Emperia State Election, 2051

Overview
The 2051 Emperia State Election was the second Emperia state election conducted after the Second Constitution was adopted, which included a massive devolution of power to state governments.

The first term government saw a fair amount of political instability related with developing public institutions and services. The codification of the Emperian Education System was the main achievement of the Shires Government, earning opposition support.

Opposition leader Lacy Dimondale orchestrated a merging of his centrist Democratic Party with the center-left Social Progress and Labour Party and created the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in April of 2047, a center to center-left party intended to provide a solid and united opposition of Proud Nation.

In November of 2047, Martin Shires decided to disassociate Proud Nation with the federal party, which he viewed to be too right-wing. He then merged Proud Nation with Liberty Union to untie the right under a big tent party. The new party was called the Alliance Conservatives of Emperia (ACE).

ACE led in the polls for the better part of the campaign, but Lacy Dimondale was able to use slow economic and lack of further public services against Governor Shires. On election Day, the SDLP won a majority government with 108 seats and taking 47.3% of the popular vote.

2045-2048 Mandate
Every state had the hard task of setting up social services, healthcare, and education systems during their first term. The Shires I government promoted a private insurance system for healthcare. On healthcare, Opposition Leader Lacy Dimondale called for a public option while the SPLP and Green Parties called for a single payer system. The private insurance system passed Parliament in October 2045, and went into effect on January 1, 2046.

The education system previously existing was codified and fortified, with the addition of funding for five more public colleges, mostly in more rural areas. Primary and secondary education funding was increased along with the passage of statewide standards. Education policy was generally agreed to by all parties and an overwhelming majority of the opposition voted with the government to pass it.

2047 was a year that brought some unwanted news for the Shires I government. Economic growth was steady at 4% and was not growing nearly as fast as projected. Immigration and population growth also saw a temporary hiatus. Governor Shires responded to this criticism with tax cuts, which were well received by the court of public opinion. However, the opposition lambasted the government for putting the surplus on the line to help the government's approval rating.

One year out to the next election, Opposition Leader Lacy Dimondale and SPLP leader Marcus Neumann announced that the two parties would merge to provide a united center-left opposition to Martin Shires and Proud Nation that would be called the Social Democratic and Labour Party. The party platform included provisions that incorporated third way politics with a stronger tinge of social democratic politics.

Governor Shires responded by colluding with the Liberty Union and disassociating his party from the federal Proud Nation party and created the center-right Alliance Conservatives.

The Campaign
As agreed to by all party leaders, the election was the be held exactly three years after the last election. On April 8, 2045, Governor Martin Shires called Parliament to sit and announced the dissolution of the body. He instructed the Emperian Election Governing Body to hold an election in all 164 constituencies exactly one month from that day (May 8, 2045) and declared that the campaign season had started.

The Conventions
Each party scheduled to hold conventions to codify a party manifesto and select candidates for each constituency. The SDLP and ACE both eliminated the election of a party leader from the convention process and implemented a leadership election process that occurs at the leisure of the state executive committee, the leader him/herself, or the parliamentary party. Therefore, the party leaders of both major parties stayed the same thought the campaign.

Alliance Conservatives of Emperia
The ACE convention was held in Symington on May 9, 2048 from 6 AM and lasted until 1 AM the next morning. Candidate selection for each 164 constituencies took place before noon. Manifesto committees took place between noon and 7 PM, then speeches by key figures and rising stars took place thoughout the rest of the evening. Televised on a few statewide media outlets, the ACE convention touted the successes of Governor Martin Shires's policy on the development of education and public services along with their decisions to create a private healthcare system. Martin Shires's convention speech was viewed to be eloquent and helpful to this campaign.

Social Democratic and Labour Party
The SDLP convention took place in Kari on May 10, 2048. Candidate selection, manifesto presentation, and major speeches. Just like the ACE convention, speeches were carried on live television on a few statewide media outlets. The manifesto called for a more robust social service system including a public option for healthcare, which became one of the main themes of the campaign. Although no leadership election takes place in an SDLP convention, a motion of confidence must pass on the current leader from the delegates present. Lacy Dimondale passed the confidence motion on a wide 76-24% margin.

Aftermath
Governor Lacy Dimondale lost his second re-match with former Governor Martin Shires as Shires's ACE won a majority government.