The Troubled Election

[Draeris 3124]

THE TROUBLED ELECTION

 

The Josephite and Everardine parties have been vying for power and influence throughout the Empire. This is a simple and widely known fact. That the Helenite political skirmishes would seep into lesser circles of governance of Imperial Subjects, was expected and predicted by many. But the current besiegement of the Everardine Bastion, the Commonwealth of Kaedrin, is placing itself as an anomaly in the history books of the Empire. 

 

THE PRELUDE TO THE ELECTION

Mayor Edmund Bren was going to leave his term with a relatively good track record and popularity: having realized most of his campaign promises, such as finishing the city and expanding the local bureaucracy. He, and his benefactors, expected smooth sailing into a second term.

 

The Government of Kaedrin had complicated that process for the incumbent however: now forcing candidates to state their party affiliation when registering as a candidate. The Mayor chose the party that was popular among his lobby, mostly consisting of government officials and the House of Pruvia-Albarosa: the Everardines. 

 

Beneath the surface brewed a frustration with the aristocratic, if not nepotistic, tendencies of the Commonwealth government in its day to day functioning. The government was ridden with de facto authority and informal advisors: schmoozing and lobbying between departments and peers to execute policy. It was an effective, albeit excluding system. For the commoners such as the families O’Rourke and Dubois, this was unacceptable. Padraig O’Rourke rose to the occasion to counter this clique, and attempt to make a municipal administration more accessible to the people.

 

THE ASSASSINATION ACCUSATION

In the evening before the election, right before the debate, Padraig O’Rourke accused the Mayor of making an attempt on his life through proxy. Allegedly a woman tried to lure the candidate away from Kaedrin, so that he may be murdered in his home. All of this was allegedly leaked by one of the contracted assassins to Padraig himself, who rushed to the town square to seek the safety of crowds. 

 

The accusation remained unproven, and the Bren campaign denied any involvement. The lack of evidence prompted the three moderators: Laurence Pruvia-Albarosa, Richard Helvets & Mariana Dubois to continue with the election debate. The atmosphere was horrid however, with tensions running high between House O’Rourke and House Bren. With both parties armed and cautious, the election debate would proceed as planned. 

 

THE RIGGING ATTEMPTS

As the first ballots reached the Electoral Commission from the Office of the Premier, something became immediately apparent. Citizens from Helena and Hanseti-Ruska registered on non-existing addresses, or claimed to live in residences belonging to someone else. Fake identities were used as well. 

 

With nearly 43% of the ballots being illegitimate on the first day, the government of Kaedrin was shocked. Their democracy was under siege by Josephite and Everardine political skirmishes: being fought within the ballot boxes of Owynsburg. The government will review what can be done to combat this next election. 

 

CURRENT POLL:

(Includes invalid ballots that are yet to be removed)

50% - EVERARDINE, INCUMBENT Mayor Edmund Bren

50% - JOSEPHITE, CHALLENGER Steward Padraig O’Rourke

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[SerFinnick 445]

Philip shakes his head at the Kaedrini failure and wonders if he should head there to show them how to properly handle an election, before pushing the thought out of his head and going back to his work within the mighty city of Helena. 

[Sliw 226]

“How dare he accuse me of such crimes?” The Bren slams his fist on his desk.

[UmbreScye 535]

Quinn O’Rourke reviews the missive at hand with a small cup of whiskey at her side, holding onto the paper with a careful eye glossing over the contents. She exhaled a bit, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Ah, t’is is quite t’e mess oi’ve got t’e horrid chance t’eh see...” She grimaced, folding the paper and placing it right into the glove compartment of her desk. “W’at are t’eh odds t’at its at a fifteh fifteh tie huh?” Quinn concluded, laying down to rest after the eventful day.

[Werew0lf 24181]

Roland Bren sat idly upon his chair, the fireplace cackling ahead, the patriarch dipping his head towards Edmund within the House Bren manor. “To accuse you of an assassination, the lowest of the low. Nobody would pay a shill to see such a useless man who barters with bandits to get killed. Jest he should go kill himself. A mockery to the Kaedreni people in trying to grasp power.”

[Mescaffier 6197]

Viktoriya squeezed her fiance, Philip’s, hand, shaking her head. “Impossible to fix what has already been broken, amour. It is not worth it. I only pray that the Kaedrini come to their wits and realize these imprudent accusations are false, then mayhap they have a sliver of hope for their unfortunate city.”

[KeatonUnbeaten 1103]

Keaton II Errmark, leader of the alleged ‘assassins’, idly lazes in a remote Imperial tavern. “Get enlisted to protect a debate candidate from assassins, and look what happens. ISA come and try to arrest us all for treason, with not a crime to our name. Good thing the Skygods chased them off, else our bodyguard force might have had a tough time.”