Triumvirate of the Mostly Harmless Alliance

Early Days
In the early days of the Mostly Harmless Alliance, the Alliance government consisted of two bodies: the Executive Overseers and the Senate.

The Executive
The Executive of the MHA was comprised of the Internal, Operations, and External Overseers. The initial positions were held by to Vinny P, JimmyK, and Rich respectively, as the founders of the Alliance. When a Founding Overseer retired they were able to appoint a successor. After all original office holders retired, the Overseer positions were filled by election.

The Senate
The Senate consisted of 5 Senators elected monthly by the Alliance Membership and served as a legislature making Alliance laws.

The Harmless Revolution
The Harmless Revolution, the pet project of long time MHA government member WCR, took effect in the final weeks of 2007 radically altered the structure of the MHA Government, and the Senate and Overseers were replaced with an all-powerful Triumvirate.

The Triumvirate
The Triumvirate is a 3-member Executive Council, elected by the people of the alliance. As the alliance's Head of State, the Triumvirate are responsible for legislating alliance policy, the ratification of all treaties, overseeing all internal departments, deployment of the alliance military, and management of all alliance affairs. The Triumvirs are the decision-making body and leaders of the Mostly Harmless Alliance.

Election history
Below is the election history and other Nominees for the Triumvirate elections

The First Triumvirate
After the adoption of the Harmless Revolution, the search was on for the first MHA Triumvirate. Only eight people were eligible for the three places. Eligibility was restricted to such members who had served in the MHA for a period of six months, and held a leadership position for three months.

The Eight people who were Eligible for office were: Johnson, Denzin, WCR, Madoverseer, Genzod, Doc Taco, ArianGD, and Craftj2.

Of those individuals only Denzin, WCR and Madoverseer expressed their interest, and as a result the "First Triumvirate" were acclaimed to office without an Election in December 07

The Second Triumvirate
At the end of February, mominations were taken for the first MHA Triumviral election. As several individuals gained eligibility in the preceding three months, new potential candidates emerged. Seven people put their names forward: Denzin, Destroyer, WCR, Scrumptusbrisket, Anagent, Silok and Johnson. Madoverseer deciding not to seek a second term.

The polls opened on Febuary 28th. The Results were:
 * Working Class Ruler [68 Votes]
 * Denzin [65 Votes]
 * Johnson [55 Votes]
 * An Agent [29 votes]
 * Silok [21 Votes]
 * Scrumptusbrisket [15 Votes]
 * Destroyer [7 votes]

Both WCR and Denzin retained there seats as Triumvirs, while Johnson filled the seat vacated by Madoverseer.

The Third Triumvirate
At the end of May, nominations were taken for the Third Triumvirate. The Nominees where: WCR, Johnson, Denzin, Iron Will And Dpops

The Results were:
 * Working Class Ruler [77 votes]
 * Johnson [72 Votes]
 * Denzin [71 Votes]
 * IronWill [46 votes]
 * Dpops [39 votes]

All incumbents retained their seats.

The Fourth Triumvirate
Riding on the heels of the MHA's war with Genesis, the Alliance entered into its fourth triumviral election cycle with great anticipation and hype. The nominees were Rustynail, WCR, Denzin and Johnson. The campaign, which focused on activity and reform, was set off in style by a thread made by Raholia (now of Argent). The election was a charged event, with the supporters of Rustynail being particularly vocal, and saw the largest turnout for a triumviral election to date. The results were:


 * Working Class Ruler [138 Votes]
 * Johnson [122 Votes]
 * Denzin [118 Votes]
 * Rustynail [81 votes]

WCR, Johnson and Denzin retained their positions maintaining the unbroken MHA tradition of re-electing incumbents. Shorty after the election a number of MHA members, including the defeated Rustynail decided to leave the MHA and would go on to form their own alliance, Argent.

Johnson steps down; Count Rupert rises
Shorty after the election of the Fourth Triumvirate, Johnson, under pressure from outside cybernations, felt unable to maintain the workload and activity required by his office and consequently decided to step down pending his replacement as per the Harmless Revolution. As per the Harmless revolution a Replacement need to be brought in from the Ministry. Only three Ministers were eligible: Count Rupert, Shamshir and John Rocker. The Ministers and remaining Triumvirs elected Count Rupert as Johnson's replacement.

Changes to Triumvirate Voting
Following the Argent spit and the unique series of events which lead to the MHA having two unelected triumvirs, it was decided that changes were needed. Opting to start small, a plan for staggered elections were enacted in October 08. One Triumvir Seat would be opened for election each month.

