Our Fair Country: The Commonwealth of New England
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Incumbent president César Camacho Quiroz suffered from poor approval ratings, and his Partido Liberal Federalista (PLF) had suffered a severe blow in the 2015 Mexican general election, removing his government's majority in the Senate, and slowing down his ambitious plan implement the Plan de Reforma para México, the ambitious restructuring of the economy that his opponents believed was unnecessary.
The election was marked by the first mass political demonstrations in the country since the Fall of the Council, with the populist political Carlito Vivanco directing his Gran Movimiento del Águila (GMA) [Grand Eagle Movement] in large mass rallies and marches through the streets of Mexico.
The presidential election was won by Beatriz Mojica of the Unión Social y Democrática (USD). This was the first election since 1976 that the election went to the final round of the Expanded Electoral College, and represents the lowest share of the popular vote to win an election in Mexican history. The election was also notable for the winner, USD, losing a large number of seats in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
I made a fan map of OFC West Africa. Hope everyone enjoys.
Somalian War of Independence; 1986 general election; Somalian Civil War; Situation in the Horn of Africa 2019
Somalia gained its independence from Italy in 1986 after the brutal Somalian Independence War, which lasted for six years, filled with brutal fighting and even helped to bring the Collapse of Italian Fascism, which had ruled Italy with an iron fist since the 1920s. The war began with anti-Colonial riots in the white neighbourhoods of Mogadishu over poor economic conditions and the continued mistreatment by the colonial government. The riot quickly spread to the black majority, demanding better education, investments into infrastructure, and voting rights. Only two elections were ever held in Italian-ruled Somalia, which was restricted to the Italian soldiers who were stationed in the colony. Somalia had long been a political prison for opponents of the fascist regime, with anyone opposed to the government in the mainland simply jailed and transported to Somalia. As a result of this, spending in the colony was exceptionally low, and it was often neglected. The transported Italians often shared many of the same ideals as the native Somalian political activists, but all had to operate underground due to the dictatorial regime of the colonial administration.
As riots engulfed Mogadishu, The Royal Colonial Corps quickly began to fire into the crowds, and established the Zone of Protection in the city, and promptly bombed and burned the remainder of the city. The unrest spread across the colony, which caused the Italian government to deploy thousands of soldiers to the territory. With the recent collapse of Southern Rhodesia, the colonial administration reached out to former members of its army, along with South Africa, who then deployed forces and advisors to try and quell the unrest. The rebel forces coalesced into the Anti-Colonial People's Front, and found support from all the major powers. Italy, seeing this as an assault on her independence, doubled down on the war, eventually deploying over 350,000 men to the colony to keep order. During the brutal fighting, rebel or civilian was never taken into account by the Italians, who simply bombed villages and areas on suspicion of unrest. Despite losing on all fronts, Italy refused to surrender, and by the mid 1980s, it was known as the Great African Ulcer, and consumed nearly fifteen per cent of Italy's national budget in 1985. The failure to win the war, the near destitution across the country, and the collapsing economy resulted in the Freedom Marches across Italy. These converged on Rome, deposed Duce Giorgio Almirante, and led King Victor Emmanuel IV to appoint a non-fascist unity government for Italy's first totally free elections in nearly 60 years. The unity government quickly forged a peace with the FPAC, granting Somalia independence and reducing Italy's overseas holding to just Libia.
The campaign was marked by the stunning rise in the opinion polls of the Strength & Renewal Party, which branded the Democrats as "too far left," and "enemies of all free people," declaring that they were no better than Labour, and represented the failure of Vietnam to truly grasp its true strength on the world stage. The party, led by veteran politician Huỳnh Trọng Khánh, campaigned across the country on a platform of increasing Vietnam's military power projection, settling old grudges with China and the Philippines, and even went so far as to suggest a military campaign against the Philippines over several disputed islands, and to show that Vietnam was a serious regional power.
All other parties denounced Strength & Renewal, which itself had only been formed in 2011 from disgruntled Democratic Party Assembly Members (AMs), for destabilising Vietnam's political climate. Since 1976, campaigns have been noticeably civil and disagreements over politics never went deeper than electoral disputes. With several physical fights breaking out between S&R AMs and other opposition AMs after a controversial bill was defeated, it marked the strongest flare of political violence since the dictatorship.
