The first round of the presidential election is due to take place on Sunday. The two candidates with the highest number of votes will progress to the second round, scheduled for two weeks later, the 30th June.
With the first round upcoming, the Lauchenoirian Guardian has asked each presidential candidate for a statement. Those statements have been reproduced below, in a random order. There are 11 candidates on the ballot.
Alex Marwick (LDA): Lauchenoiria is divided. That’s the fact of the matter. We are less divided than we were a year ago, which is hardly surprising given that a year ago, we were in the midst of a civil war. But we still have a long way to go to heal the divisions that were the cause of that conflict. Everyone knows what side I took in that war – the side of democracy. That’s what matters most to me. Democracy. In democracy, all sides should be listened to and considered, and that’s that the LDA is doing. We are listening to the people, we develop our policies based on what the people want, and if I am elected president, I will endeavour to listen to the people before every decision I make. For too long, governments have ignored the will of the people, playing their games and breaking their promises. If elected, I will ensure that never happens again! The government should represent the people, and the people should have the power!
Alexis Armitage (Green): Lauchenoiria is a beautiful country. We have gorgeous green forests and bright blue lakes and sunshine all year round. And yet this lovely environment has been damaged greatly recently. Even before the war, pollution and deforestation wreaked havoc not just in our country, but across the world. Animals are becoming extinct at an alarming rate, as people jet off on ever-cheaper vacations to even more far-flung destinations. People take cars when there is perfectly good public transport. Climate change is real. It is the biggest issue facing mankind today, and yet people prioritise the economy, waste resources by going to war, and destroy the future of our children to gain advantage in the present. Of course this isn’t the only issue, and throughout this evening we will undoubtedly have the chance to discuss a multitude of pressing issues, but I am of the opinion that climate change is the most important issue. If elected, I will ensure it is my priority, even as we face and tackle all the other issues facing Lauchenoiria today.
Ruben Page (Communist): Everywhere you go, everyone you meet has an opinion on communism. Many blame communists for the war. Is this accurate? No, of course not! The war was caused by Kerlians, who manipulated and hurt communists just the same as our opponents. Communism has been unfairly demonised recently, used as a scapegoat by Laura Moore’s Liberals – and make no mistake, Moore is still holding the reins. But what is communism really? Simple – it’s a system where everyone can be equal. Where the rich no longer get richer off the backs of the poor, and where the proletariat are no longer ground down for the benefit of the bourgeoisie. We have a problem in Lauchenoiria today. The rich lie in their mansions on Butterfly Island while people work a hundred hours a week in Summersea and still can’t afford to eat! It’s wrong! A communist government would change that, and if elected president I will ensure that nobody goes without food while the wealthy waste resources and contribute nothing.
Daniela Penn (SDP): The war divided us all, but now it is time to move forward. The devastating impact of the war has been felt most harshly by communities in the south of Lauchenoiria, and it is there that we must focus our rebuilding efforts. The next government has a responsibility to help all those living in terrible conditions brought on by the war. If elected, I will ensure that no Lauchenoirian is left behind, that the necessary support is in place so that if an individual falls on hard times they can count on support from Lauchenoiria, rather than needing aid from nations like Shuell, Laeral and Zamastan as they do currently. We are of course thankful for the support, but we need to work to make sure it is not necessary in the future, and my party aims to do that.
Alberto Causer (Conservative): The left blame all of Lauchenoiria’s problems on others – in the case of the war, they blame Kerlile. But the facts do not support this. The left has been in power in Lauchenoiria since 1952, first through the communists and later the centre-left Liberal-Green coalition. And what has come of this? War, starvation and misery. The left claim they look out for the working classes, but their policies wreck the economy and drive down wages. If in power my party, the Conservative Party, would prioritise growing the economy. We would seek trade deals with other nations, and aim to improve Lauchenoiria’s standing on the world stage, so we can finally put the dark days of communism behind us. With a growing economy, wages will grow and no more will Lauchenoirians live in the kind of poverty we currently see in Costeno province. If elected president, the economy will be my priority, as will ensuring that all traces of the communist regime are consigned to history. Land, confiscated by the communists and neglected, will be sold. Companies will be allowed to operate freely, without the billions of regulations that seek to minimise their profits. Lauchenoiria will finally move on from its troubled past. If you want a strong economy, and a final end to communism, vote Conservative.
Tamera Power (Pacifist): Lauchenoiria is still recovering from the devastating war of last year. For too long, people have lived under the threat of conflict. Wars rage across the world all the time – in 2018 there was the war here, the Gladysynthia crisis in the south, and the ongoing war in Iustos. People live in fear, and people die, and the world keeps on turning. But it doesn’t have to be this way. For too long a large military has been seen as a necessity by many nations. Peace has seemed like an impossible dream. There is another way. In coming together after this conflict, Lauchenoiria has the opportunity to lead the way in telling the world: no more. No longer will we stand all the lives being lost in armed conflicts. No longer will we continue playing this game, building ever-larger militaries and ever more advanced weapons. We have the chance to change things for the better, to work towards world peace. It takes a brave nation to say no, we will not spend all our time fighting. I implore all Lauchenoirians to vote for peace, to vote Pacifist.
