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"And we're going to have to cut you off right there and go to a commercial break. We'll be right back."

When the commercials ended, the Moderator was front and center once again. The debate had obviously become heated. "Candidates, unemployment is a massive issue in Samgola right now, as all too many at home know too well. What is your proposal to get Samgolans back to work and create jobs for the future as Samgola looks on into the 21st century?"

Yembe had eagerly taken the stage, “As I stated earlier, the best method to increase productivity in Samgola would simply to remove regulations and allow for a free and open market. There are many untapped resources within Samgola that are simply waiting to be both mined and drilled, all while bringing new jobs to the poor and middle class. Anyone who denies this reality is simply trying to keep the citizens of Samgola impoverished. A free market benefits everyone, whether they are poor, middle class, or wealthy. By restricting and regulating our market, like Mr.Mahol desires, would deny our nation the opportunity to claim its rightful place on the world stage. Our nation doesn’t have a future as a hermit state, isolated and hidden away from its neighbors. Let us show the world our glory, and bring about a strong economy, new jobs, and the opportunity for Samgolans to work.”

Xirsi was he second to take initiative on this round, wanting to get his word in before the others began bickering once more, “Firstly, the best temporary solution would be to employ those who do not have a job to aid in the reconstruction and improvement of our roadways, secondly, I feel we should subsidize smaller businesses and allow them to grow. This will increase competition and growth within our own market, with this growth will come job opportunities. Furthermore, the expansion of our armed forces will increase employment opportunities. That is the best way, I see, to solving our unemployment.”

After Yembe stepped of the stage Zan immediately went on “Mr.Songè, wishes to misquote me and tangle my words as per usual. He wishes to deregulate measures so the capitalists can get you to work for nothing, my wishes from the beginning have been to bring Samgola to the forefront of the african stage. I wish increase our military and other state employees as a weak state is one that will surely fall.I would also like to subsidize many factories, mines and oil wells so that the state itself can survive and thus provide for the people. I believe that is the best plan to provide for the country first, then return it full force to the people.” Zan smiled and returned to his podium.

Samuel chimed in last. "Our response to the current unemployment crisis—because it is a crisis, not a minor issue—must be twofold. First, we must take immediate action to employ a great swath of out of work Samgolans in rebuilding our nation's infrastructure. This will solve the immediate problem of so many families lacking a stable income, and help put food in the bellies of every child in Samgola. The Brick & Mortar Act, proposed by the D.A.R., will accomplish this great and important task, hiring tens of thousands of Samgolans from all corners of the country to revitalize our nation's industry and infrastructure and bring it up to modern standards. This will also allow for private enterprises to expand as well, with better road and utility networks allowing greater market access for all industries across Samgola."

"But..." Samuel continued, "...that is not enough. We must also look further into the future, at fostering the growth of industries that will permanently employ Samgolans for generations to come, and increase our country's economic footprint on the world stage. In this, much as in bringing attention to our infrastructure issues, I am proud to have helped the D.A.R. lead the way. Working together with the Samgola Wildlife Society and with the international environmental community, I have helped to reintroduce the Laja Ecological Sanctuary project to the global forefront. Dozens of ecological organizations from across Africa and beyond are eager to establish a wildlife sanctuary in Laja, one which will not only protect the continued existence of our national animal, the proud and majestic West African lion, but also spring forth a tourism industry in Samgola. The ecological tourism industry already brings in billions and billions of dollars every year in our fellow African nations, on top of employing untold numbers of guides, rangers and groundskeepers, in addition to those working in the ancillary industries that develop around this tourism. Making use of our natural resources is important, but it must be done in a way that puts Samgola's interests first, and offers mutual benefit to everyone involved."

Xirsi looked to the leader of the D.A.R. and looked over at the other candidates before smiling and clapping his hands at the answer that Samuel had given. He nodded his head with his smile held high, “That was spoken very well Mr. Bassong, like a true Samgolan if I do say so myself. Of all the answers given, I must say that you’re is the one that has touched me the most! The preservation of what matters most to Samgola is very important to the future of our nation, so that we may remember our roots not only as a people but as a reminder of what we will bring with us to the future. Like a pride of these mighty lions, we must look after one another and preserve what we have, as we are all one family.”

