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Electoral Reform Proposed for the Alliance

Councillor Nakato Kaine has suggested that the Alliance’s current electoral system should be replaced by direct public voting.

The proposal follows a recent election where Prime Minister Edmund Mahon was reinstated for a second six-year term.

Addressing the Alliance Assembly, Councillor Kaine said:

“Only allowing council members to choose the prime minister is a flawed system, vulnerable to corruption and outside influence. The people of the Alliance should have a direct mandate to determine their leader by casting individual votes.”

Political journalist Vanya Driscoll reported for The Alliance Tribune:

“Although Kaine stopped short of claiming that Mahon’s victory was achieved fraudulently, the Assembly took a dim view of this attempt at electoral overhaul. Some council members accused her of failing to accept that her policies received considerably less support than those of her rival.”

“Despite this, a few accepted that there could be merit in such a restructure. However, organising public voting across all Alliance systems would be much harder than in democracies with a more established infrastructure, such as the Federation, or that have smaller populations, such as the Marlinist Colonies.”

Tritium Mining Marks Alliance Election Day

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

As the Assembly votes for its new leader, Prime Minister Edmund Mahon has requested mined tritium to aid expansion.

The new initiative follows on from his successful drive for industrial materials, which resulted in large amounts of ceramic composites, polymers and superconductors. Pilots who contributed to this can now collect their rewards from Dublin Citadel in the Gateway system.

A competing community drive by Councillor Nakato Kaine, Mahon’s main rival in the election, brought deliveries of copper, micro-controllers and polymers.

Prime Minister Mahon’s new tritium mining initiative aims to provide a stockpile of fuel to support the Alliance’s expansion programme. This will involve constructing up to five new starports, which are expected to be operational within a month.

Mined deposits of tritium can be delivered to Dublin Citadel in the Gateway system.

Members of the Alliance Assembly will gather today to cast their votes for a new prime minister. Opinion polls believe Mahon will comfortably win, although acknowledge that Kaine has broad support. The successful candidate will serve as the Alliance head of state for a six-year term.

Alliance Election Candidates Announce Community Drives

*Pilots Federation ALERT*

Prime Minister Edmund Mahon and Councillor Nakato Kaine have launched rival delivery initiatives in Alliance space.

The two leading candidates for Alliance prime minister are attempting to gather public support, although the actual election will be determined by votes within the Assembly on the 27th of May.

Every opinion poll suggests that Mahon’s victory is all but confirmed, which will grant him a second six-year term. However, the outcomes of these community drives will directly affect the successful candidate’s policies once in office.

Prime Minister Mahon is focusing on increasing industrial materials to aid expansion. He has requested that shipments of ceramic composites, polymers and superconductors are delivered to Dublin Citadel in the Gateway system.

Councillor Kaine aims to support local manufacturers in order to boost trade. She has asked for supplies of copper, micro-controllers and polymers to be delivered to Brett High in the Tionisla system.

Whoever is most successful will run a second campaign the following week. Mahon will launch a tritium mining initiative, leading to the construction of new Alliance starports. Kaine will use void opal mining to help stimulate trade, increasing the availability of rare goods in Alliance-controlled systems.

Alliance Unrest as Mahon and Kaine Clash

The front-runner candidates in the Alliance election have stepped up their campaigns, amid widespread political and civil unrest.

Prime Minister Edmund Mahon and Councillor Nakato Kaine are touring across the Alliance, gathering public support to sway the Assembly when it votes on the 27th of May.

Attending a business sector conference on the planet Industry in the Zaonce system, Prime Minister Mahon stated:

“We’ve heard a lot of reactionary rhetoric from Councillor Kaine, but it’s much easier to be critical than constructive. She has done little to secure the prosperity of our people and companies, which was my primary focus over the last six years.”

At a protest march on New Caledonia in the Alkaid system, Councillor Kaine addressed the crowd:

“Again, the Thargoids lash out at our presence. Again, we prop up the other superpowers. Again, we pump money into Aegis and Lakon but not our own economies. Nothing changes, unless Mahon is voted out and the Alliance takes a new direction!”

Opinion polls suggest that Mahon has retained majority support, but with a narrower margin than in February when the election was originally scheduled. Many agree with Kaine that the Alliance should not have participated in the Galactic Summit, which led to the ‘Nine Martyrs’ bombings.

Alliance Election Campaigns Resume

The election of the Alliance prime minister will take place on the 27th of May, having been postponed due to the Galactic Summit.

Vanya Driscoll, political correspondent for The Alliance Tribune, reported:

“Prime Minister Edmund Mahon’s decision to postpone the election for three months caused enormous disruption and mass protests. This may have mortally wounded his campaign to be re-elected as head of government for a second six-year term.”