The Third Seat Election November 08
The first election to be held was for the seat vacated by the long serving and popular Denzin, who was sadly forced to retire due to outside cybernation pressures on his time. The nominees for the Third Seat were Doc Taco and John Mathews. The results were


 * Doc Taco [90 Votes]
 * John Mathews [36 Votes]

The Second Seat Election December 08
Count Rupert's seat opened for election at the end of November. Three candidates contested a fiery and intense election: Count Rupert, Tristram and John Mathews. Count Rupert retained his seat by a very narrow margin over the up-and-coming Deputy Minister of Towels. Results:
 * Count Rupert [49 Votes]
 * Tristram [43 Votes]
 * John Mathews [13 Votes] (*)

(*) John Mathews pulled out of the race on the second day of polling.

The First Seat election January 09
The January elections saw the MHA membership taken by surprise when the perpetually serving WCR announced, only hours before nominations were to open, that he would not be seeking another term. Three nominees put their names forward: Floyd, Thunderstruck and DrakeZ07 The Results were:
 * Floyd [60 votes]
 * Thunderstruck [9 Votes]
 * DrakeZ07 [5 Votes]

The Third Seat Election Febuary 09
The Febuary elections began with three people on the fore front for the election. John Mathews, Working Class Ruler and Thunderstruck. Unfortunately John Mathews was Deemed ineligible to run by the MHA court. allowing it to be a two man race between Working Class Ruler and Thunderstruck. The results were
 * Working Class Ruler [103 Votes]
 * Thunderstruck [50 Votes]

The Second Seat Election March 09
The March election once again had only two candidates aiming for the spot as MHA Triumvirate, Count Rupert decided not to return to the Triumvirate leaving it open for the election of a brand new Triumvir. It was contested between John Mathews and Shamshir. The results were: a lower poll turn out of 85 from the 153 in the last month.
 * Shamshir [51 Votes]
 * John Mathews [31 votes]
 * Abstain [3 Votes]

Shamshir resigns, Crushtania ascends
Shamshir abdicated his position as Triumvir after he felt he had to focus on his personal studies. After a vote amongst the remaining Triumvirate and Ministry as stipulated in the Harmless Revolution, Crushtania, former Minister of Babel Fish, was selected.

The First Seat Election April 09
The April election originally started out with 4 candidates. But after a withdrawal due to personal reasons, and another candidate deemed ineligible by the MHA court. The election was held with two candidates. After 2 and a half days of voting, Sorum -whom being in Mostly harmless alliance for only two months- was named the new Triumvir after Myth conceded. IYIyth resigned from Mostly Harmless Alliance after this loss.
 * IYIyth [33 votes]
 * Sorum [65 Votes]
 * Abstain [17 votes]

Third Seat Election May 09
The May election saw Working Class Ruler's seat on the stand.
 * Working Class Ruler[58 Votes]
 * John Mathews[23 Votes]

John Mathews left MHA shortly after the Election due to Personal Reasons. Working Class Ruler continues his Winning streak.

Second Seat Election June 09
Coming in from left field saw CelenAzrael apply for an exemption to run for Triumvir which was granted. Myth also stepped up to run before Crushtania's announcement to defend his seat.


 * CelenAzrael [21 Votes]
 * Crushtania [48 Votes]
 * IYIyth [22 Votes]
 * Abstain [6 Votes]

Although campaigning was fierce, it was not without controversy. Sorum and WCR of the current Triumvirate openly endorsed Crushtania, drawing ire from his opponents, questioning the legitimacy of incumbents essentially endorsing themselves. Nevertheless, former Triumvir and current Government Advisor Doc Taco endorsed IYIyth.

First Seat Election July 09
Sorum chose not to seek re-election, throwing the field open to a number of candidates. Prospective candidate IYIyth had his account deleted on CN before the election could be held, and thus could not stand.


 * Celen Azrael [ 20 Votes ]
 * Kowalski [ 61 Votes ]
 * Shamshir [ 69 Votes ]

A total of 150 votes were cast in the close contest which saw Shamshir return to the Triumvirate. Kowalski left the alliance shortly after the election.

Shamshir steps down, Pourquoi steps up
Shamshir was replaced a month into his time in office after rl issues forced his abscence. In line with the MHA Charter an election was held amongst the Ministry and Triumvirate which saw Minister of Hitchhikers, Pourquoi, elected as Acting Triumvir to see out the rest of Shamshir's term in office.

