EBC Jan. '24 Presidential Election Liveblog

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EBC Jan. '24 Presidential Election Liveblog
Like a regular blog.... but LIVE!!
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This is EBC Editor McEntire coming to you live from downtown Arnhelm, where we are seeing early results trickle in from this Presidential Election, which has been highly heated in recent days despite there only being one declared candidate.

In case you missed it, President JayDee is running for a historic third term with his running mate the popular Grand Admiral Vor, and for the second election in a row he is facing Re-Open Elections (or RoE) as his opponent, since no other candidate stood. Delegate upc stood only to withdraw for real-life reasons a few days before the vote.

Polls show a tight race between JayDee and Re-Open Elections, which would trigger a new election if it prevailed. A group of citizens led by former President Sopo has launched a campaign for RoE, arguing that we need a "second chance" at this election due to its uncompetitive nature and proximity to the holiday season. JayDee has pushed back strongly on this view, arguing that potential candidates had plenty of time and defending his administration's performance as worthy of a third term.

With only early results in - only 24 have voted thus far - RoE leads with 2/3 of the vote, with 1/3 voting for JayDee. This analyst would caution, though, that we would expect later votes to favor JayDee/Vor, based on how polling results came in. The EBC has reached out to the JayDee/Vor campaign for comment, and will update you once we have that.

For now, we want to bring in two of our expert EBC analysts.

First, correspondent @ICH. ICH, what has been your perspective on the results so far and on the election overall? Has JayDee made his case for a third term, in your opinion? And what do you think is the opinion on the ground about RoE?

Next, we'll bring in @PhDre. Dre, you had some interesting speculations in #grandhall in Discord about what we could see in terms of turnout in this election. What do these early results tell you about what we could see in terms of turnout, and what the eventual result may be?

We will bring you ongoing coverage of this election as votes come in, and please feel free to provide your own punditry below!

 

[PhDre]

JayDee is the favorite cause no one has stood yet? Its been less than 24 hours lol what

Thank you for your contribution to the blog. Please reread:

There are a lot of unknowns here, but there will be more clarity if and when opposition candidates run. I believe beating serious candidates is very important for a successful term, so bring out the big guns and let's have a show.

 

[Olde Delaware]

JayDee is the favorite cause no one has stood yet? Its been less than 24 hours lol what

Thank you for your contribution to the blog. Please reread:

There are a lot of unknowns here, but there will be more clarity if and when opposition candidates run. I believe beating serious candidates is very important for a successful term, so bring out the big guns and let's have a show.

Getting a little tired of your snarky behavior tbh, you don't like what you said then go edit it.

 

[PhDre]

JayDee is the favorite cause no one has stood yet? Its been less than 24 hours lol what

Thank you for your contribution to the blog. Please reread:

There are a lot of unknowns here, but there will be more clarity if and when opposition candidates run. I believe beating serious candidates is very important for a successful term, so bring out the big guns and let's have a show.

Getting a little tired of your snarky behavior tbh, you don't like what you said then go edit it.

Thank you for your contribution to the blog. If I wanted to edit what I said then I would edit it.

 

[Olde Delaware]

JayDee is the favorite cause no one has stood yet? Its been less than 24 hours lol what

Thank you for your contribution to the blog. Please reread:

There are a lot of unknowns here, but there will be more clarity if and when opposition candidates run. I believe beating serious candidates is very important for a successful term, so bring out the big guns and let's have a show.

Getting a little tired of your snarky behavior tbh, you don't like what you said then go edit it.

Thank you for your contribution to the blog. If I wanted to edit what I said then I would edit it.

Thank you for your contribution to the blog.

 

[McEntire]

Gentlemen, please! Leave the fighting to the candidates! Let’s keep our comments constructive.

Which, speaking of, we have breaking news on the candidate front. In what may be an unwelcome outcome for President JayDee, Senate Speaker Elio has jumped into the ring in this Presidential re-run on the Pax Europeiana (PXE) party line. Elio was a rumored candidate earlier in the election, and was among the most sought after candidates in the recent Smokin’ Poll.

@Elio or running mate @Sincluda, do either of you have a campaign comment on your entry to the race?

And @JayDee or @Vor, do you have any comment on the new competition?

Finally, I have a question for @Cordova I and the PXE party’s seeming leader, @Ervald. Cord, you had mentioned that you were considering a presidential bid. Does the entry of your fellow PXE party member Elio change your calculus at all? And @Ervald, is Elio running with the party’s support?

 

[Cordova I]

Hello, Minister @McEntire!

I am very glad that you asked me, because as it so happens, I do have an announcement to make.

After deep deliberation and soul-searching, I have decided not to run for president in this upcoming election. I do thank my early supporters for their preliminary support.

 

[Ervald]

Hello @McEntire! It is a pleasure to be here. Due to Cordova's announcement just now, Elio is the only member of PXE that is currently running for President. Therefore, Elio will be running with the full support of Pax Europeiana.

 

[Elio]

@Elio or running mate @Sincluda, do either of you have a campaign comment on your entry to the race?