“With hindsight it’s clear that Mahon was prioritising the Sirius Treaty, a detailed proposal to unite the superpowers against the Thargoids. Unfortunately, the Galactic Summit was prematurely halted by the ‘Nine Martyrs’ bombings before the treaty could be agreed.”

“Although there are several candidates, Mahon’s only serious challenger is Councillor Nakato Kaine. She has been a vocal critic of his expansionist policies, and gained much public support for her focus on boosting trade between Alliance systems.”

“Electoral votes will be cast by members of the Alliance Assembly, whose decisions reflect popular opinion in their constituencies. No previous prime minister has served more than a single term, so it remains to be seen whether Mahon will defy precedent or Kaine will follow the pattern of history.”

Superpowers Respond to ‘Nine Martyrs’ Attack

Political fallout has been intense after the NMLA simultaneously bombed nine starports in the Alliance, Empire and Federation.

The targeted stations are in the Achenar, Alioth, Eotienses, Gateway, Kamadhenu, Lave, Nanomam, Rhea and Sol systems. These were referred to by NMLA propaganda as the ‘Nine Martyrs’, a reference to the attack against Kepler Orbital last November.

All three superpowers are treating this as a major emergency. Top-level discussions have taken place between their chiefs of security, using communication protocols recently established at the Galactic Summit.

However, mainstream media has also reported on internal political tensions.

The Imperial Herald: “Senator Patreus proposed that all known Marlinists be arrested immediately as NMLA collaborators. He received a direct rebuke from Chancellor Blaine, who said ‘Her Majesty views your blunt tactics as having been counter-productive, and requires more creative solutions.’”

The Federal Times: “President Hudson opened Congress with a minute’s silence to honour VP Brad Mitchell and other deceased Cabinet members. He then directly blamed Shadow President Winters for their deaths, claiming ‘You invited terrorists with your virtue-signalling aid programme for fake refugees!’”

The Alliance Tribune: “The Assembly broadly welcomed Prime Minister Mahon’s call for unity against the NMLA, and praised his efforts on the Sirius Treaty despite it remaining unsigned. But there was also support for Councillor Kaine’s viewpoint: ‘Our entry fee for the Galactic Summit was hundreds of thousands of lives.’”

Galactic Summit Imperilled by Political Frictions

Delegates at the diplomatic conference have clashed over long-standing political issues, with some threatening to abandon the event.

Journalists at Patterson Enterprise in the Sirius system reported their observations via mainstream newsfeeds.

The Imperial Herald: “Minister Whyte’s claim that the Empire had fomented terrorism by repressing Marlinism was somewhat predictable. But nobody expected Princess Duval’s icy retort, which caused shocked gasps across the chamber.”

Sol Today: “President Hudson easily dealt with Patreus’s whine about the Federation’s so-called ‘war-mongering’, putting the bombastic Imp in his place.”

Eye on Achenar: “The dull-witted thug of a president was no match for Senator Patreus, who received cheers for his condemnation of typical ‘Fedneck’ arrogance.”

The Alliance Tribune: “The conference’s hosts were visibly embarrassed by Councillor Kaine’s claims that Coalsack Nebula terraforming projects had triggered recent Thargoid attacks. Shockingly, several delegates dismissed this as an internal matter for the Alliance.”

The Federal Times: “Chancellor Blaine’s stonewalling on the co-funding of humanitarian aid brought a rare flash of anger from Felicia Winters: ‘Maybe the Emperor’s puppet could loosen a few strings?’”

The Sovereign: “Despite Prime Minister Mahon exaggerating the benefits of Alliance membership, several independent ambassadors complained about its incomprehensible bureaucracy, saying it would be less damaging to declare war against the Alliance than join it.”

A representative from Sirius Corporation reported that the Galactic Summit was “going well”.

Alliance Protests Triggered by Cancelled Election

The postponement of the election for a new prime minister has led to widespread public disorder across Alliance systems.

The Alliance Assembly vote was scheduled for Thursday the 25th of February. This date clashed with the start of the Galactic Summit, causing incumbent Prime Minister Edmund Mahon to propose that the election be delayed for three months.

On many Alliance worlds, large-scale protest marches have placed pressure on local police forces. Some civil leaders have condemned Mahon for using the diplomatic conference as an excuse to extend his term of office.

Mahon has referred to the unrest as being caused by a “vocal minority of agitators”, and insisted that the delay is in the Alliance’s best interests.

Councillor Nakato Kaine, Mahon’s main rival, has given the protests her full support. She has become a figurehead for public dissent, with some political pundits suggesting that she might have won the election had it been held this week.

Speaking to The Alliance Tribune, Councillor Kaine said:

“This is the latest in a string of short-sighted decisions, and it’s clear that the people no longer trust their prime minister. For this reason, despite believing the Galactic Summit to be a waste of time, I will be attending the conference to ensure that Mahon’s agenda does not dominate proceedings.”