2018 Notoshan presidential election

2018 Notoshan presidential election

A **presidential election** was held in Notosha on 7 September 2018 to elect the president of Notosha. The election was constitutionally mandated to fall on this date, as the constitution states that all presidential elections must fall on the first Friday of September, four years apart.

New Notosha Alliance proposed the incumbent Ilzabete Kafriti, who ran unopposed in the election. Democratic Notosha had attempted to align with Luftojmë! to propose a challenger to Kafriti, but Luftojmë! leader Dëshira Rexhepi later confirmed that the coalition would support Kafriti's reelection, and Democratic Notosha ultimately opted not to field a candidate. Kafriti was reelected with 79 electoral votes, while 36 members of parliament abstained (all Democratic Notosha coalition members), and 10 either were absent or did not vote. She began her second term on 22 September 2018, becoming the first Notoshan president to be reelected.

## Date

The election was set to occur on 7 September 2018, as denoted by the constitution, which states that all presidential elections must fall on the first Friday of September, four years apart.

## Electoral system

The president of Notosha is elected by the State Assembly, not through a popular vote of Notoshan voter-eligible citizens. Each political party represented in the State Assembly is eligible to present a candidate for the election, although the candidates themselves must be unaffiliated with a political party. Due to the *de facto* greater importance of coalitions than parties in Notoshan politics, each coalition typically submits a candidate rather than each party.

Following the selection of each coalition's candidate, the candidates take part in a number of hearings in the State Assembly, where they answer questions asked of them by members of parliament. The election is subsequently held on the first Friday of September. Each member of parliament is given a secret ballot where they may choose their preferred candidate, and the candidate that wins a majority of votes is elected. If no candidate wins a majority, then the last-placed candidate is eliminated and a second round is held the following Friday. If no candidate wins a majority again, this continues each week until only two candidates remain; if neither of the final two candidates win a majority, then the one with a plurality will be elected.

Due to the electoral system, the majority coalition in parliament *de facto* will always be able to elect their choice of president. Because of this, presidential elections are merely a formality, and it is well-known what coalition the new president will support following the previous parliamentary election, which is always held in March of the same year as a presidential election.

## Candidates

Only one candidate stood in the presidential election: incumbent Ilzabete Kafriti, who had been proposed by the New Notosha Alliance coalition.

Kafriti had been elected president in the 2014 presidential election, becoming the first woman to serve in the role. She previously served as the director of the State Intelligence Service (SHIN) from 2012 until 2014, after having been deputy director from 2010 until 2012, and served as director-general of the Ministry of Justice from 2001 until 2010.

Following the 2018 parliamentary election, the New Notosha Alliance held a slim majority in parliament, meaning that while it was likely they would be able to remain control of the presidential election, should any members of parliament be absent for the vote, a united Democratic Notosha and Luftojmë! could usurp the presidency with a challenger. Democratic Notosha began lobbying Luftojmë! to coalesce for the presidential election and propose a candidate together, but Luftojmë! leader Dëshira Rexhepi confirmed in July 2018 that the coalition would support Kafriti's reelection bid. Following this confirmation, Democratic Notosha leader Shkëmb Pojani stated that the coalition chose not to field a challenger in the election, leaving Kafriti to run unopposed. She announced her reelection candidacy on 10 July 2018.