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Another commercial break came and went. "And we're back. It's been an intense debate and as we go to the final questions, we implore you to look at all the angles and analyze each candidate for what he brings to the table. Candidates, the recent loss of SAH 5122 was the fourth aviation accident in sixteen months with the tragic loss of 103 lives on board. What are your proposals going forward with the handling of the aviation industry in regards to safety for the passengers?"

Zan was glad this question as he had the moral ground more then anyone else on the stage as well as having been to the most recent crash site. He quickly moved front and center to give his proposal “Well as I stated earlier as well as when I was at the tragic site of the plane crash. We must first put tighter regulations on all commercial aircraft. That I think is something we all can agree upon. Then I propose an even more stricter approach by nationalizing the transportation industries as they have shown they can handle simple flights let alone those that we would need for international trade. If I am elected that will be among my top priorities after the national militias and the former people’s front leaders.”

Xirsi shook his head at hearing the words of Zan, he went to speak next, “What the Samgolan Dawn, from what I have heard, is planning to take direct control over our businesses and have a communist state. We might as well call them the new Samgolan People’s Party because all they care about is nationalizing everything. The commercial companies of the aircraft will still have their freedom and independence to go about their way, but we must impose safety standards that all planes must pass before flight as well as have well trained pilots available to fly. Yes, that is what I would believe would be the best course of action, imposing stricter safety standards and having the requirement of training the pilots so that they may operate at the best of their human abilities.”

Two candidates had already begun to speak of regulations and restriction upon the aviation industry, Mr. Mahol even declaring the necessity to nationalize. The extreme reactions and the hard feelings towards aviation companies is unsurprising to Yembe, but he believed they were rash and irresponsible. “I disagree strongly with my fellow candidates, regulations and especially nationalization are irresponsible, irreversible, and hasty decisions based off a knee jerk reaction to a miniscule number of air related accidents. What my fellow candidates fail to realize is that these aviation companies are capable of self regulating themselves without government intervention. Naturally, customers who desire safer modes of transportation will choose safer options thus creating a market demand in the aviation industry to do so. Eventually planes will become safer, simply because the market demands that they are made safer. Why waste taxes on the inevitable? It’s both a foolish and pointless endeavour. So when you ask me how I’ll handle passenger safety in going forward with my presidency, the most sensible and rational choice is to allow the market to handle it.”

Mr. Bassong spoke in a respectful, solemn tone. "First," he began, "I'd like to speak for both everyone here on stage today and every Samgolan watching at home in expressing my sympathies to everyone affected by the SAH 5122 disaster. It was a tragic accident that cost far too many lives. The thoughts and prayers of all of Samgola are behind the victims of this deadly incident."

"Preventatively, our wisest course of action is to act not out of impulse, but rather to take a close examination of the facts of the accident, and construct our policy in response to them. The investigations carried out after the disaster took place helped to rule out mechanical problems, and so leaves us with the conclusion that some other factor must be in play. As President, I will work towards establishing an inquiry into not just the SAH 5122 disaster, but also all other recent incidents involving Samgola Air aircraft, to try and get to the bottom of what's going wrong here. In the interim, the D.A.R. will work with our contemporaries in the National Assembly to make more stringent the training and safety requirements for all domestic flights in the Samgolan Republic. Nationalizing the entire transportation industry is a bridge or three too far, in my own opinion, but there are some common-sense regulatory changes we can make as a government to help prevent incidents like the SAH 5122 disaster from occurring again. It will be our responsibility as the Samgolan people's democratically elected representatives to make those changes."

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"And that's all we have for tonight folks. We appreciate you joining us for the First National Debate!"

The show flipped to black. It was over. For the remainder of the week, the candidates would have sparse time and energy to campaign.