There was also a large amount of media scrutiny into the broadly populist People of the Four Immortals, as it become more and more apparent that their platform of broad social progress and protection of worker's rights were shallow, at best, after supporting a S&R amendment which would have eliminated fines and jail punishment for employers found to be engaged in employing children in factories and workplaces. The centrist Party of Progress also saw a significant drop in party activism and donations, with many in the party unhappy with its continued coalition with the Democratic Party.
The Prime Minister, however, remained very popular within his party and with the general public, with all political opinion polls showing him retaining the title of preferred Prime Minister among all the other party leaders. The Democratic Party ran an aggressive campaign in the cities of Saigon and Hanoi, as well as into the traditional base of the Commonwealth Party in the southwest. While the Democratic Party made inroads into these areas traditionally closed off to them, they saw the complete collapse of their vote in the South Central Coast, who were far more receptive to the nationalist agitation of S&R.
The Commonwealth Party continued to campaign on the sole issue of joining the Commonwealth of Nations, and for closer ties to the United Kingdom. Despite a majority of Vietnamese people supporting entrance to the Commonwealth, other issues had always dominated elections, leaving the Commonwealth Party to have no true ideological base, with AMs often voting however they pleased.
The Labour Party under Hồ Trung Dũng continued to campaign on its Contract for Vietnam platform, pledging tougher worker's rights, greater access to healthcare and education, less focus on military matters, and promoting industrial and economic progress, but never at the expense of the worker. Their campaign had been able to raise the most money, and when Hồ Trung Dũng was passed over for a chance of forming a coalition, several riots broke out in major Vietnamese cities.
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The territory which now constitutes Arabia was the site of several ancient cultures and civilizations. It was also the area in which the world's second largest religion, Islam, emerged. The northern and western half of Arabia had been occupied and administered by the Ottoman Empire, and the modern Arabian state would not emerge until the 1920s, when several independent kingdoms seized Ottoman territory as it collapsed.
The first unified modern state formed was the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy ruled by the House of Saud, and primarily focused on developing Arabia's rich oil resources. The country was ruled by an extremist religious movement known as Wahhabism, and political expression and religious tolerance was non existent. Civil rights were constantly curtailed, and amid soaring public deficits despite the country's immense wealth, the Kingdom soon began to decline. Resistant to selling off its valuable resources, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland funded anti-Saud activists in the country, which eventually boiled over into the Arabian Revolution.
During the Arabian Revolution, pro-democratic demonstrations broke out in all the country's major cities, and quickly overwhelmed the House of Saud's security forces. The army broke with the leaders, and pledged their support to the revolutionaries. While it has sometimes been cited as a bloodless revolution, the House of Saud and much of their men who remained loyal to them were murdered during this time. Rajab Mohamad, who had been a colonel in the Saudi Arabian army, proclaimed himself as Prime Minister of Arabia after winning a confidence vote from several of his fellow revolutionary leaders.
Mohamad would go on to win the 1963 general election and oversaw the promulgation of the country's constitution, it's first presidential election, as well as the restructuring of the country's finances and political landscape. Arabia has been a democratic nation since the revolution, and is known as one of the strongest democracies in the Middle East. The country has been a leader in civil rights in the region, with the universal franchise extended for its first election, and strong barriers between religion and the state implemented.
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The 2016 Arabian Presidential Election took place on 1 August 2016 to elect the President of Arabia. The position itself was mostly ceremonial, and little campaigning took place. A series of friendly debates took place between the two candidates, incumbent President Muneef Kazemi and his challenger, Senator Tasmmaam Hussein. The two articulated the wills of their party and their future visions for Arabia. During the campaign, The Greens/National candidate Faraah Nour had campaigned heavily, seeking to win one of the provinces in order to prevent a clear majority of the votes to either party, and to bring attention to environmental issues.
When the votes were tallied, President Kazemi was re-elected to another 4-year term, though he did not capture a majority of the vote. He won 11 provinces, 97 electoral votes, and over 10 million votes. Senator Hussein won 5 provinces, 90 electoral votes, and almost 8.5 million votes. Nour had only managed to win around a million and a half votes, and finished third in every province.
