Delveran consular election, 2018

The Delveran consular election of 2018 was the 4th annual Delveran consular election, held on Saturday, July 14. Former Minister of Justice Michael Holloway defeated incumbent Consul Dylan Callahan and fellow challengers Hannah Callahan and Joseph Marx. Having come in second place, Then-Secretary of State Media Hannah Callahan was elected as the President, becoming the first woman to attain a confederal elected position. Both Holloway and Callahan assumed their roles on July 15. Initially, in January, then-Minister of State Joseph Marx planned to face off against then-Assistant Minister of the Interior and Governor of Macedoniska Christian Newton in what would the first Delveran election in which neither of the candidates was an incumbent elected official. However, Newton dropped from the race and revoked his Delveran citizenship after a law preventing concurrent service in both the Delveran government and that of another micronation was passed in March 2018. Marx, who had been removed as Minister of State after an unrelated incident, was then joined in the race by three other candidates: Consul Dylan Callahan, Michael Holloway, and Hannah Callahan, creating the largest electoral field in Delveran history thus far.

Background
Article One of the Delveran Constitution provides that the Consul and President of Delvera must be citizens of the Grand Republic, at least 21 years old, and a resident of Delvera. The election in July is a direct election, where voters cast ballots for the candidate of their choice for Consul, with the runner-up becoming President.

Candidates
Initially, applications for candidacy had closed on the 23rd of January with then-Ministers Joseph Marx and Christian Newton as the candidates. However, following the passage the Conflict of Interest Act on the 21st of March, Newton ended his campaign due to his being unable to both stand for election in Delvera and retain his position with the Karno-Ruthenian government. Following the end of Newton's campaign, the Delveran government reopened applications for candidacy from the 21st - 22nd of March, allowing the other three candidates to apply for ballot access.

Joseph Marx
Rev. Joseph Marx is the current Prime Minister of the North American Confederation, which is currently undergoing the process to integrate into the Grand Republic of Delvera. He has served since 2015, when he worked alongside Emperor William to restore the Confederation following the chaos of the Interregnum, a period of general instability and inactivity following the collapse of the Meek government in 2011. In addition, he formerly served as the Minister of State under Consul Callahan's administration, following the nation's departure from MicroWiki. Rev. Marx announced his candidacy for Consularship on the 23rd of January, 2018, soon naming Michael Holloway as his campaign manager. Around the 11th of February, Rev. Marx was put in charge of the Banknote Design Committee, responsible for working with Carlo I of Nossia, to design the first series of Curos, called the "Beauty of Delvera" series, which was completed and released to the public on the 16th of February. On the 13th of March, Rev. Marx was dismissed by the Consul following a disagreement between the two regarding a response from Karnia-Ruthenia during the Conflict of Interest situation. Mr. Holloway left the campaign soon after to pursue his own campaign. During his campaign, Rev. Marx has placed a heavy focus on reform policies, especially regarding government transparency and economic development. His most prominent proposals have been the creation of a live public forum, utilizing a site like Discord to increase inter-connectivity and a sense of community within Delvera; and the creation of a Delveran Trade Council, an independent organization comprised of voluntary Delveran provinces, dependencies, and territories for collective bargaining in international trade.

Christian Newton
Mr. Christian Newton, also known as Christian von Letzembourg, was a resident and leader of the province of Macedoniska, as well as a prominent politician with the Karno-Ruthenian Empire. He served as the King of Carpathia and the Grand Duke of Letzembourg, as well as being a leader of the Karno-Ruthenian legislature. In Delvera, Mr. Newton had served proudly as an officer in the Delveran Armed Forces. Mr. Newton served as Minister of the Interior under the Callahan Administration throughout 2017 and 2018, until his revocation of his Delveran citizenship following the passage of the Conflict of Interest Act on the 21st of March. This act was largely the result of weeks of failed negotiations and compromises between the Delveran and Karno-Ruthenian governments regarding Mr. Newton's position within both nations. Mr. Newton applied for his candidacy around the same day as Rev. Marx, hiring on President Casey Pemberton to act as his campaign manager. During the campaign, the majority of Newton's focus was on the reputation and development of the Delveran Armed Forces, with the candidate calling for continued and even increased investment in the military to better represent and protect Delveran interests. He had also began negotiations with the Marx campaign to coordinate their two platforms in order to better work together following the election, prior to the passage of the Conflict of Interest Act. Upon passage of the act, Newton dropped from the race and revoked his Delveran citizenship and position in protest, though in late June, Mr. Newton requested and received North American citizen, on the forefront of its integration with the Grand Republic of Delvera.

