2018 Friends Societal presidential election
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A presidential election was held in Friends Society on 25 November 2018 with the votes polled and counted and results being declared on the same date. Incumbent president Varuna Sriraya who was backed by the ruling Friends Societal Congress was re-elected to office defeating his opponent and rival candidate Tanishkaa Patranabish, the Speaker of the National Assembly who was backed by the Friends Society Secular Party.
Background
The last indirect presidential election to democratically elect a president took place in January 2017 when acting president Sarala Baishya was unopposed elected to office for a fresh term. However, she would resign in less than four months on 12 April 2017 and was succeeded by Varuna Sriraya who would also resign from office in a few months on 25 December 2017. Sriraya was succeeded by his deputy, Vice-President Anoushkaa Patranabish who remained in office until 13 May 2018 until being deposed[citation needed] in the wake of the 2018 constitutional coup after which Varuna Sriraya installed himself as the Supreme Leader.
On 11 September 2018, the Supreme Court in one of its landmark judgement declared the reign autocratic and undemocratic and demanded for its immediate end and for an elected, either directly or indirectly, nominee to take over as the head of state. Then Deputy Supreme Leader Anoushkaa Patranabish briefly acted as head of state for fifteen minutes allowing Varuna Sriraya to be elected as the first executive president by the Parliament. Since the Friends Societal Congress controlled a conformable majority in the parliament due to its victory in the general election held in March 2018.
Executive President Varuna Sriraya formed his cabinet on 12 October 2018 and also indicated that an election shall be held anytime soon to facilitate him to continue as the democratically and constitutionally elected head of state. Thus, the election commission headed by Chief Justice Sarala Baishya as the electoral observer, announced the schedule for the presidential election on 23 November 2018.
Election
Schedule
- Announcement of election date: 23 November 2018
- Date of election: 25 November 2018
- Date of announcement of results: 25 November 2018
Overview
The presidential election took place on 25 November 2018 under the supervision of Electoral Observer Sarala Baishya in which two high profile candidates - incumbent President Varuna Sriraya of the Friends Societal Congress and the Speaker of the National Assembly Tanishkaa Patranabish of the Friends Society Secular Party faced each other. This was also the first time that the value of votes of the members were introduced.
Candidates
Two candidates had contested the presidential election.
| Portrait | Candidate | Home state | Positions held | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Birthday Portrait of Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya (cropped).jpg | Varuna Sriraya (born 2002) |
Brihattar Guwahati | President (since September 2018) Prime Minister (2010-2012, 2016-2017, 2017-2018) |
Friends Societal Congress | |
| File:Official Portrait of Tanishkaa Patranabish (October 2018).jpg | Tanishkaa Patranabish (born 2004) |
Beltola | Speaker of the National Assembly (since September 2018) President (2010-2012, 2016) Prime Minister (2015, 2017, 2018) |
Friends Society Secular Party | |
The incumbent President Varuna Sriraya was nominated as the presidential candidate by the ruling Friends Societal Congress while the Friends Society Secular Party which is an alliance partner of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance decided not to support President Sriraya and fielded its party leader and the Speaker of the National Assembly Tanishkaa Patranabish as their presidential candidate. Tanishkaa was a vocal critic of President Sriraya's decision to form an executive cabinet without the prime minister and had always pushed for a parliamentary system of government as opposed to the presidential system.
Results
| Candidate | Party | Electoral College votes |
% | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varuna Sriraya | FSC | 1,410 | 70.5 | ||||||
| Tanishkaa Patranabish | FSSP | 589 | 29.45 | ||||||
| Valid votes | 1999 | 99.95 | |||||||
| Invalid votes | 1 | 0.05 | |||||||
| Total | 2000 | 100 | |||||||
Incumbent President Varuna Sriraya was re-elected to office for an unprecedented sixth term in office following the election in which he defeated his rival candidate by a margin of 41.05% votes, i.e. 821 votes. The election was later termed to be rigged[citation needed] by the Friends Society Secular Party but the Supreme Court decided not to intervene in the complaint and was soon forgotten.
Aftermath
Three days after the election, on 28 November 2020, President Varuna Sriraya announced that sitting vice-president Anoushkaa Patranabish shall continue as his Vice-President and the two shall assume office in the first week of January the next year. In the same announcement, he also announced the position of the "Prime Minister" shall be re-created and that his rival Tanishkaa Patranabish shall be appointed to that position with the same rank and emoluments as the head of government in a promise of power-sharing with her. However, this agreement shall only become effective in March 2019 after the general election.
Inauguration
The re-elected president Varuna Sriraya was inaugurated in a simple ceremony in the afternoon of 7 January 2019 at the Ashoka Hall of the Rajya Niwas complex. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by outgoing Chief Justice Sarala Baishya whose tenure was extended till 10 January 2019 in order to allow her to administer the presidential oath. In the same event, Vice President Anoushkaa Patranabish and Prime Minister Tanishkaa Patranabish were administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Varuna Sriraya.
Prime Minister Tanishkaa Patranabish formed the coalition government of the Friends Societal Congress and the Friends Society Secular Party.
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