Third Seat Election August 09
WCR chose to step down, and ScutterBug stepped up. No one else nominated against ScutterBug so he moved into office.

Second Seat Election September 09
Incumbent Crushtania sought re-election in September and soon competition emerged once again from Celen Azrael who was making his third bid for a Triumvir position. King CJC, Minister of Babel Fish, also put his hat into the ring for the first time.


 * Celen Azrael [ 25 Votes ]
 * Crushtania  [ 55 Votes ]
 * King CJC    [ 14 Votes ]

With a total of 94 votes the election proved to be a fairly comfortable second election victory for Crushtania who carried 59% of the vote.

First Seat Election October 09
Both Celen Arael and King CJC decided to run for election again, facing Pourquoi who'd held the post in an Acting capacity for two months. The election took place amongst nominations and campaigning for the Speaker and Legislator positions in the new MHA Assembly.


 * Celen Azrael [ 16 Votes ]
 * King CJC    [ 31 Votes ]
 * Pourquoi    [ 48 Votes ]

95 votes were cast in the election, which proved to be slightly closer than some had expected, with King CJC increasing his vote significantly from his previous attempt. Nonetheless Pourquoi maintained his Triumvir position with 51% of the vote in his first election.

Third Seat Election November 09
Scutterbug announced he would not be seeking re-election immediately due to real life commitments. Jadoo1989 announced his candidacy long before the nominations opened, hoping to run against Scutterbug. After Scutterbug announced he wasn't running it appeared to be a clear shot for Jadoo1989, then yankeefan2 nominated himself. The race for Triumvir was thus on and hot debate ensued. At the end, the elections ended as followed:


 * Jadoo1989  [ 68 Votes ]


 * yankeefan2 [ 18 Votes ]

101 votes were cast in the election, which proved to be a landslide for Jadoo1989, taking 67% of the votes. Jadoo1989 thus became the next Triumvir.
 * Abstain [ 15 Votes ]

Second Seat Election December 09
With Crushtania not contesting his seat, the doors were flung open for nomination from a hitherto unknown challenger. With nominations coming from Scutterbug, FearUnited, Diablofan, and Draden Valerianovich; campaigns were heated and withdrawals were frequent. By the end, only Diablofan and Draden Valerianovich were left to battle it out, and battle it out they did. Before long the election came, and it went like this:


 * Draden Valerianovich [ 53 Votes ]


 * Diablofan [ 34 Votes ]

only 87 votes were cast in this election, one of the lowest turn outs ever.

Confirmation of Pudge1975
Pudge1975 many times announced his candidacy for Triumvir on IRC for the January 2010 Triumvir elections. Then, just weeks before the elections were to take place; Pourquoi stepped down as Triumvir to retake his old post as Minister of Hitchhikers. Thus, a replacement had to be selected from the Ministry by the remaining Triumvirs and Ministers, Pudge1975 was selected. Then, because of the new charter, Pudge1975 had to face a confirmation vote to fill the position. With 93% of the votes for the confirmation of Pudge1975, he was confirmed Triumvir of the Mostly Harmless Alliance on December 13, 2009.

Confirmation Vote:


 * Yes, I confirm Pudge1975 as our replacement Triumvir [ 104 Votes ]
 * No, I do not confirm Pudge1975 as our replacement Triumvir [ 3 Votes ]
 * Abstain [ 5 Votes ]

First Seat Election January 10
Pudge1975, Tyler Mattinglyb, and Diablofan all nominated this time around, thoughh Tyler Mattinglyb withdrew his nomination to take up a commodore spot in the Ministry of Destructor Fleets. That ended up leaving the election as Diablofan vs Pudge1975. Though there was some debating and campaigning, there wasn't as much as normal this election. When all the votes were tallied it looked like this:


 * Diablofan [ 32 Votes ]
 * Pudge1975 [ 61 Votes ]
 * Abstain [ 3 Votes ]

Third Seat Election Febuary 10
Jadoo1989 squared off against Tyler Mattinlyb during the Febuary 2010 elections. The election was almost decided before it even ended, with the only opposition to Jadoo1989 citing that he just had to give him competition. When all the votes were in and counted, it looked like this:


 * Jadoo1989 [ 69 Votes ]
 * Tyler Mattinglyb [ 13 Votes ]

In all, 82 votes were cast.

Second Seat Election March 10
Majorddf nominated himself almost as soon as nominations began, and Scutterbug quickly followed suit. This election would be like no other, it would squash precedents that had stood for nearly two years, and it would see one of the highest voter turnouts that had occurred in a long time. The race was also extremely close, with only five votes separating the two candidates the election ended up setting the record for the closest Triumvirate election in Mostly Harmless Alliance History. Even more impressive, never before had an incumbent or returning Triumvir ever lost an election.