Paul Doberman (Lauchenoiria First): My opponents talk of trade deals. Of the environment, of rebuilding after the war. But they forget a basic fact of life: without safety and security, everything you build can easily be torn down. Everyone talks of moving on from the war, but without addressing the underlying cause, one day it will all happen again. And that cause? Kerlile. We allowed a Kerlian spy to become Prime Minister. If she hadn’t been caught, we would all now be living under the rule of their misandrist Council. Men would be arrested for breathing, and anyone who criticised them would be tortured. We cannot decide which issues to prioritise until we tackle this threat. The Kerlian threat is greater than any harm so-called ‘global warming’ could cause to this country. With the threat of Kerlian occupation looming over us, our economy can never grow as people live in fear. We need to prevent Kerlian infiltration. Everyone knows now that Kerlile has sent hundreds of sleeper agents to various IDU countries! Everyone should be seeking them out and hunting them down! We need thorough background checks on female politicians to make sure! We must never allow the Kerlians access to our government – after all, can any of you say with certainty that Nina Pond or Alexis Armitage is not a Kerlian? If one of them is the next president, I fear for this country, I really do. We need to take a stand, stop allowing foreign spies to infiltrate our government, and put Lauchenoiria first!
Nina Pond (Liberal): My party, the Liberal Party, is responsible for the end of communism in Lauchenoiria. It was a Liberal-led government who held the capitalism referendum, in which 62.3% of Lauchenoirians decided it was time to consign communism to the history books. It was a Liberal president, the late Leanna Walker, who signed into law the Private Sector Legalisation Act in 2017. Polls have shown that since 2017, an increasing amount of Lauchenoirians support these measures. So, in May of last year, the Communist Party backed an illegal coup, because they knew they would never gain power democratically again. It was Communists who allowed the Kerlians to manipulate them, and yet they seek to place the blame for the war on Laura Moore. The Liberal Party has always had, and will always have, the best interests of Lauchenoirians at heart. The Liberal-led government before the war had made great progress in helping Lauchenoiria move forward and put the communist regime behind us. Though the war has delayed our progress, if elected I will aim to ensure that we continue to move forward, into a bright future with equality of opportunity for everyone, and a real chance for Lauchenoirians to succeed.
Rogelio Paloma (Independent): Throughout this campaign, there has been a preoccupation with the causes of the war. The communists blame the capitalists, and the capitalists blame the communists. The far-right blames Kerlile, and the feminists blame men. And all throughout Lauchenoiria, the people sigh and wish that people would move on and tackle the issues that actually matter. The war is in the past. What matters now is how we move forward. The divisions in this country need to be healed, not exacerbated by trying to assign blame for a complex event that was caused by many factors. If elected president I will aim to work with all parties, to find the best way forward that is supported by the majority of Lauchenoirians. Compromise is key when trying to heal divisions and move forward together. Lauchenoiria is divided, but it is my hope that it will one day be united again. We need to support those who lost everything in the war, focus on rebuilding our country and rebuilding our relationships with the international community. Those will be my priorities if elected.
Anima Sampson (Feminist): Women’s rights have come a long way in the last century. In almost all democracies, women now have the right to vote. Many countries have had female leaders, including Lauchenoiria. But the sad fact is, though we’ve made progress, we are not finished. Women are still in the minority in parliament, still make up less than 20% of CEOs of major corporations in this country. And now, we are viewed with suspicion by the far-right: accused of being Kerlian spies based purely on our gender! Women’s rights have nothing to do with Kerlile – if anything, women living under their cruel regime have less rights than in Lauchenoiria, thanks to their totalitarian system. We believe in democracy, in fairness for all, and in real opportunities for women. Pregnancy should no longer force women to fall behind in the workplace, limiting their options. Gender-based discrimination should be fully investigated and stopped. Nobody should ever fall behind in life because of something they can’t change – be that gender, race, sexuality or anything else.
Ruaridh Nicolson (Left Alliance): Socialism is possible within a democratic framework. For too long the authoritarian policies of the Communist Party have unfairly demonised the left in Lauchenoiria. Socialism and communism are about the equality of everyone, not about giving the government ever-greater power. The Left Alliance is committed to introducing a socialist economy, while ensuring the people retain the power. With the high rates of poverty in Lauchenoiria, it is clear that the current system isn’t working, and that we need to change something. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer under capitalism, but the answer is not increasing authoritarianism. The Communist Party have betrayed the people of Lauchenoiria in their actions last year, but that is not a reason for Lauchenoirians to turn their back on left-wing politics, which will help the people most at need.
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