Absolutely! We're both really excited to be running this election, and also really surprised at the same time. Neither of us expected we'd be sitting here as candidates today, but in a short amount of time we've been able to pull together what we think is a really great campaign, backed by a solid and committed team, and we're looking forward to being able to share that with the public on Monday.

On my part specifically, I also didn't expect, only a few months after arriving in Euro, that I'd be a credible candidate for the Presidency - whether I win or lose, I will remain forever grateful for the support and guidance of the team of wonderful people who have supported me since I joined Euro, who supported me through the Senate, who convinced me to run for the Presidency, and who have helped me build a platform for success. I am enormously proud of my journey here so far, and I hope that whichever way this goes, this campaign can also inspire newer Citizens to keep aspiring for more, and never let yourself be seen as “not ready” or “not experienced enough” - Euro is for all of us!

Finally, I want to wish the best of luck to JayDee and Vor. They are phenomenal public servants as well as just generally really awesome people. They will be formidable opponents.

 

[JayDee]

This election cycle has truly been a rollercoaster for us with several twists and turns as the election drew closer. We have worked incredibly hard on our platform for several weeks, so we're excited for the opportunity to support our policies against two incredible opponents. We want to continue building on the success that we've seen over the past two terms while preparing our new generation for the burden of leadership that they are soon to undertake.

It is the rising stars like Elio and returning players like Sincluda who inspired our campaign to Brighten the Stars. Across Europeia, we see new and returning citizens aspiring for greatness and we want to provide experience to elevate these individuals. I've been told several times to step aside and wait my turn or to let someone else handle things. That's all I was ever told, no one ever truly prepared me for what the Presidency would demand of me. I don't want to be that person to tell another to wait, I want to be the one who is preparing them for leadership rather than trying to push them away from it.

This term will see more of our younger and returning citizens being given opportunities to gain experience both in and outside of the Cabinet. In the Navy where the leaders that we once relied upon are slowly fading into inactivity, in FA where the burden of war will shape the policies of this term and more terms to come, in WAA where we see the former SC Authors that we once relied upon leaving, in Gameside where we are starting to see a new generation hungry to grow but still hesitant to take the helm, in Comms/Radio where we have managed to break down barriers and see more people trying to get involved but aren't sure how.

When the goings get tough, we do not rise to the occassion, we default to the level of our experience. This administration has experienced the toughest storms and emerged stronger than before. We have built the foundations for a stronger Europeia. A vote for JayDee/Vor is not a vote against the future, it's a vote for the security and prosperity of a new generation. We look forward to the debates and welcome everyone to engage with us via DMs and/or our platform.

Thank you to everyone for giving us this opportunity to advocate for our policies against a competitive field. We are energized and ready to deliver a strong term!

signed,
JayDee - Candidate for President
Vor - Candidate for Vice President

 

[Pland Adanna]

The presidential debate--or as moderator Sopo called it, "shindig"--has begun! All three candidates, President JayDee, Senate Speaker Elio, and Minister of Communication and Senator McEntire are in attendance. Let's see what they have to say!

P.S. I liked CSP's joke. I also like JayDee's response.

 

[Pland Adanna]

Didn't read the debate? No worries! I won't get through the whole thing either! I'll still summarize a bit here though.

Recap of Opening Statements:
JayDee - I should be reelected because my running mate is good and also I think I've been a good president.
Elio - My passion, leadership, vision, and amazing team make up for my less experience. While I may not be an expert in all parts of the executive, "We are electing here a Leader, not an encyclopedia".
McEntire - I should be elected because I want to shrink the government, but in a good way. I also don't care about polls.

Recap of Closing Statements:
JayDee - I have the knowledge to lead our region through this period when "Europeia is losing talent." and the attacks against me are unfounded.
Elio - I have an optimistic vision for Europeia, and I want your vote, so I can help my only NS home.
McEntire - I love this region. Sure, my campaign has been a bit unconventional, but I would be a good leader.

 

[Pland Adanna]

Someone has to record this election in history, so here I am with a quick post!

In the last hours before polls opened, the vice presidential candidates, Vor and Sincluda, engaged in a spirited debate in JayDee’s platform thread. When polls opened, Elio developed a bit of a lead for the first few hours, but then JayDee pulled ever so slightly ahead later on! The excitement isn’t over though because now the candidates are officially tied at 30 votes! Who will win is to be determined.

 

[Lloenflys]

I've been in Elio's shoes before as a candidate who built up a lead that looked pretty solid only to see it go sideways (against Sopo) and I have been in both of these candidates shoes with an election that was extremely close and that ended in a tie, resulting in the Senate breaking that tie (against Lime). Both were excruciating to be a part of, so I empathize deeply with both candidates right now!!

 

[Rand]

The candidates have been neck-in-neck all evening, neither ever exceeding the other by more than a vote. As it stands, it is currently JayDee 32 - 31 Elio. About 13 hours remain.

 

[Aexnidaral]

Whatever the outcome is I'm glad that we gave Re-Open Nominations a chance to let the race go forward and other candidates run. While I'm disappointed fewer tickets than expected came forward to have a campaign and dialogue about our issues, ultimately I'm very happy that we're seeing a very close, contested election. Good luck to both ticket: I've been in your shoes before with elections this close and it's never fun being on that side of it.