Today at 11:38 AM EST, Multiman155 was elected as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. His election was uncontested, with every participating representative casting their vote for him. The results were announced to the public almost exactly six hours later, after which the new Speaker said in a press release that he was “humble and honored to have been elected” and that he believed the new House “can work together to make pragmatic, productive change”.
Rep. Smami (WPR) revealed to the Reveille Times that she intended to run for the Speaker position, but ultimately decided not to put her name forward after learning that Multiman had already secured the votes necessary, with the RBP, TFC, and GER pledging their vote. Seeing that it was unlikely that she would be able to sway any of Multiman’s supporters to her side, Smami opted not to run, and instead intends to place her bid for the Deputy Speakership. Rep. Smami is a member of the WPR’s Central Committee, and recently was ranked with the highest approval in the House during the last State of the Commonwealth.
Speaker Multiman155 has already put the intended standing up to vote in the House, and is likely to begin attempting to implement his legislative platform shortly thereafter. Multiman was elected on an extensive list of campaign promises that he called the “FAMILY platform”, including legally recognised autonomy for towns, increased funding for high-revenue Departments, and backing small businesses over large monopolies. While his platform is extensive, the first-time Representative has a lot of work to do in order to fill his promises. While he has no prior experience in Congress, Multiman boasts an extensive legal career and experience in local politics within Oakridge. Voicing his personal support, Rep. Anthony_Org (TFC) publicly commented that “Multiman was the clear answer for the speaker”, with others congratulating him on his election, including President Juniperfig. When asked by the Reveille Times who he would be supporting for the Deputy Speaker position, Multiman did not respond.
The election of Multiman to the Speakership in record time – less than 12 hours in total – and with total unanimity suggests that the 33rd House of Representatives is likely positioned to be able to reach consensus quickly, in contrast to the relative polarisation of the 32nd Congress. This may be related to the staggeringly diverse partisan makeup of the new House, with a total of six parties holding seats, and the largest party, the WPR, holding only 3 out of the 11 seats available.
The Senate is still undergoing elections for its own presiding officers, which are likely to conclude within the next 24 hours, given historical timeframes. Likely candidates include last term’s Senate President Pepecuu (IND), or potentially Sen. Bezzergeezer (RBP), whose party holds a third of the seats in the Senate, though the current candidates are not known.