“As many of you saw at the first presidential debate yesterday, the Democratic Alliance for Reform, talks a big game however at slightest moment of argument they step aside for the strong such as myself. Even the SPP, give the support away to anyone with even a like minded idea. But the DAR are the one who truly think they have something special. Yet their leader Mr. Bassong merely gives vague promises or unreliable acts that he’ll get passed before he even has a leg to stand on. These are not the words of a true leader who can make things reality but of some politician so desperate for power he makes promises that he can make a miracle happen overnight. I can assure you he can’t, which is why I made a special speech here today to inform you member of the Samgolan republic just how vital support can be and that you must choose wisely. However I must get going with only a few weeks left the rest of the country can’t be forgotten as the DAR,SPP and LD all like to pretend.” Zan gave a smile and a wave before heading off to his car which was on the way to the airport.

“Well, Zan I believe things are going well, especially that last line. It was very nice adlib and true. They all sit here in the capital or around it and hope to win the election, they’ll see come the election.” Lukas Halt commented on their car ride, they then went on to discuss political strategy and the plans for their next location the of Pabba.

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“People of Pabba, I come before you as a man of the citizenry. My competitors Mr.Bassong, was not even raised here and was only brought in by foreign dogs. Mr.Songè, is a man far past his prime and while I give him sympathy for his time as a prisoner. I think many should see his age will be an issue as will his legitimacy, he server in the LD for years and obtained nothing until recently when capitalist backers who would destroy your livelihood. Started to support him. Then we must not forget Mr. Sahra who, like his party just pick at the leftovers. From supporters to issues, it’s almost as if he has no idea of his own. He nor his party can be given control less you want anarchy.” Zan let the roars from the crowd die down before continuing. “I could go on, yet I am not here to speak of them. I am here to speak of a major concern, the concern of the leader of the People’s Front. So long as they are left alive there will be a symbol of rebellion and treason which cannot stand. I come before you all today, along with some candidates for your local election. That if we are elected to lead, these men will pay for crimes against man and against Allah. PRAISE BE!” The speech continued about stories of the war and the atrocities the leaders committed before dying down due to worries of a riot.

The debates in Kamidye had recently ended and it had seemed as though it had went well. After a short fundraiser within the capital, Yembe and his campaign were already eager to continue where they had left off previously. Plans were made to arrive in Fèrosso by the end of the week with strong hopes of visiting many of the border states in Samgola.

Though the trip was short, Yembe had already been exhausted. Both the debates and fundraising taking a toll on the elderly gentlemen. It had seemed as though they would have to move much of their scheduling back until next week, this to Mr. Songè wasn’t an issue. Donations had recently been running low and the campaign contributions were still slowly coming in, there was little point in doing anything until then.

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Xirsi sat next to the window of where he was staying in Kamidye going over the questions that had been asked at the debate and formulated better responses he could have gave than what he had done. He sighed, the competition was fierce and unfortunately the party’s late arrival to the stage had cost them greatly as they had to scramble to establish some form of political foothold somewhere, yet nothing, at least nothing he knew of. The party didn’t have the funds necessary to fund a polling of the states, instead hey had to go by their gut instinct on what to do for the time being.

What was worse, the Samgolan Dawn had already left and was busy at work slandering Bassong left and right. Such a predictable move, such a dishonorable move. Xirsi sighed, knowing that was simply what politics was, lies and slander, yet it disgust him. Shaking his head to stop the thoughts he gazed out of the window, it seemed his staff was busy at work with the fundraising that the patriots so desperately needed. Though the party could do much even without the money for the time being, but they simply needed it to hold polls. They could not simply go into the dark any longer.

A knock came to his door. “Mr. Sahra, we leave for Modiali in a few hours,” a feminine voice told him and he gave no response as he got up from his seat.

“Alright, thank you,” he told the voice before going off to pack his belongings. In Modiali he had given his first speech and even attacked the Samgolan Dawn. Most of the party believed they would have some support there, but it was still uncertain to many of them from their lack of polling throughout the two weeks they were active. Yet, they would try to gather money there as well, next week.

Xirsi had to try.

