Viscosity777 Elected President, CUP Majority in Parliament

Viscosity777 has been elected President of Demarcia, defeating JeskiaWeathers in a tie-break vote held among newly-elected Members of Parliament. This comes after the President-elect's Civic Unity Party achieved a supermajority in the parliamentary election, despite winning just 40% of the popular vote.

Following the announcement of the second round results, incumbent President Penstubal refused to acknowledge Viscosity777's victory, claiming the election was "RIGGED" and "HEADED TO CUP SHAM PARLIAMENT". The President made the claim on the basis that members of the Demarcian Avantgarde - his new party, which he co-founded with JeskiaWeathers and Vincent_Wolff - won more votes altogether than the CUP did. However, the seat composition is a result of him running separately from the DA's list, on the SDP's list instead. There is no evidence that the election was in any way rigged or tampered with.

Later that same evening, however, he apologized to the nation, claiming the burden of his job "weighed heavily on him". He congratulated Viscosity777 on her "it appears, almost certain election as President". The apology came not long after JeskiaWeathers distanced herself from President Penstubal's remarks, conceded to Viscosity777, and left the Demarcian Avantgarde.

After the results of the tie-break vote, the President-elect issued a statement expressing her pride "to be standing here as your next President of the Republic of Demarcia."

"Even though I am just a byproduct of a parliamentary ordeal and a rather erroneous miscalculation," the President-elect said, "and believe me, this by no means was a landslide victory—a razor-thin tiebreaker was the very last resort—and in spite of pulling through by such an underwhelming margin of votes, I am thankful regardless and believe that this journey has equipped me with the resilience and determination necessary to lead effectively. Let us embrace this opportunity to create a future filled with hope, innovation, and shared prosperity for all."

President-elect Viscosity777 pledged to "forge a policy framework/agenda and overhaul, if you will, that will redefine the landscape of Demarcia."

"I want this leadership to leave a legacy of change," she said. "I strongly desire to push the envelope and test the boundaries as to how far that change will go—change for the better, and not for the worse, that is. I will simply not let the Demarcian people down!"

Meanwhile, outgoing President Penstubal said that he doesn't intend to serve out the full length of his term in Parliament, and that he will serve as a "constructive opposition" and "back [the CUP] all the way" when it does good things.

Laura Cooper,

Demarcian Inquirer.