First election of Yorktown

The first election of Yorktown took place on the 22nd of April 2022. It saw the Social Democrats lose their majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, prompting the end of the Social-Liberal coalition. As no new coalition formed, this left the Republic of Yorktown in a hung parliament for the first time. It would ultimately lead to the April Revolution, which brought about an end to liberal democratic rule in the nation.

Senate

Pre-election, the Social Democrats commanded the Senate with a majority of 33 seats out of 50. The Liberals occupied 11, the Federalists 5, and the Socialists only 1. This entire state of affairs was bucked with the election, as the Social Democrats lost almost a third of their seats as well as their majority, dropping down to 23. In their place, the Socialists burst into the second largest party, taking 10 seats for a total of 11. This is largely attributed to popular dissatisfaction with the Social Democrats' handling of foreign absolutist anger towards Yorkish policy on human rights. The Liberals lost 1 seat with the Federalists gaining 1, leaving them with 10 and 6 respectively.

While the balance of power had decisively shifted towards the Socialists, they initially remained in opposition as the Social-Liberal coalition still held a majority of 23 + 10 out of 50. This would end as an outpouring of letters, appealing to Liberals and Social Democrats to defect to the Socialists to better represent the popular vote, saw three senators defect: Senator 35 Jeanne Jaures, Senator 23 James Lee, and Senator 40 June Black. With the Liberals losing 2 seats and the Social Democrats 1, their coalition still held a majority of 22 + 8 out of 50. However, rumours of President Blue had met with Socialist leaders before his coalition partners began schisms.

House of Representatives

As the Senate reorganised, defections began in the House of Representatives to better match it. Pre-election, the Social Democrats commanded a House majority of 56 out of 100. The Liberals held 21 seats, the Federalists 12, the Socialists 9, and the Whigs 2. With the new reorganisation, these 2 remaining Whigs joined the Federalists, bringing their number to 14 and dissolving the Whig party for good. The Social Democrats majority was lost as they receded to 42 seats by losing 14, while the Liberals lost 7 seats and thus held 14. These seats transferred to the Socialists, leading to them becoming the second largest party at 30 seats.

Outcome

The election decidedly ended the Social-Liberal coalition, as Liberal Party leaders announced that ideological differences had caused the split. They cited the failure of both the President and the Social Democrat party's leaders to maintain the coalition or communicate during the reorganisation of Congress, and especially criticised the President's decision to meet with Socialist leaders before seeing his coalition members.

While the Social Democrats remained the largest party in the House of Representatives (42/100) and the Senate (21/50), they held no majority in either. Without a coalition partner, this effectively left the government of Yorktown in the minority. The Socialists were the true winners of the election, as the Federalists largely did not capitalise on the reorganisation beyond absorbing 2 Whig seats, and the Social-Liberal coalition generally suffered.

The political instability caused by this election's lack of a majority, as well as the empowerment of the Socialists, would play a direct role in instigating the April Revolution.