2023 Game City general election

The **2023 general election** was the fifth biennial general election, held in March of 2023. It was the first **snap election** in Game City's history, announced after a government crisis in the early days of January that led to Vice President ToastIsBestFrozen stepping down and the King assuming the executive power temporarily.

They were also the first elections in history with more than two electable parties, finally breaking the two-party system. The runner-ups were EnderShrimp7468 of the Labour Party; former Vice President Xep of the Conservative Party; Ebo as For a Better World's candidate; LaylaFire22 representing the Communist Party and HeyItIsNicholas leading the Free Crafters Party. President Handduken was initially supposed to be the Labour Party's candidate, but on the 22 January he announced that he wouldn't seek re-election, but that he would hand down the leadership to a new pair: EnderShrimp and oram.

The election was won by Ebo of For a Better World, forming a coalition with the Free Crafters Party to form a government. It was the first election in history without a Labour or Conservative victory, with Xep of the Conservatives in third place and becoming Leader of the Opposition, and it was the worst result in the history of both parties, especially for Labour, which went from being the ruling party to a small pocket on the opposite benches.

## Campaign

For the first time in Game City's history, the first to announce his presidential bid was someone outside of the typical two-party system: Ebo, of For a Better World, in summer of 2021. In January of 2022, the next to announce their candidacy was the former Vice President, Xep, who received Woodywyatt's blessing to run as the Conservative candidate for 2023. Initially it was unclear if Handduken was intending on running for a second term, but later in March 2022 he confidently said that he was indeed running for re-election. In April 2022, another political party emerged, this time from the far left, with the most radical measures to date: the Communist Party, created by former members of For a Better World who were dissatisfied with the internal management of the party.

After months of absence and inactivity from both Handduken and ToastIsBestFrozen, the Government entered a crisis due to the fact that the law was not being enforced, and the legislative and judiciary branches began to wonder if action had to be taken. Tensions escalated to the maximum on the 5th January, when ToastIsBestFrozen officially stepped down as Vice President and, due to Handduken's prolonged absence, the King temporarily assumed the President's powers and called for a snap election.

After weeks of uncertainty regarding Handduken's intention to run again, the President announced on the 22 January that he would not run for a second term, but that the Labour Party would still participate in the snap election. Handduken himself would use the remaining time left until the 15th February (the deadline to register one's candidacy) to select a new pair of candidates to hand down his leadership to. On the 27th, two new candidates were finally chosen and announced: the popular long-time server member EnderShrimp7468 for President, and oram for Vice President. In February, the last candidates to register were HeyItIsNicholas and UnicornOne with the Free Crafters Party.

Labour's 2023 election poster.A 2023 Conservative poster featuring Xep.FBW's poster for 2023.A Communist Party poster for 2023.
## Results

      **Free Crafters Party** | 23.8%
      **Conservative Party** | 20.6%
      **Labour Party** | 19%
      **Communist Party** | 11%