Svobodna Dnevnik

[Hadash]

El Correo Internacional

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Mordvanian Republican Party wins parliamentary election with a convincing victory
By: Polina Lamparska
Published: Septem, 1579


Bogdan Privsek, leader of the Mordvanian Republican Party

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The Mordvanian Republican Party obtained a landslide victory in the Assembly of Representatives elections, Republic of Mordvania's Lower House, winning 41.2%, the largest victory for a single political party since the proclamation of the Republic of Mordvania. The center-right Mordvanian Republican Party (MRP) obtained 251 of 599 seats, short for an absolute majority but safe enough as it still obtained more than the center-left Republican Social Radical Party and the far-left United Progressive Socialist Party combined, which were in power under a coalition government since 1573.

The United Progressive Socialist Party, led by Zvezdana Serebryak, current President of the Republican Council (official title for the head of government) could only obtain 20.5% of the vote and 125 seats, their worst result in national elections since 1571. Serebryak's government experienced some diplomatic successes, such as the Mordvanian intervention in Kaljurand civil war which concluded with the Denil Accords peace agreement, and important reforms on education, healthcare, and reform, but the economic situation (with a halted growth of 1.1% in 1577 and 1.2% in 1578, along increasing state debt and unemployment) and political isolation caused a slow decline in polls which were confirmed at the local elections early this year, when UPSP suffered its worse electoral result, losing control of the most important towns. Although UPSP improved that result six month later, recovering about one million voters nationwide, it still suffered a loss of seven points and 48 seats compared to three years ago.

The electoral campaign did not lack tense moments between Serebryak and the MRP candidate, former President of the Republican Council Bogdan Privsek, specially during the last TV debate when Serebryak showed a picture of former Minister Bogdan Tredina leaving jail. Tredina -Minister of Commerce and Communications under Privsek administration during four years- was convicted for corruption in 1574, being sentenced to six years of jail, and ended his sentence in the middle of the electoral campaign. Privsek fired back promising to call a parliamentary commission to investigate if the failure of the launch of the first Mordvanian satellite was caused by government pressure in order to use it as a electoral stunt. However, Serebryak recognized her defeat as soon as official results were announced, hinting that UPSP would not even try to form an alternative government and focus to leading the opposition to Privsek's government. Serebryak did not confirm if she will remain as leader of the opposition or resigning as UPSP leader, however, simply answering that's a decision which should be made in the next UPSP congress.

The Left-Republican RSRP could barely kept the third place by merely a few thousands votes and Slavko Deberek, who replaced Minister of Defense Milan Kravanja as RSRP candidate, announced his resignation. The Coalition of Constitutional Forces (ZDU-KDK) a multi-ethnic electoral coalition formed by liberal and centrist forces could only be fourth obtaining a worse result than three years ago, but it is expected they will have an important role in the new parliament. The separatist Bunesgan People's Party increased their presence in the parliament from 24 to 34 seats, and although it is not expected that they will have an important role in the parliament, they could see with satisfaction how their leftist rivals of the Bunesgan Republican Party failed to enter in the parliament.

The Republican Liberal Party, was the sixth and last political party to enter into parliament, obtaining 4.1% of the vote and 25 seats. The party was created only two years ago, founded by Dragomir Pengek, a former Deputy Minister of the National Security in the first RSRP-UPSP coalition government (1573-1576). Pengek left the left-republican RSRP after he showed his opposition to a second coalition government led by Zvezdana Serebryak and asking for a more pragmatist and moderate center-left economic policy. It is not clear now, however, if Pengek will enter in negotiations to support Privsek as President of the Republican Council or not, remaining in the opposition.

The greatest losers of the ultra-nationalist Mordvanian parties which failed to enter in the parliament again. They obtained their best result in the 1575 local elections where the Mordvanian Nationalist Party ended third with 13.1% of the vote, but internal political struggle, and sexual and corruption scandals ended with the party collapsing in the polls before the 1576 national elections, failing to reach the electoral threshold by a few thousand votes. A MNP split, the Mordvanian Nationalist Democratic Party, with a electoral campaign calling for the extradition of all Kaljuran refugees, obtained 3.1% in the local elections, but they failed to enter in the parliament after obtaining only 2.4% in this national elections. Their former colleagues, the Mordvanian Nationalist Party, did even worse and obtained only 0.8% of the vote, and accussed the government of electoral fraud, although no other party has seconded those accusations.

Although the Mordvanian constitution confers an important even if secondary role to the Chairman of the Council of Defense in the formation of the national government, it is not expected that the leader of the Mordvanian Republican Party Bogdan Privsek will face real obstacles to form a national government. Privsek, 58, was Minister of Foreign Affairs during the 1566 revolution and already President of the Republican Council for six years, from 1567 to 1573. He resigned as leader of the MRP in 1574, but returned to politics in early 1578, after his successor Borislav Vurnik was forced to resign after he failed to improve the party standing in successive polls.

Privsek government is expected to be focused on improving the economic situation and advancing the promised constitutional reform, which came to a standstill in the last years. The Mordvanian Republican Party campaigned with a fiscally conservative economic platform, promising tax cuts and a reduction of the state debt but without drastic changes on social and military spending, and it is not expected to face much opposition in the parliament as the Lower House has shifted to the center-right while MRP has currently an absolute majority in the Chamber of Deputies, the Upper House of the parliament.

It is expected that Privsek administration will be combined with ministers and officers who served during his presidency in 1567-1573 along a few young reformers. Although Privsek praised Foreign Minister Mika Lohk as a "competent and experienced man who served his country well" (basically the only member of the Serebryak's government who received such kind words by the opposition leader), it is expected that Aljaz Martelj, who already served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1573 to 1576, will be Foreign Minister again. Former Deputy Minister of Finance and Voyvode of the city of Mestarka, Miroslav Stovdek, former Chairman of the Central Bank Milena Slomsek and former Minister of Economic Development are rumoured as the next Minister of Finance, but it is not expected a further announcement will be made at least until the talks with the rest of parliamentary forces are started late this week.