Ár Ré leadership election, 4231

A leadership election for Ár Ré was held from July to December of 4231 to elect a successor to outgoing leader Cherry O'Malley. A total of 101,535 ballots were cast in the election. Angus Pollux, the Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, won against Jennifer Bowens, the Spokesperson for Environment and Tourism.

Background
In the first round of the July 4231 presidential elections, Cherry O'Malley dropped from first to third position, therefore ending her four-term tenure as President, the longest in Ar Re to date. Her party lost 61 seats in the election. She resigned soon after, but remained the party's presidential candidate in the 4235 election, which she won. As a result, a leadership election was triggered to take place between July and December of 4231.

Procedure
The last constitutional review was held in 4225, but no changes have been made. Up to only six candidates can participate in the leadership election. Candidates need not be holding public office, but have to be a member of Ar Re for at least three years, and must receive at least one "endorsement". This endorsement could come from either a sitting Ar Re member of the General Assembly, from the Regional Assemblies, by the incumbent Leader of Ar Re (if he/she is not a sitting member), or from a former President of Kirlawa who represented Ar Re. If more than six candidates apply, the six candidates with the highest number of endorsements will be selected to participate in the election.

Candidates
Both Angus Pollux and Jennifer Bowens announced their candidacy on July 9. Each received roughly the same number of endorsements, all coming from sitting members of the General Assembly.

Michael Arthur-Doyle, the Spokesperson for Internal Affairs and a serious contender for the election, declined to run.

Campaign
Campaigning took place from August to November.