The D.A.R. was at it again. Weeks past, the party had drove a fleet of vans painted up as elephants and lions across the country's east, raising support for a wildlife refuge in the Laja state. Now, it seemed they were up to another dramatic stunt. A gigantic cargo plane, superficially resembling a military transport aircraft and painted in the orange and green design of the D.A.R., was set to take off from the runway in Mutasta. Its destination was the airport in Guiniadio, off at the other end of the country. The massive, brightly coloured plane would be flying relatively low over the eastern part of Dabrado province, close enough to the ground to be easily seen from the towns and cities over its path. A massive propaganda banner would fly behind it, advertising the slogan 'Samuel for Samgola!' to the watchers below. It would be an expensive undertaking, but one that would hopefully help to keep the D.A.R. in the forefront of the political scene, continuing on after their seemingly positive showing at the First Presidential Debate.

The plot was conceived as an attempt by the Democratic Alliance for Reform to throw off allegations of a disconnection from Samgola being made against the party's presidential candidate, Mr. Bassong. Samuel Bassong and deputy leader Ephraim Yombi, travelling in tandem on the flight, would be giving speeches at both ends of the journey, highlighting the party's spending plans for that most patriotic of institutions: the Samgolan military. The pair would emphasize that portion of the D.A.R.'s generous budget which would go towards properly funding the army and airforce, keeping Samgola's servicemen well supplied, well trained, and numerous. Various D.A.R. supporters from amongst the ranks of the military's reserves would attend the ride alongside the D.A.R.'s leadership, and the time spent on the plane would allow for the two to commiserate with their backers in the armed forces and help get an advanced idea of the kind of investments most needed in Samgolan military. It was to be a combination of equal parts symbolic gesture, mindless spectacle, campaign ad fodder, and deliberative talks. Hopefully, it would be a push that would pan out for the party's fortunes, and help deliver to them their most sought after goal; the presidency.

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The hot Summer of 1993 continued. The First National Debate had ended. While the D.A.R. was not as well prepared, Samuel Bassong left the debate riding a wave of local success. The early questions saw the Samgolan Patriotic Party and the Samgolan Dawn hitting record lows during the first hour and a half and then sharply recoiled with poised answers and opinions, while Bassong and the Liberal Democrat candidate--who came out strong--both settled back onto their haunches. With the debates over, polling followed in the days after and came back with similar results.



Given the issues of the National Militias, the Presidential Committee of Samgola, in a vote of 11-9, decided to forego the traditional twelve week election cycle in favor of eight weeks instead, the election immediately following the Second National Debate. This drew the ire from some political pundits who felt that the media was attempting to perhaps sway votes in the arena of the Democratic Alliance for Reform, who had started the election out strong but had had their lead cut into considerably by the Liberal Democrats and Samgola Dawn.

The week in Pabba served as a great time to come up with new funds, the state seemed rich and ripe with supported and the SD would need them if they were to continue campaigning. Zan and his supporters hosted a huge rally complete with police involvement for protection and local endorsements. Half the week was spent just attempting to get fund before Zan and his group were on the move, this time to Ikorin.



“I would like to thank the mayor and the party member Ade Odaia, who is running in one of your campaigns for introducing me. For those that don’t know. I am a former colonel within the Samgolan military and was a military attache to the late President. While before I have not openly stated increasing authority and numbers within the army, I had assumed based on my background it would be obvious. As every veteran will tell you once a solider, always a soldier. Which is why today, I commit to you and the nation if I am elected and my party has the power, we will work to make sure our military is the strongest and most advanced. For too long have we been held in the past and I’ve seen first hand what modern warfare looks like and would not dare to see it again. But if there comes a time, we must be prepared, from whomever decides to go to war.” Zan continued on about his experiences in the civil war and what he hard learned from military experience prior hoping he’d still maintain military support from his older days of veterancy.

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Early voting occurred in the Samgolan capital on July 5th, with the vote split down the middle between the Democratic Alliance for Reform and the Liberal Democrats, both taking 7 Seats in the National Assembly. Behind them, the Samgolan Dawn party claimed 5 Seats mostly thanks to an outpouring of retired and military voters in the city itself. The latecomers, the Samgolan Patriotic Party brought in two seats to the National Assembly, making it the first time in Samgolan history that more than three political parties were present in the legislature. Voter turnout was incredibly low at only 59% of all eligible voters showing up to the ballot box, another factor that considerably helped the Samgolan Dawn party, whose base turned out at nearly 81%.


