowed many families in the countryside to defend themselves against voter coercion sponsored by the powerful landlords. In the cities, ex-SLA guerillas patrolled the streets as members of the new Royal Skandan Constabulary, the gendarmery predecessor of the Royal Seinokan Police. They prevented vandalism of campaign propaganda and the destruction of party offices, which were rampant in rural areas. Other, more enterprising ex-SLA members were under the payroll of both the National Citizens' Alliance and the Democratic Front to terrorize each other's candidates and activists. This intensified during election day. Overall, there were 641 reported incidents of election-related violence, 14 of which caused 30 deaths and the loss of 6 candidates.
Results
1952 Seinokan general election
L-R: Viscount Machida Chuji, Magnus Kozu, and Yahya Sumulong
General elections for the 9th Royal Diet were held on November 11, 1952, pursuant to the Skandan Independence Act of 1951, which prescribed the date for the first election with universal suffrage for the Royal Diet.
Background
Originally, the Royal Diet was only elected by Andrennian colonists, members of the business community, civil servants, and the Skandan nobility (approved by the Ko'i) in the Skandan Union, a federation of protectorates dividing Andrennian Skanda. The council initially served in an advisory capacity. Over time, as lobbying developed in the council, its influence grew over the Governor-General. The success of his policy depended on the support of the colonial elite, mostly Andrennian businessmen and Skandan nobles. In the Protectorate of West Skanda, power was centralized in a lieutenant governor residing in the capital Hokkyo who advised the Governor-General, personally lobbying on behalf of local interests.
The Valkyrists took power in Andrenne after the 1932 Royal Massacre. Kamaheo Ko'i Akashikoa started the Koe Revolt, an attempt to secede Skanda during the chaos, but was quickly defeated. The new Andrennian leader Viktor Nyström banned all Skandan political parties, replaced Akashikoa with Hakurakoya, and established a one-party state in Skanda, under the fascist Royal Rule Assistance Association (Taiseiyokusankai).
The Skandan Liberation Army marched into Kuhena in 1951. Most members of the Royal Diet fled to West Skanda. The Taiseiyokusankai was banned by the Skandan Independence Act. The Act laid out the 2-year transition to independence for the Andrennian colony of the Skandan Union. Many of the Taiseiyokusankai refugees claimed they have always been anti-fascists. They formed the majority of restored, pre-1932 political parties. A general election for the Royal Diet was scheduled in 1952.
For the purposes of the Act, the franchise was expanded to universal suffrage. New constituencies for the Diet were created. It expanded the total number of seats to 468. The election was an indirect referendum on the future form of government. The parties elected to the 9th Royal Diet served as the assembly to draft the first constitution of an independent Skanda. For inclusive inter-party approval, votes for the new constitution and subsequent amendments require a 2/3 majority.
In East Skanda, the Socialist Party of Skanda established a provisional socialist republic. The SPS rejected the Royal Diet's authority in West Skanda. They demanded the complete withdrawal of Andrennian forces and ordered the Skandan Royal Army in Hokkyo to obey the Skandan Liberation Army. The rebellious syndicalist wing of the Socialist Party of Skanda dominated the party ranks in West Skanda. Syndicalist leader Yahya Sumulong declared their formal separation, established the Skandan Syndicalist Party, and took over the local SLA militia committees. The militia committees were promptly disbanded. Many joined the Skandan Royal Army. It was part of a secret agreement with Governor-General Ernst Olandernto in return for general amnesty to SLA rebels.
Viscount Machida Chuji replaced Baron Kantaro Suzuki as leader of the National Party, the pro-Andrennian, royalist faction that ruled West Skanda since the protectorate was established. He was appointed caretaker prime minister by Olandernto. Chuji started communications with former Ko'i Akashikoa, who was exiled to Alnaria. He offered the King and his family to visit West Skanda in anticipation of a Kamaheo restoration. The King rejected the offer and insisted on a referendum to let the people decide on reunification with East Skanda.
The issue of unification and the status of the monarchy were hotly debated in the Royal Diet. The pro-republic Liberal Party was on the verge of tearing itself apart, between pro-unification and anti-monarchy. Its leader, Magnus Kozu, explained that their division is "neither about monarchy versus republic nor reunification versus separation, but about democracy versus dictatorship." Due to the limited time frame, the Governor-General threatened to dissolve the diet and let the Andrennian government decide. The Skandan Unification Referendum was held on June 18, 1951. Following universal suffrage rules, it was narrowly rejected by 54.15% of the voters. Anti-republic and pro-unification supporters questioned the legitimacy of the vote due to widespread bribery and violence during the limited campaign period.
The general election was expected to occur the following year. Ko'i Akashikoa pledged to delay his return until the election was finished. He feared his presence might invite royalist subversion. The Skandan Syndicalist Party announced the Democratic Front coalition, inviting all minority parties and independents. They wanted to unite the opposition to win against the colonial establishment.
Campaign
National-Liberal coalition campaign
1952 National Citizens' Alliance poster.
Left subtitle: "The socialists are violent dictators." The right subtitle: "National Citizens' Alliance is democracy."
Most national polls indicated that the Skandan Syndicalist Party and its Democratic Front coalition partners were more popular than the National Party and the Liberal Party. To increase their odds, the National and Liberals joined forces to enter the election as the "National Citizens' Alliance." In drafting a new constitution, they wanted to establish a constitutional democracy with Skandan suffrage. The new Royal Diet would become bicameral with an elected lower house. The Skandan nobility and government appointees would become members of a hereditary upper house. They promised to restore Ko'i Akashikoa to the throne with full sovereignty rights. Based on a Goyanean parliamentary framework, the executive government will be subordinate to a strong parliament.
