abstract
| - A federal general election was held in the Federation of Zardugal on Saturday December 9, 3341. All 750 seats to the 16th Congress of Zardugal were up for election, as was the Presidency and all five State governorships. It followed the 3338 elections. The election saw the New Democratic Party go to the country seeking a fifth consecutive majority government, having governed the country effectively uninterrupted for the previous 18 years. A month prior to the election, incumbent Prime Minister Michael Dowdy had announced his resignation following the election. The NDP campaign was led by outgoing Foreign Minister Darren Nicholson. For the opposition, the charge was led by the Jacques Chircac of the Conservative Republican Party. As they had in previous elections, the Conservatives campaigned on a platform of "restoring Zardugal", promising to restore the power of the States and restore some of the economic authority of central government over key public services. For both parties, the election was complicated by the emergence of the Zardic Labour Party, a centre-left political party that would be a natural coalition partner to neither dominant party in the event of a hung Congress. In the event, the New Democrats were defeated. The Conservatives came to power with a slim overall majority of 12 seats and Chirac became the first Conservative leader to win a majority in Congress for over 20 years. There was some consolation on election night for the NDP, in that they managed to retain three of five State governorships. Labour failed to make an electoral breakthrough and remained out of Congress, finishing last in all constituencies. Former Conservative leader Harold Macmillan triumphed in the Presidential election, defeating NDP candidate and former Interior Minister Andrew McPherson and ZLP candidate Michael Stewart in the first round.
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