1938 Ryccian general election (Pacifica)

1938 Ryccian general election

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October 9th, 1938
All 1,370 seats to the Popular Assembly of the Republic 686 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	84.55% ( 9.54%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Thomas Sorginn Theodore Lasingen Marcus Esonia-Patriot Party DRF Communist Liberal Last election 690, 50.40% 116, 8.50% 31.20%, 427 Seats won 566 269 347 Seat change 124 153 80 Seats before 690 116 427 Popular vote VH VH VH Percentage 41.30% 19.60% 25.30% Swing 9.10% 11.10% 5.90%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Count of Kandberg Party New Revolutionaries Royalist Independents and Others Last election - 21, 1.50% 115, 8.40% Seats won 79 12 97 Seat change New 9 18 Seats before 0 21 115 Popular vote VH VH VH Percentage 5.80% 0.90% 7.10% Swing New 0.60% 1.30%
File:1938RycElection Results of the election.
Prime Minister before election Thomas Sorginn DRF Elected Prime Minister Thomas Sorginn DRF (in grand coalition with Liberal)

General elections for the Popular Assembly of the Republic were conducted on October 9th, 1938.

By this time, the DRF's popularity was decreasing as anti-establishment sentiment grew. The communists increased in popularity due to several laws introduced by an increasingly conservative DRF leadership that curtailed labor rights and privileges. A recession in 1937 did not bode well for the DRF's image either, and some far-right factions, angered by this and for other reasons, split from it, forming the New Revolutionaries party.

The DRF lost its absolute majority for the first time in the legislature. As a result, it was forced to negotiate with the Liberals to form a grand coalition, leading to the first coalition government in Ryccia's history. This coalition would prove to be fractious, as the DRF and the Liberals constantly fought one another behind the scenes and in public over major policy issues. As the Liberals had once been the more left-leaning factions of the DRF, the remaining membership of the latter was more fiscally and socially right-leaning than before, leading to inevitable tension between the two.

The 1938 election campaign was characterized by violence perpetrated by far-left and far-right political fringes. Although both the mainstream leadership of the communists and the NRs formally condemned such attacks, they couldn't keep their more radical members under control. Far-left terrorists attacked state institutions and the buildings of major private enterprises, whilst the far-right also attacked the former and engaged in several terrorist attacks against separatist and leftist politicians. The military and the security services had to provide extensive security for the electoral process to be conducted safely, and they were successful in their mission, as few incidents of violence were reported in polling stations. This, however, was only the beginning of the political turmoil that would lead to the 1943 coup d'etat.