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The 2017 Arabian Legislative Election took place on 8 April 2017 to elect members to the Arabian House of Representatives. Incumbent Prime Minister Haatim al-Salih and the governing Liberal Democratic Party were defending their premiership against the Leader of the Opposition Raihaan Zaman of the Free Republican Party and Saamiqa Abdelraham of The Greens/Nationals Alliance. Much of the campaign was focused on the weaking economy under al-Salih, which had seen job losses in manufacturing, and higher taxes from the country's strong climate change policies. Zaman promised to do away with the steep oil taxes, as well as to construct a new pipeline from Jeddah into Syria, Turkey, and then the Soviet Union to increase exports.
On the Prime Minister's left, Abdelraham supported accelerated climate goals, including the total ban on oil and gas mining in the country by 2050, something that al-Salih was hesitant to do given that a large part of Arabia's economy still depended on the export of its natural resources. al-Salih had spent much of the campaign focusing on shoring up his left-leaning credentials, hoping to knock the Greens/Nationals below 10% and below the Electoral Threshold for Arabia's multi-member districts elected using the Single-Transferable Vote.
In the end, the measure failed and the Greens/Nationals increased their vote-share nationwide, while the Liberal Democratic party fell below the amount needed for a majority. Zaman had no interest in attempting to work with al-Salih on a minority government and would not work with Abdelrahman, so talks between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Greens/Nations took place over much of April and May, until a new government was formed. Arabia's first coalition government ever was sworn in on 15 May 2017, with Saamiqa Abdelrahman as Deputy Prime Minister, and the first female to hold that position. Likewise, the new cabinet was split, with 1/5th of the portfolios being given to the Greens/Nationals, including the Environmental and Climate Change Ministry.
Presidents of Arabia
1. 1964-1968 Mutlaq el-Ahmad (Arab Revolutionary)
2. 1968-1976 Zaahir Shakoor (Liberal Democratic)
3. 1976-1984 Shukri Youssef (Free Republican)
4. 1984-1988 Muammar Farooq (Liberal Democratic)
5. 1988-1996 Abbaad Minhas (Free Republican)
6. 1996-2004 Sharaf el-Emami (Liberal Democratic)
7. 2004-2008 Abdul Rauf Sarah (Free Republican)
8. 2008-2012 Badruddeen Naqvi (Liberal Democratic)
9. 2012- Haatim al-Salih (Free Republican)
Prime Ministers of Arabia2. 1968-1976 Zaahir Shakoor (Liberal Democratic)
3. 1976-1984 Shukri Youssef (Free Republican)
4. 1984-1988 Muammar Farooq (Liberal Democratic)
5. 1988-1996 Abbaad Minhas (Free Republican)
6. 1996-2004 Sharaf el-Emami (Liberal Democratic)
7. 2004-2008 Abdul Rauf Sarah (Free Republican)
8. 2008-2012 Badruddeen Naqvi (Liberal Democratic)
9. 2012- Haatim al-Salih (Free Republican)
01. 1962-1974 Rajab Mohamad (Arab Revolutionary majority)
02. 1974-1979 Haaroon Rais (Free Republican majority)
03. 1979-1983 Ahmed al-Sabir (Liberal Democratic majority)
04. 1974-1979 Shaaheen Basa(Free Republican majority)
05. 1979-1983 Mustaba Abdalla (Liberal Democratic majority)
06. 1983-1985 Tammaam Sylla (Free Republican majority)
07. 1985-1989 Nizaar al-Doud (Liberal Democratic majority)
08. 1989-1992 Siddeeqi Hosseini (Liberal Democratic majority)
09. 1992-1996 Mufeed Ghaffari (Free Republican majority)
10. 1996-2001 Muzammil Naqvi (Liberal Democratic majority)
11. 2001-2014 Abdul Maalik al-Majeed (Free Republican majority)
12. 2014- Haatim al-Salih (Liberal Democratic majority) then (Liberal Democratic-Green/National coalition)
02. 1974-1979 Haaroon Rais (Free Republican majority)
03. 1979-1983 Ahmed al-Sabir (Liberal Democratic majority)
04. 1974-1979 Shaaheen Basa(Free Republican majority)
05. 1979-1983 Mustaba Abdalla (Liberal Democratic majority)
06. 1983-1985 Tammaam Sylla (Free Republican majority)
07. 1985-1989 Nizaar al-Doud (Liberal Democratic majority)
08. 1989-1992 Siddeeqi Hosseini (Liberal Democratic majority)
09. 1992-1996 Mufeed Ghaffari (Free Republican majority)
10. 1996-2001 Muzammil Naqvi (Liberal Democratic majority)
11. 2001-2014 Abdul Maalik al-Majeed (Free Republican majority)
12. 2014- Haatim al-Salih (Liberal Democratic majority) then (Liberal Democratic-Green/National coalition)
Several pre-election polls found that the election would be unusually competitive. The Christian Democratic Movement (Christlich-Demokratische Bewegung) has won every election since 1981 general election after the War of Independence against South Africa. However, Calle Schlettwein, the newly-elected leader of the Social Democratic Union (Sozialdemokratische Union), undertook a campaign across the country, making a point to visit even small villages along rural highways, and personally held 'listening sessions' in civic centres and meeting voters individually. The deteriorating environmental situation along Namibia's coastline boosted the popularity of Garth Owen-Smith and The Greens (Die Grünen), as an increased attention was placed on the fragile ecosystem of the country, and the need to preserve it.