Dylan Callahan
Consul Dylan Callahan is the current Consul of the Grand Republic, having replaced President Casey Pemberton in the position in 2017. Consul Callahan has been an established member of Delveran politics since the admission of Neosho into the Grand Republic in early 2016, having served on the cabinets of every preceeding Delveran Consul. As Consul, Dylan has spearheaded the internal development of the Grand Republic, focusing heavily on economic development and investment; though he has kept to a largely laizze-faire approach to the establishment and operation of businesses with the Republic itself. During his tenure, Delvera has also undergone a period of immense change in international affairs, promoting the creation of the First Intermicronational Conference and leading Delvera through its departure from the MicroWiki community. During his tenure, Consul Callahan has expressed a deep desire to respect and fight for Delveran values of self-reliance and self-determination. Though he had initially refused reelection when asked in late 2017, the end of Mr. Newton's campaign prompted the Consul to seek reelection. His campaign released on 3 July, a message focusing on three questions:
 * 1) Do you want micronational businesses to have the legal framework and platform to grow?
 * 2) Do you want Delvera's military to be the envy of the micronational world?
 * 3) Do you want to see throngs of men, women and children waving Delveran flags at local parades?
 * 4) Do you want other micronations to emulate Delvera rather than Delvera emulating every other micronation?

Hannah Callahan
Mrs. Hannah Callahan is the current Secretary of State Media and a Deputy of Neosho. The wife of Consul Dylan Callahan, announced her candidacy at the same time as her husband. While she has been relatively quiet on the general objectives of her candidacy, she has been described as "economically bull-ish" and a "silent workhorse", working in the background on essential tasks to keep the current administration running the government's social media page. She has also been a reporter with the Bannerman.

Michael Holloway
Mr. Michael Holloway is the Minister of Justice under the Callahan administration, having assumed the role in early 2017. Initially selected by Rev. Joseph Marx to serve as his campaign manager, Mr. Holloway resigned from his position as campaign manager shortly after Rev. Marx's dismissal from the cabinet, in order to pursue his own campaign. Regarding Mr. Holloway's intentions should he be elected, like Mrs. Callahan, he hasn't been very vocal in regards to his policy objectives. Described by others as a devout Calvinist, this has led some to project Mr. Holloway as the "religious" candidate in the election. On the 29 June, Mr. Holloway released his official campaign platform which, while it did not lay out specific policies for the coming year, did express a highly nationalistic focus and a heavy emphasis on fostering national unity and patriotism.

Campaign
On January 26, it was announced that Marx and Newton had selected Michael Holloway and Casey Pemberton respectively to manage their campaigns. Pemberton resigned as Newton's manager (and as President of the Chamber) shortly before the latter's exit from the race, while Holloway soon followed suit to pursue his own campaign.

Debates
While debates had been initially planned to be held in early March, scheduling conflicts and the collapse of Mr. Newton's campaign made the venture feasibly impractical. On the 13th March, an interview of Rev. Marx conducted by Consul Callahan, was released on YouTube for public viewing. During Rev. Marx's interview, the candidate painted a heavy focus on the need to reform the Delveran government and develop its infrastructure to meet the future demands of the nation. He did draw some criticism for his handling of the provisional government of the North American Confederation. Following the interview, Rev. Marx released his campaign's agenda to the public. Six days later, Mr. Newton's interview was also released. In it, Mr. Newton put a heavy focus on the importance of the Delveran military, though a large focus was also put on the positions Mr. Newton held within the Karno-Ruthenian government. This focus would eventually lead to Mr. Newton dropping from the race, only three days later.

Results
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the 2018 election was "a record breaking contest, with 21 ballots being cast in the span of 12 hours". With 30 eligible citizens, this represents a 70% voter turnout. This is more than double the number of ballots cast and two and a half times the turnout of the previous record holder, the 2016 election, in which 10 ballots were cast, representing a 28% turnout. Lavrasia comprised the largest share of the electorate with 9 ballots (43%) cast. The election was also the first election where the North American Confederation participated, the first in Delveran history to include more than two candidates, the first to have a write-in option with votes cast, and the first in which voters were instructed to select two candidates on the ballot. Analysis of voting results indicate that besides a voter who only voted for a single individual, 2 votes were given to ineligible non-citizens, former United States representative Ron Paul of Texas and American actor Kyle Massey of Georgia.