Dundorf

[TheNick]

Gertrude Von Koepf Secures Narrow Victory in the Presidential Election
May 5725

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President-elect Gertrude von Koepf seen here during the campaign, at a Dunburg event.

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Dunburg - Dundorfian voters returned to the polls to elect the new Federal President, ten years after the first election of President Werner (DSDP), which means he is now term-limited and won't be able to run again. To succeed him, his own party decided to launch the candidacy of Dunburg Mayor Gertrude von Koepf, a personal friend of Chancellor Reinhardt, and a local career politician within the DSDP. Back then, President Werner immediately endorsed Von Koepf and volunteered to campaign alongside her, giving her campaign a huge boost. Another boost was received by Mrs. Von Koepf when the Green Party decided to endorse her candidacy and run a joint red-green ticket.

Of course, in February, shirtly after Mrs. Von Koepf's campaign launch, other candidacies followed suit, like TLD's Karl-Hermann Bodenschatz, a veteran Liberal-Democratic member of the Bundestag, with a long history in Dunburg. His candidacy was shared by the NDZP, legitimating Mr. Bodenschatz as a center-right choice for Federal President. The Conservative Federal Party (KBP) decided not to join a unity center-right ticket, and instead went with a candidate of their own: rising right-wing star Bernard Glueck, who is only 32 and already one Bundestag term in the bank. And it can't be a Presidential election without the perennial Pirate candidate: Dr. Theodore Engel, who turns 80 in August, has promised that this will be his last election as the Pirate candidate.

Far to the left, Sandra Wittgenstein obtained the DRF Presidential nomination and presented herself as an alternative to Mrs. Von Koepf's DSDP, especially in these years of a DSDP-led government which left DRF in opposition.

In the first round, the top two candidates who advanced to the second round of voting were, with no surprise, Mrs. Von Koepf and Mr. Bodenschatz. Both candidates obtained close to 35% of the total votes cast, and were followed by Mrs. Wittgenstein, with some 13% of the votes, and Dr. Engel and Mr. Glueck, both between 8 and 9 percentage points. Shortly after the first round results were counted, Mrs. Wittgenstein endorsed Mrs. von Koepf and Mr. Glueck endorsed Mr. Bodenschatz; as usual, the Pirates declined to endorse a candidate and recommended their voters to choose freely.

In the second round of voting, Mrs. von Koepf won narrowly against her NDZP opponent, securing 51,7% of the votes, allowing her to becoming the newest tenant of Karlottenberg Schloss and succeeding Matthias Werner, who can now retire. This victory was seen as a confirmatory test of Renate Reinhardt's DSDP's strength after three terms in office, and commentators also noted the decent improvement of the KBP candidate, speculating that some younger leadership in Bernard Glueck can finally resuscitate the party after decades of political decay. President Werner has invited President-elect von Koepf to Karlottenberg Schloss for an official visit next week, marking the beginning of the transition period.

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5725 Dundorfian Presidential election:

1st round 
Turnout: 80.227.418 - 71,6%

Gertrude von Koepf (DSDP-GPP): 28.328.934 (35,3%)  - advances to second round
Karl-Hermann Bodenschatz (TLD-NDZP): 27.662.053 (34,5%) - advances to second round
Sandra Wittgenstein (DRF): 10.399.615 (13%)
Dr. Theodore Engel (PPD): 7.135.783 (8,9%)
Bernard Glueck (KBP): 6.701.033 (8,3%)

2nd round 
Turnout: 74.396.212 - 66,4%

Gertrude von Koepf (DSDP-GPP): 38.486.553 (51,7%)  - elected Federal President
Karl-Hermann Bodenschatz (TLD-NDZP): 35.910.658 (48,3%)