In the Icelandic region of Meercovo, an election is taking place to decide who will be the Governor. Taking up the most important role in Iceland and arguably the third most important position in Meercovo, the Governorship election has been noted for how close the first round of voting was.
In 2018, the result was a clear ODU victory. The results were:
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
ODU | Rasheed Sanook | 9,858,495 | 58% |
TNO | Gail Lester | 4,505,201 | 27% |
Independent | Dave Young | 2,499,411 | 15% |
More importantly, Rasheed Sanook carried 6 of the 9 voting areas, with only the 3 major urban areas voting for Gail Lester of TNO.
However, noticeably in 2018, the ODU held 2 constituencies by a margin of less than 1%. Mr Sanook's victory was down to a 25 point margin of victory in the North West Constituency, in which 2 million voters- 12% of the total votes cast, went to the ODU.
Independent but far-left Dave Young also took votes from TNO, which took their vote share down considerably and gave the ODU an advantage in the polls.
This time around, the tables have turned. Rasheed Sanook has lost 'all credibility' due to his failure to deal with a major crisis- a volcanic eruption in the ODU stronghold of the North West Constituency. Almost 50,000 people lost their lives and half a million homes were destroyed. Sanook faced criticism for not visiting the area and for only sending RM 3 million in aid while the local government claimed damage was "up to RM 50 billion"
In Meercovo, candidates require 50% of votes to be elected. It was widely anticipated that the ODU wouldn't meet the threshold, due to the scandal, as the PSD and TNO launched a massive attack on Mr Sanook.
However, the PSD was not registered as a party in Meercovo when the candidacy nominations ended, so was unable to nominate a candidate.
The first round of voting resulted in a huge swing to TNO against the ODU, however, Independent Dave Young (who stood again) also took a large share of the votes:
The results of the first round left no clear winner, meaning a second round will take place. The initial results showed that the ODU had lost major support in swing-constituencies, but had crucially managed to hold on to the North West Constituency, which acted as a lifeline.
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
ODU | Rasheed Sanook | 5,849,222 | 43% |
TNO | Gail Lester | 5,804,495 | 42% |
Independent | Dave Young | 2,011,405 | 15% |
The ODU was down 15% and TNO up 15%, meaning that a 15% swing from the ODU to the TNO took place. The ODU lost 2 constituencies and support fell in every single constituency.
The ODU claims that this was down to "Rasheed's policies", although alarm bells are ringing in the ODU about the size of the swing and loss in support.
However, with Dave Young eliminated, pollsters are confident that the ODU will hold the governorship with 51-55% of voters, while TNO will put up a strong fight at 45-49% of votes. Turnout is likely to be down as Dave Young has instructed his voters not to vote for either candidate.
This result will likely indicate how well TNO might perform in the next WM election not only in Meercovo but across the region. This election was also seen as a referendum on the Governments policies.