 * Majorddf   [ 53 Votes ]
 * Scutterbug [ 48 Votes ]
 * [ 8 Votes ]

In all, 109 votes were cast.

First Seat Election April 10
A traditional three man race was seen in the April 2010 Triumvirate Elections when incumbent Pudge1975 faced off against Niu Garzukk, the Minister of Hitchhikers, and AndyDe, a prominent member of the alliance. The April 2010 Elections also saw campaigning and excitement levels grow well beyond levels that had been seen in months. In the end the votes were tallied and they look like this:


 * AndyDe      [ 15 Votes ]
 * Niu Garzukk [ 12 Votes ]
 * pudge1975   [ 67 Votes ]
 * [ 2 Votes]

In all 96 votes were cast during the April 2010 elections.

Third Seat Election May 10
Jadoo1989 started off by informing the alliance that he would not be running for re-election. This caused Dynasty, Scutterbug and Yankeefan2 to all nominate themselves within 24h of nominations opening. After a week of strong campaigning by all three candidates the final votes looked like this:


 * Dynasty      [ 53 Votes ]
 * Scutterbug   [ 33 Votes ]
 * Yankeefan2   [ 24 Votes ]

In all 110 votes were cast during the May 2010 elections.

Second Seat Election June 10
Only two candidates nominated for this round of elections. Incumbent MajorDDf and challenger Bojangles who finally got his chance to run after having applications for exemptions to the requirements denied for the previous two rounds. The campaigning this round was less intense then before. The results were:


 * Bojangles        [ 13 votes ]
 * Majorddf         [ 71 votes ]
 * [ 4 votes]

In all 88 votes were cast in the June 2010 elections.

First Seat Election July 10
Three candidates nominated for the July election after incumbent Pudge1975 announced his intention to not stand for reelection. A day into the campaign period Bojangles withdrew his nomination citing a wish to gain more experience especially in the area of Foreign Affairs. This left two candidates Cable77 and Yankeefan2. After voting the results were:


 * Cable77           [  80 votes ]
 * Yankeefan2        [  24 votes ]
 * [ 2 votes]

A total of 106 votes were cast in the July 2010 elections.

Third Seat Election August 10
Two candidates nominated for the August 2010 election, Dynasty and IYIyth. However, IYIyth's exemption was denied by the court, citing that he did not even meet the requirements to get an exemption. Thus, that left Dynasty to run unopposed, and subsequently, face a confirmation vote that elected him to his second term as triumvir. His confirmation vote's results are as followed:


 * Yes    [ 79 votes ]
 * No     [ 8 votes ]
 * Abstain [ 0 votes ]

In all, 87 votes were cast in the August 2010 election's confirmation vote

Second Seat Election September 10
Two candidates nominated for the August 2010 election, Jadoo1989 and Draden Valerianovich, after the incumbent Triumvir Majorddf didn't run for re-election.


 * Jadoo1989         [ 64 votes ]
 * Draden Valerianovich        [ 31 votes ]
 * [ 1 votes]

A total of 96 votes were cast in the September 2010 elections.

Trivia

 * The largest margin of victory occurred in February 2010 when Jadoo1989 won by 56 votes. This record was tied by Cable77 in June 2010. The next largest margin of victory occurred in November 2008 when Doc Taco won by 54 votes, though all three of these were after the implementation of the one seat rotating elections.
 * The narrowest margin of victory was in the March 2010 election where Majorddf edged out Scutterbug by only 5 votes, beating the previous margin of 6 votes when Count Rupert edged out Tristam in the December 2008 elections.
 * WCR was the longest consecutively serving Triumvir, having held the office for a total of 13 months continuously, and remains the longest ever serving Triumvir with 19 months total.
 * Count Rupert, Crushtania and Sorum have all served in similar Triumvir positions previous to their joining MHA, interestingly enough in the same alliance - The Aquatic Brotherhood.
 * WCR has competed in the most Elections, with Seven, and he was never defeated in an election.
 * Scutterbug is the only previous Triumvir to have been defeated when running a second time. This is including when there was a break between elected nominations (IE: Working Class Ruler, Shamshir, and Scutterbug).
 * Everyone who has won a Triumvir election was at one point or another a Minister or a Senator before the election.
 * The Triumvirate Award, the highest award in all of MHA, has only been awarded to four people, all of them are former Triumvirs.