Chancellor Cronenberg remained personally popular, but discontent was beginning to rise among the country's citizens. Wage growth was nearly flat, with inflation beginning to increase well above the normal rate of 4% a year, mostly driven by the decrease of the German-Namibian Development Grants, which had come to compromise nearly half of Namibia's budget in recent years. In response to this, and the failure of the Chancellor to negotiate a return to the higher payment amount during his trip to Berlin in mid 2017, the Ministry of Finance began printing more money to make up the shortfall. The opposition condemned the move, but the Government defended it by saying it was a temporary measure until the Grants were restored.
There was further disagreement over the Government's planned investment into the Trans-African Railway, which would run from Walfischbai to Beira in Mozambique. Most saw the project as largely a misuse of funds, and contested that it was a temporary jobs programme to boost the party's odds in the election. Cronenberg was also attacked for leaked phone calls with Namaqua President Dawid Boois, in which he asked the country for economic assistance to try and balance the budget.
Through the course of the election, Chancellor Cronenberg did not campaign, instead the party attempted to position himself as a leader working tirelessly to run the affairs of state, and to tackle the country's problems. Schlettwein continued his campaigning across the country, visiting every constituency and all four states during the course of the campaign. As polls predicted that the Christian Democrats would actually lose their majority, Cronenberg became to campaign, and cast the Social Democrats as dangerous radicals who would harm the country's international standing, and make the country's financial situation even worse. He also attacked the Greens, alleging their policy would mark the end of Namibia's economy.
The sudden, and aggressive, campaign worked. The Christian Democrats were able to secure a reduced majority, and the Social Democrats saw their representation increase to 21 seats, an all-time high for the party. The Greens also gained a seat, winning Kunene's First District. The Social Democrats considered the election a success, as they also captured the State Council of Walfischbai and the State Council of Konkiep, leaving only Lüderitz under the control of the Christian Democrats, giving the Social Democrats a working majority in the Rat der Regionen, the country's upper house, for the first time in history.
Since regaining its independence in 1918, Poland had been a democratic country until the rise of the Endecja Government in the mid 1930s, which saw to preserve Poland's independence by any means necessary, and to continue the Polonisation of the country. After brief disputes with the German government over the treatment of Poland's German minority, President Stanisław Głąbiński agreed to a reduction in the attacks directed against Germans, and was able to secure a secret alliance directed against the Soviet Union. In 1938, Germany and Poland launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, which after nearly a decade of war, saw Poland collapse into a civil war between 1947 and 1948, resulting in the establishment of the Union of Socialist Polish Voivodeships, renamed the Socialist Republic of Poland in 1949. Despite eastern Poland having been invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union during the latter stages of the Eastern European War, the Polish communist armies had been able to secure their eastern borders as the Soviet Union collapsed into its own civil war. Despite being a communist country, Poland remained free from Soviet domination that otherwise dominated eastern European countries.