Their campaign focused on the first Skandan Red Scare. In early 1952, mass purges were ongoing in East Skanda. Enemies of the Socialist Republic were labeled "anti-revolutionaries." These included anarchists, syndicalists, SLA mutineers, Andrennian colonists, Taiseiyokusankai members, and royalist rebels. Thousands were sent to the Hokya prison camp system. There were purge survivors in West Skanda, mostly Valkyrist collaborators and ex-SPS members. Stories of their survival and eyewitness accounts of the prison camps were often published in Yomiuri Shimbun, Daihoku Andrennian Financial, and other mainstream newspapers.
One campaign poster depicted the contrast between a seemingly paranoid socialist East Skanda and peaceful royalist West Skanda, subtitled with the respective slogans "社会主義者は暴力的な独裁者です。"("The socialists are violent dictators") and "「国民同盟」は民主主義です" ("National Citizens' Alliance is democracy."). It implied the socialist movement, including the Democratic Front, shared the authoritarian policies of the Socialist Party of Skanda.
The base of the Liberal Party was the middle class. Its upper-class supporters led the Nationalist Party and gave the coalition the advantage of huge donations. The Skandan nobility owned the most desirable lands in the countryside, including major trade centers and housing for the rural population. Through vote buying and coercion, Nationalist nobles and businessmen influenced their tenants in a rotten borough system to install their favored candidates. Provincial and county councils were only elected by nobles. The economic program of the Liberal-Nationalist manifesto was designed to create a free-market economy by promising subsidies to Zaibatsus, redistributing farmlands to well-off and middle-class smallholders, and building a literate, industrial base with compulsory public education to industrialize Seinoku's agricultural economy.
Democratic Front campaign
Commander Luwai Taruc reading a newspaper with a headline on SLA amnesty
The Democratic Front campaign rallied behind the Skandan Syndicalist Party manifesto, A New Skanda. It was a radical transformation to "democratize the country in all walks of life." It promised to redistribute land, nationalize key industries, empower trade unions, expand the public health service, and disband the Zaibatsus. Their plans for the new constitution featured a republican democracy and a separation of powers. Gun ownership would be enshrined as a civil right. A popularly elected president would lead the executive branch. The unicameral diet would be retained without hereditary or appointed seats. A supreme court would strike down unconstitutional acts. The manifesto suggested a soft Skandan unification in "two separate, socialist republics under a federal union" in the future.
SSP's wartime role as the local branch of the Socialist Party of Skanda was widely publicized. In the countryside, the Skandan Liberation Army killed Andrennian and Skandan landlords to liberate peasants. It was part of a wider effort to deplete crucial supplies to the Taiseiyokusankai regime. Supporters in heavy industry and public transport helped the SLA commit industrial sabotage, dismantle railways, and blow up military warehouses. Their actions were often romanticized in folktale and guerilla press stories of a fictional SLA rebel named "Noragami" (Stray god), the archnemesis of Andrennian colonial overlords and Taiseiyokusankai collaborators. The general public saw the SPS as defenders of the poor and victims of injustice.
Governor-General Olandernto understood SPS's immense popularity meant they could not be excluded from the elections. He negotiated with the SPS branch in West Skanda to allow their candidates to run in the 1952 election. Yahya Sumulong, as a secret syndicalist, had been planning a coup in the Provisional Socialist Republic of Skanda. Syndicalists were purged from the SPS leadership by the Akirist socialists. He was advised against the coup plot by West Skandan SLA commander Luwai Taruc. Instead, after securing amnesty for SLA activities from Olandernto, they formed the Skandan Syndicalist Party.
The Democratic Alliance appealed to the masses. The majority were poor tenant farmers, poor smallholders, and factory workers. Zenaigakuren, the SSP student wing, alone, had 120,000 members. The coalition united leftist organizations, the largest of them were the National Farmers' Union and the SSP, all led by former commanders in the Hukbalaad, East Meterra Anti-Kamaheo Armed Front, and the Blue Eagles. The coalition also included progressive organizations such as the League for National Liberation, Anti-Traitors League, Anti-Andrennian League, and the Civil Liberties Union, controlled by the intellectual elite of the upper and middle classes.
Violence
Royal Skandan Constables with captured election saboteurs.
Olandernto allowed ex-SLA members to keep their weapons as part of their amnesty agreement. This allowed many families in the countryside to defend themselves against voter coercion sponsored by the powerful landlords. In the cities, ex-SLA guerillas patrolled the streets as members of the new Royal Skandan Constabulary, the gendarmery predecessor of the Royal Seinokan Police. They prevented vandalism of campaign propaganda and the destruction of party offices, which were rampant in rural areas. Other, more enterprising ex-SLA members were under the payroll of both the National Citizens' Alliance and the Democratic Front to terrorize each other's candidates and activists. This intensified during election day. Overall, there were 641 reported incidents of election-related violence, 14 of which caused 30 deaths and the loss of 6 candidates.
Results
| Party | Votes | Percentage of vote (%) | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skandan Syndicalist Party | 17,453,621 | 31.46 | 160 |
| Nationalist Party | 10,354,782 | 18.67 | 94 |
| Liberal Party | 9,928,157 | 17.90 | 93 |
| Other parties | 6,489,324 | 11.70 | 38 |
| Independents | 11,246,598 | 20.28 | 83 |
| Total | 55,472,482 | 100.0 | 468 |
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