Results announced for Division elections

Results have been announced for yesterday’s election, the first for the new Divisions recently established for non-residential subjects. Three of the four Divisions had only a single candidate stand. Turnout in these Divisions was, as expected, accordingly quite low, although voters did have the option to vote for an abstention, which – should the majority of votes be cast for it – cause that specific election to be re-run with new candidates. However, the three Divisions with a single candidate all saw said candidate win comfortably. Lord Andrew Creed has been elected for the Britain and Ireland Division, Professor Sir Sanjib Bhattacharya for the Asia Division, and Sir Isaiah Burdette for the New World Division. Lord Creed received 100% of the vote, and both Professor Bhattacharya and Sir Isaiah received 80%. Many eyes were on the election for the Europe and Africa Division, which had three candidates standing; a record for a local election. With a turnout of 68.75% (11 out of 16 eligible voters), Dr Kalin Yanev narrowly won with 5 votes, with his opponents Nitan Kumar and Clemens Schumann receiving 4 and 2 respectively. The four newly elected Representatives take office today. Although, constitutionally speaking, new elections do not now have to take place for up to five years, the Prime Minister Lord William has stated he would prefer elections to take place much more frequently in Divisions so as to encourage political engagement and ensure democratic mandates.

Candidates announced for non-residential elections

Nominations have closed and candidates have been announced for the elections taking place on July 31st. The upcoming elections are a historic first, being for the Divisions established at the start of the month to represent non-residential subjects in Parliament. Any non-residential subject – that is, an Austenasian not living within an Austenasian land claim – will be entitled to vote for a Representative, depending on the region of the world in which they live. Of the four Divisions into which the Empire’s non-residential subjects were placed, three returned only a single candidate for Representative. Professor Sir Sanjib Bhattacharya is standing for Asia, Lord Andrew Creed is standing for Britain and Ireland, and Sir Isaiah Burdette is standing for the New World. The non-residentials of these Divisions will therefore have the option to either vote for the sole candidate or to abstain. Should the majority of votes be abstentions, the election will be re-run for that Division, with those eligible to do so invited again to stand. Professor Bhattacharya has served in various diplomatic capacities for the Empire since 2015, and has had an award-winning career in translation and education. Lord Creed is the incumbent Home Secretary, and took part in the Cabinet discussions for the naturalisation and representation initiative that has culminated in these elections. Sir Isaiah is one of the newly-naturalised Austenasians whose entry into the Empire made these elections so necessary, and has held various roles within the Grand Unified Micronational. The Europe and Africa Division, on the other hand, has had three different candidates stand. Perhaps the most well-known of these three candidates is H.E. Nitan Kumar, Austenasia’s ceremonial Ambassador to Ukraine, whose safety has been of concern due to living in the beleaguered city of Kharkiv, in which he has organised humanitarian relief. The other two candidates for the non-residential subjects of Europe and Africa are Mr Clemens Schumann and Dr Kalin Yanev, both of whom joined Austenasia in May. Mr Schumann is running on a liberal left-wing platform, and Dr Yanev has expressed interest in developing Austenasian culture, having been conducting research on the organisation of societies and cultures for over 15 years. Votes will be counted and the duly elected Representatives announced and take office on Tuesday 1st August, replacing four Acting Representatives appointed by Parliament upon the creation of the Divisions.

Sanjib Bhattacharya granted non-residential subjectship

H.E. Professor Sanjib Bhattacharya has been made a non-residential subject of Austenasia, raising the Empire’s population to 88. Since August last year, Professor Bhattacharya has served as Austenasia’s Ambassador-at-Large for the States bordering India, as well as Consul-General at Mumbai. He was instrumental in the appointment of the Empire’s incumbent ambassadors to Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, and has worked hard to increase awareness of Austenasia online and in his local community. In gratitude for his hard work for the publicity and diplomatic advancement of Austenasia, Professor Bhattacharya was granted Austenasian nationality in an Act of Parliament passed yesterday. As well as working as an Austenasian diplomat, Professor Bhattacharya is also the CEO of an award-winning translation service. Non-residential subjectship of Austenasia is held primarily by governors of uninhabited land. The granting of it by Parliament to others is a rare honour.