Poland saw moderate growth in the period after the civil war, but often dealt with unrest in its eastern provinces, leading to the rise of a second wave of Polonisation to create a cohesive state. With a large amount of resistance in southeastern Poland, the Government quickly reversed these policies and pushed a concentrated series of new languages policies that sought to redefine the country's Ukrainian minority as Ruthenian, a very similar ethnic and linguistic group in the region. The distinction was made to ensure nationalistic tendencies did not arise with the neighbouring Ukrainian SSR. This redefinition has long been considered one of the most successful communist language policies in Europe, with opinion polls in the Ruthenian regions of Poland overwhelmingly showing they view themselves as a separate ethnicity than neighbouring Ukrainians.
As Poland began to antagonise the Soviet Union more and more with its friendliness with the west in the 1980s and 1990s, the economy saw multiple problems beginning to arise. The rise of technology in the west lagged in Poland, and agricultural production began to steadily decline year over year. Youth movements began to demand more from the government, and a series of strikes saw Poland's economy collapse in the late 1990s into the early 2000s. President Józef Oleksy of the Communist Party of Poland declared that in 2002 there would be free and open elections for the Polish Sejm, which had not happened since 1934. The election saw pro-Democratic parties capture ninety percent of the seats, and a broad coalition government was formed with the intent of drafting a new constitution. The Socialist Republic of Poland was replaced by the Republic of Poland in the Constitution of 2003, and new elections were held in 2004, which saw Donald Tusk assume the position of Prime Minister.
While both Lithuania and Poland are both parties to the Zollverein, the two countries have a strained relationship, owing to Lithuania's continued claim of ownership of the city of Wilno (Vilnius), and the surrounding territory. Both countries have bilateral treaties regarding the region, and special rights are granted to Lithuanians to travel and settle in the Wilno Voivodeship. Some have extended the possibility of Lithuania joining Poland but the issue has never been seriously discussed between the two governments.
Poland is currently led by the centre-left coalition of the centrist Alliance of all Nationalities for Poland and the Socialist Party, headed by Prime Minister Lilija Hrynewycz, the first Ruthenian Prime Minister of Poland, and second Prime Minister under the new constitution. Prior to the 2016 parliamentary election, Hrynewycz headed a centre-right coalition between her Alliance and the Polish People's Party. Poland has a fast-growing economy, and is considered by the International Development Bank to be one of the rising investment countries for the 2020s.
The 2016 Polish parliamentary election took place on 21 February 2016 to determine the composition of the Polish Sejm and the Government of Poland. Incumbent Prime Minister Lilija Hrynewycz was returned to power with a reduced majority, despite her party losing forty two seats. After an agreement with the Socialist Party, the Alliance of all Nationalities for Poland was returned to government, shifting the policies of the government towards the left. Previously, the government had been supported by the Polish People's Party and occasionally found support from the Union of Minorities.
Unlike all recent electoral campaigns in Poland, this 2016 contest was the first one to not be primarily focused on the economy. Instead, education and access to healthcare were deemed to be the top priorities of the electorate, and the ZwndP-PPL Government had adopted the stance of lowering tax rates where possible, and cutting government spending as much as possible to embrace free-enterprise ideals. This had lead to a decline in the educational attainment of Polish students overall, with indicators showing that students were lagging behind in most key areas. This contrasted with the Communist era, when Poland had the highest scores in eastern Europe. There was also a string of hospital closures in the mid 2010s, mostly rural clinics, which led to a strong backlash and protests against the government.
While these issues were harmful to the government's popularity, the fast-expanding economy and general prosperity helped to ensure that the ZwndP remained the largest party in the Sejm. However, Prime Minister Hrynewycz had already pledged on the campaign trail to take the country away from the policies of lower taxes and austerity, and begin to invest into the country's infrastructure and to fund newer and better healthcare and educational options for all of Poland. A notable pledge that both she and the Socialist Party agreed to during the campaign was the expansion of inter-city rail that was not under the jurisdiction of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. Like Tusk before her, she also noted that this would be the last election she would contest, believing that a person should only serve as Prime Minister for two terms before stepping down.
The election was held amidst the Central European Banking Emergency, in which much of the eastern Zollverein was experiencing a sharp contraction of their money supply, triggered by the German Central Bank announcing a new round of currency reductions aimed at curbing inflation, as well as the failure of several banks and large industrial companies across the region. Erzgebirgeland was hit hard by the loss of industrial demand, both for its raw materials and its industrial output. Support for more state controls over the economy were popular, as well as increasing social welfare policies.
