[CHANCERY] August 2026 Elections in Belacostă

[Sir Lüc]

Azul, this is a quick thread to inform you there will be three provincial races specific to Belacostă in the August-September 2026 General Elections.

Senate Election

Belacostă will elect a Senator for a full term of approx. 27 months (three Cosăs). The election will be run by the Chancery. Anyone interested in running should register on the official registration thread by the end of August 13th.

Provincial Council Election + Assembly seat claim

Belacostă will also elect its three-member executive (Provincial Council). This election will, by default, be run by the Chancery unless the province requests otherwise by August 13th. The province should also supply relevant electoral law to the Chancery by that date, as well as anything else that should be printed on the ballot, otherwise the Chancery will interpret provincial law by itself as best it can.

This province also allows its citizens to claim a seat in its provincial assembly. For the last two elections, the Chancery has allowed people to lodge a seat claim right on the electoral ballot, as a matter of facilitating democracy, with provinces then left free to respect or ignore the claims lodged that way. Unless the province requests otherwise by August 13th, the Chancery will again include the seat claim on the ballot in the upcoming election.

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

I thank the Secretary of State for his notification.

In terms of relevant election law, the Belacostan Constitution permits citizens to submit ballots of fewer than three candidates; undervoting does not spoil one's ballot.

While most of provincial election statute would appear to be more relevant to the compilation and announcement of the results -- a task traditionally performed by a Provincial Consul -- I believe BUS.E.3 may provide a small adjustment to the ballot compared to those issued by the Chancery in previous elections:

3. Citizens who claim a seat in the Provincial Assembly for the term may do so via any option made available for such purpose on a General Election Ballot as issued by the national Chancery; however, it is the request of the Assembly that such option note that citizens will need to be active on Wittenberg in order to make use of their seat.

Otherwise, in my view the Chancery has done a fantastic job facilitating this Province's elections in the past, and so no other alterations to the process are necessary. For my part, I formally request the Chancery continue to administer Belacostan elections. I invite my fellow Consuls @Sir Lüc and @Iason Taiwos to provide their perspectives.