Early Polls simultaneously in Nambé, in neighboring Fessam State arrived on July 7th. Mostly rural, the territory had not been largely visited and it's Christian demographic slid evenly between the Samgola Dawn and the Democratic Alliance for Reform.



Voting finished in Viye State and saw Samgola Dawn taking 2 seats, with both the Democratic Alliance for Reform and Liberal Democrats taking one, with L.D. only barely edging out support for their one nomination seat present with a vote of 13,541. The S.P.P., although amassing 400,000 votes, was spread throughout the state and was not enough to win a single seat.



On the same day, election results for the state of Kadiolesse also finished, with another strong finishing from the Samgola Dawn party, no doubt due to the fact that it was another bastion of conservative rural voters. The Samgola Patriotic Party nearly doubled it's seat count by adding two more seats to the National Assembly.



In Ayoullo, a minor metropolitan area, the Liberal Democrats jump ahead with major results, polling positively with nearly every demographic in the city.



Results for Laja State rolled in. Another mostly rural, Christian state divided by their desire for traditionalism and their religious devotions divided the line between the Democratic Alliance for Reform, Liberal Democrats and Samgola Dawn. The Samgolan Patriotic Party did not win enough votes to claim a seat.



The final count for Guirra came in and offered a slim victory for the Samgolan Dawn and Democratic Alliance for Reform party.



The entire province of Makumbe is tallied, with still a fairly even split between conservatives and liberals. A 6-6-4-3 split is tallied with the Democratic Alliance for Reform again splitting with the rural voters of Samgola Dawn.



Soussiam Province finishes voting with an 11-16-9-2 split. Due to it being a majority rural province, even with the metropolitan city of Bouram, voter turnout of liberal voters was less than 50%, even though support showed Democratic Alliance for Reform winning a slim majority there.



The final results for the city of Mutasa and it's surrounding region occur, offering a 3-2-7-0 split with the Liberal Democrats the only party who maintained any legitimate presence in the region.



While the Liberal Democrats did campaign there, a split vote of mostly urban Muslim voters eventually grabbed onto the fiery rhetoric of Samuel Bessong. Pollsters indicated that had unemployment been an issue here, the state could have easily flipped to Samgola Dawn.



The results for Modiali, a more rural area are revealed with Samgola Dawn taking a near complete majority.



Final results for three different States dropped, with a split coming across as 9-14-4-0, with the Samgolan Dawn rural, conservative and Muslim base finally showing it's colors.

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Current Seats

• Democratic Alliance for Reform: 56
• Samgola Dawn: 66
• Liberal Democrats: 52
• Samgolan Patriotic Party: 13

"If one thing has been made clear to me in these recent elections of an historic magnitude in our nation, it is that there currently stands no party to represent truly the people and labour of Samgola. What we have seen is the rise of the decadent remnants of the National Regime aswell as bureaucrats beholden to their own wallets and corporate interest groups. As it stands our nation is faced with grave peril, subject to either the iron-fisted rule of Rubusana's military strongmen who protect and justify the horrendous actions of the lawless bandits roaming our nation, or the profit driven interests of corporations in an equally lawless and unregulated free market. There stands no party to fight for and defend the Samgolan people as we enter a new century in our nation's politics.

It is my pleasure to announce that this injustice has been righted with the formation of the Labour Front. Our party, dedicated to the promotion and maintenance of the interests of the Samgolan people, will be putting forth candidates in the next election and in all provinces where polling is yet to conclude. As a party, the Labour Front will strive for the creation of a just and equal society, the creation of laws and legislation to protect the direct interests of the working man and women aswell as state investment and intervention in the nation's economy. It is upon these pledges and more on the road to a Samgolan utopia that the Labour Front will join the political arena and fight!

Tonight I urge all socialists, trade unionists, workers and every man or women who would place the wellbeing of the nation over politics and the personal profit of the few to vote for the Labour Front! Only in unity against the tyrant and the corporatists may the people of Samgola thrive!"