The Conservatives attempted to backtrack on their long-standing policies of reducing the total scope of Erzgebirgeland's welfare apparatus, and promised to bring reforms to the banking sector and funding to be allocated solely for the purpose of supplementing worker's wages. This stood in opposition for United for Czechia's plans to introduce a nation-wide banking recovery plan and new retirement plan that would be in addition to Czechia's national plan. The Socialist Green Party went further, seeking to allow the regional government to open their own banks to compete with national ones, as well as nationalisation of a large number of the region's failing industrial businesses. The Erzgebirgeland People's Party, meanwhile, promised to cut taxes and would not support "socialism in Erzgebirgeland and Central Europe."
The election saw the Socialists make the most gains, four seats, with United for Czechia! gaining two. The Conservatives lost five seats, while the People's Party lost one of theirs. The coalition talks between United for Czechia! and the Socialists commenced almost immediately, even while Steinmann attempted to form a government. The eventual deal that was reached saw nationalisation of industries taken off the table, but the President's Speech included the promise to offer a government-run banking alternative, as well as plans to double the amount spent on welfare and social programmes, funded by new taxes.
While the territory had long been controlled by the Ashanti people, the indigenous inhabitants mostly are Ga, Ewe, and Akan peoples. Today, only the Ewe and Akan peoples remain as major inhabitants of the territory. Europeans first came to the region in 1482, as Portugese sailors came to establish trading routes. The region was also a launching point for the Atlantic Slave Trade, as the people captured from the region were sent to North America, South America, and the Caribbean. The British began their interest in the area in 1752 with the establishment of the Royal Trading Company. Under various names, this arrangement lasted until 1821, when the British government revoked the charter and took direct control of much of the Gold Coast's present territory. The Gold Coast Colony was formed in 1867, which eventually took control of other European possessions on the coast, as well as conquering interior kingdoms until it encompassed the area of modern Ashanti and the Gold Coast.
Under terms of the Treaty of Accra which ended the Third Anglo-Ashanti War, the Ashanti Kingdom was granted significant autonomy from within the Gold Coast Colony, and European settlement and control was limited to the shoreline, which saw immigrants arrive due to the rich natural resources of the colony. By 1909, the colony's population was growing rapidly and the colonial forces had been integrated, a first across Britain's African holdings. During the Great War, Gold Coast soldiers saw action in German Togoland, fighting several battles which ended in the total capture of the colony. After the war, the colony was returned to Germany.
For several years after the Great War, the groundwork for granting the Gold Coast responsible government was laid, notably reorganising the country's administrative boundaries, establishing a national census, and enrolling voters for local elections. In 1939, the Gold Coast and Ashanti were separated formally, with Ashanti given local autonomy and the Gold Coast placed under the caretaker government of Chief Minister Harold Dayton of the Gold Coast Liberal Party. His government would run the country unelected until the first Gold Coast General Election in 1945. His government lost to the Conservative Party led by John Rensfield. While there was no official policy of encouraging emigration to the Gold Coast, the advent of cheaper and faster Air Travel allowed for the Gold Coast to become a prime vacation destination for more well to do Britons, who began to move to the region in the 1950s and the 1960s after retiring from their jobs, attracted by the favourable climate and hefty pension payments from the British government.
This emigration continued throughout the succeeding decades, and the Gold Coast Government encouraged it as a means of steady tax revenue to fund further projects. In 1970, after the independence of Ashanti was granted, talk of Gold Coastian independence was spreading rapidly. By this time, Europeans had become such a large minority that they fiercely resisted independence, claiming their loyalty to Britain. This spawned the Gold Coast Insurgency, which became a low-level war with independence-minded activists for two decades between the early 1970s to the formal granting of independence in 1988. During this time, Britain had diffused the insurgency through deportation of activists, often taking prisoners to other parts of Africa, and imposing strict martial law in the countryside. Similar to the Commonwealth of Rhodesia, the Gold Coast's prime farming land is owned by White Gold Coastians, as a means of deliberate government policy.
