2950 UEE Imperatorial election

The 2950 United Empire of Earth imperatorial election is an election cycle event held throughout the year 2950, intended to elect the next Imperator of the United Empire of Earth. Security, economic development, military spending, alien affairs, general ethical and moral views of society will be heavily influenced by the Imperator and their plans for Humanity. The entire process took place between October 2949 until the end of 2950.

The final voting round was held between October 10 and 24, 2950. All Citizens of the United Empire of Earth were called to chose the successor of incumbent Imperator Kelos Costigan. An Imperator can only serve a one-time period of 10 years. The Imperator-elect will be inaugurated, Jan 1 2951. On November 1, the Imperial Election Bureau announced the results and proclaimed Laylani Addison the next Imperator.

Process
The election format was enacted in 2810. It is the first time that a candidate (Titus Costigan) is closely related to the incumbent Imperator. It follows a determined cycle ('from Citizen's Day to Citizen's Day').

Imperator primaries
Only Citizens can apply for the office. In a process called 'Imperator primaries' or 'primary', an applicant needs 50,000 Citizen signatures to qualify as a 'candidate'. They are then now able to add a presentation Vid over the empire-wide receiveable Spectrum broadcasting service. The primary voting round then decides which 10 of them are nominated for the next round.

The Spectrum Spectator featured some bizarre applicants


 * Golroq, 'the guy wearing that crazy suit with wings, who had a plan to end the Vanduul war by guiding the UEE into another dimension.'
 * an unnamed person, an impersonator who was called by the moderator 'Ivar junior', because he claimed to be a descendant of Ivar Messer
 * Boss Baghead, called by the moderator 'the girl wearing that cheap plastic helmet bag thingy'

Signing ceremony
All ten candidates were presented at a formal 'signing ceremony' in February 2950, where they were formally applying for the office in presence of the current officeholder. This year, Kelos Costigan, member of the Universal Party, didn't endorse any of the candidates and didn't release a statement because of the peculiar situation that his son is also amongst the candidates.

Secondary voting
The second round commenced on April 10 and concluded on April 24. The final five candidates receiving the most support were announced on May 1. During this round of voting, there were 'accusations of voter intimidation against Tevarin Citizens' occurring at certain polling stations.

The following candidates were elected for the Final vote.

Final vote
The final vote for Imperator occurred between October 10 and 24. All citizens were called to issue one (1) vote for their candidate of choice. For this phase, the Cloud Imperium lore team decided to hand voting control to all backers of the Star Citizen community using a poll on the Roberts Space Industries website. Backers could also show their support for specific candidates using Title badges, which would display next to their name throughout Spectrum.

The winner of the final vote was announced late in the day on 1 November 2950 at a ceremony in Moscow, where the Imperial Election Bureau commissioner Tyrone Salonen proclaimed Laylani Addison Imperator-elect.

The Imperial Election Bureau provided the official result in detail:
 * Laylani Addison: 45.42%
 * Titus Costigan: 17.89%
 * Illyana Sharrad: 14.18%
 * Paul LeSalle: 13.53%
 * Mira Ngo: 8.98%

Addison then gave the following speech at the ceremony (click expand to view): "Thank you, Commissioner Salonen. Let me start by thanking my campaign staff all across the Empire. There are too many people to name, right now, but none of this would be possible without your hard work and dedication. Truly, I cannot thank you enough for helping turn our improbable dream into a reality. My love and thanks to my dedicated partner and campaign manager, Jesse. I am here now because of your belief in me. To our daughter Finley, thank you for your patience and the joy you bring me every day. I also want to thank the people of the UEE. Words fail to express the deep sense of pride and gratitude I’m feeling right now. Serving as your Imperator will be the honor of a lifetime, and I promise to dedicate myself to building a better Empire for all.

Make no mistake, I’m under no illusions that this will be easy. For years I was told that the deeply rooted political parties and corporate interests were too powerful, too entrenched, for an independent voice to be heard. Well, we sure proved them wrong and showed everyone where the true power lies in this empire — with the people!

Now that the election is over our real work can begin. Much like my campaign, I cannot do this alone. Only with your help can we reform this Empire into an institution that’s able to address the issues of the day and remain agile enough to confront the challenges ahead. My administration will focus on policies that will make this possible. Beginning with education and innovation initiatives that will lead this empire into a new age of progress, peace, and prosperity.

I know there will be people out there saying that my policy goals are impractical or even impossible. Yet my campaign is proof that when the people of the UEE come together for the common good we can make the impossible possible. For the next decade, you have chosen to let me lead the way. I promise to fully dedicate myself to the people’s cause and refuse to let fear dictate our path forward. Together we can build a better tomorrow and a stronger empire for us all. Thank you."