The election to elect the 39th Legislature of Capitalia, Georgeland's fourth-largest state, will be held on April 3, 2009. The incumbent Liberal Democratic government led by George Vance will be seeking a third consecutive term of office. Their main opponents will be the Conservative opposition and its leader, Andrew Vaysey. Due to Capitalia's proportional electoral system, first used in 2005, other, minor parties may play a significant role in the new legislature. These include the centrist Georgeland Alliance, the Green Party of Georgeland and the far-right Georgeland National Front.
In accordance with the state constitution, the election will be held concurrently with the Capitalian gubernatorial election, 2009.
Background[]
At the previous election, held in 2005, the LDP won 35 of the legislature's 67 seats. Though the election used a mixed-member proportional system, Vance's government nevertheless won sufficient seats to grant them a majority of three in the House of Assembly. The Capitalian legislature is unicameral, and the government was the first to have a majority since 1994.
In the four years since the election, the Vance government has continued to consistently perform well in polls. Despite holding a majority in the legislature, Vance has been careful not to be seen to 'abuse' the majority and has shelved legislation of a contentious or contraversial nature proposed by some in his party.
Vance has been the subject of speculation for some time about his further ambitions. Reports he would seek a federal political position during the 2005-2009 term have proved untrue. Vance has always claimed he would fight the 2009 election but has refused to give the same guarantee about the 2013 election, by which time Vance will be sixty-six years old. A leadership handover, either to Deputy Chief Minister Anna Cole or to another minister.
The Tories, for their part, will be attempting to form what would most likely be a minority government, possibly with the support of the Alliance. Vaysey, who had been leader for only fourteen weeks when the election was called, has stated that while it is always the goal to achieve a majority government, given the electoral system it is unlikely.