Since independence, the Gold Coast has been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and remains a close ally of the United Kingdom. The country remains a prime destination for British and North American vacationers, and is known, often derisively, as the "Commonwealth of Pensioners," due to the country's extremely high number of citizens aged 60 years or older. A study completed in 2015 showed that over 1/4th of the country's gross domestic product came from the British State Pension system, delivered to those who had worked in Britain but retired to the Gold Coast. As a result of their broad economic power, their political power has mostly been concentrated in the Pensioner's Party, which is broadly centrist but a strong advocate for British expats, and those over the age of 60.
Since the country's adoption of the Single-Transferable Vote voting system in 2003, it has been plagued with political instability and unworkable coalitions. Today, the Gold Coast has a growing economy and a new generation of leaders has been emerging. No longer focused on the old politics of Pensioners vs the rights of the indigenous Africans, they seek to unite the country's people and work as one unit. The country's ability to form a strong government despite their fragmented political parties has been one of the major initiatives of the modern era, offering much needed political stability.
Chief Ministers of the Gold Coast Colony
1. 1939-1945 Harold Dayton (Liberal majority)
2. 1945-1953 John Rensfield (Conservative majority)
3. 1953-1956 Gerhard Svendsen (Liberal minority)
4. 1956-1965 Franklin Brooks ( Labour-Liberal coalition)
5. 1965-1969 Andrew Fraunces (Labour majority)
6. 1969-1972 Nathan Wexcombe (Conservative-Liberal coalition)
7. 1972-1976 Marcus Thorsen (Liberal-Conservative majority)
8. 1976-1983 Robert Goodnestone (Labour majority)
9. 1983-1988 Christopher Cunningham (United Front majority)
Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth of the Gold Coast2. 1945-1953 John Rensfield (Conservative majority)
3. 1953-1956 Gerhard Svendsen (Liberal minority)
4. 1956-1965 Franklin Brooks ( Labour-Liberal coalition)
5. 1965-1969 Andrew Fraunces (Labour majority)
6. 1969-1972 Nathan Wexcombe (Conservative-Liberal coalition)
7. 1972-1976 Marcus Thorsen (Liberal-Conservative majority)
8. 1976-1983 Robert Goodnestone (Labour majority)
9. 1983-1988 Christopher Cunningham (United Front majority)
1. 1988-1990 Christopher Cunningham (United Front majority)
2. 1990-1995 Adofo Boasiako (Opposition-Labour coalition)
3. 1995-1999 Jared Graydon (National Unity majority)
4. 1999-2005 Theodore Mellors (Labour majority)
5. 2005-2005 Jacob Strutton (National Unity minority)
6. 2005-2005 Ansong Kwaata (Conservative minority)
0. 2005-2006 Jacob Strutton (National Unity minority)
7. 2006-2007 Jerry Rawlings (People's Labour-Socialist Liberation minority coalition)
8. 2007-2007 Peter Afriyie (Conservative-Liberal-Conservative minority coalition)
0. 2007-2007 Jerry Rawlings (People's Labour minority)
9. 2007-2008 Dan Purser (Liberal-Conservative-Pensioner's minority coalition)
0. 2008-2013 Jerry Rawlings (People's Labour-National Unity coalition)
10. 2013- Michael Klein (Liberal-Conservative-Pensioner's-Conservative minority coalition)
2. 1990-1995 Adofo Boasiako (Opposition-Labour coalition)
3. 1995-1999 Jared Graydon (National Unity majority)
4. 1999-2005 Theodore Mellors (Labour majority)
5. 2005-2005 Jacob Strutton (National Unity minority)
6. 2005-2005 Ansong Kwaata (Conservative minority)
0. 2005-2006 Jacob Strutton (National Unity minority)
7. 2006-2007 Jerry Rawlings (People's Labour-Socialist Liberation minority coalition)
8. 2007-2007 Peter Afriyie (Conservative-Liberal-Conservative minority coalition)
0. 2007-2007 Jerry Rawlings (People's Labour minority)
9. 2007-2008 Dan Purser (Liberal-Conservative-Pensioner's minority coalition)
0. 2008-2013 Jerry Rawlings (People's Labour-National Unity coalition)
10. 2013- Michael Klein (Liberal-Conservative-Pensioner's-Conservative minority coalition)
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