Surprise Party

The Surprise Party, or SP, is a major party in the Darnussia, which governed Darnussia from the mid 2640s nearly continuously into the early 2700s.

History
The party was formed at the Imperial University of Ghacrow (now known as Ghacrow University) in the wake of the nuclear civil war that rocked the nation, and the subsequent revolutionary government that emerged, overthowing the last shreds of the nation's monarchy and replacing it with a Communist system. The group, first called "Right to Party," organized in protest against both the monarchists and the communists, who dominated the government of the day. After extensive organization, and having several of their proposals actually heard before the revolutionary government, introduced by moderates of both factions, the Right to Party scored a shocking 9% of the legislature in its first election, in 2644, and its Presidential candidate, Franz Fernidad, garnered 12% of the national vote. Reporters dubbed the new self-mocking party the "Surprise Party," a name which stuck to the current day. By 2646, the Surprise Party had won the Presidency of Darnussia for the first time, and was considered a mainstream major party. 42.7%

Election history

 * 2644
 * Legislative: 25 of 301 seats in the People's Assembly (4th Place, 9% of the legislature)
 * Member of the Opposition
 * Executive: Presidential candidate Franz Fernidad - Defeated: 13.06% of the vote (3rd Place)
 * 2646
 * Legislative: 67 of 301 seats in the People's Assembly (3rd Place, 22% of the legislature)
 * Member of the Opposition
 * Executive: Presidential candidate Franz Fernidad - Elected outright:  53.23% of the vote
 * 2652
 * Legislative: 83 of 301 seats in the People's Assembly (1st place, 27.5% of the legislature)
 * Coalition: Surprise Party and Peoples Choice Union (PCU) formed a two-party coalition in opposition to the President, Pork Russo of the Oink Oink Party.
 * Executive: Presidential candidate Franz Fernidad - Defeated: 28.37% of the vote (3rd Place)
 * 2657
 * Legislative: 190 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 31.7% of the legislature)
 * Coalition: SP-PCU coalition reshuffled, with PCU given the Chairmanship under a negotiated partnership.
 * Executive: Presidential candidate Ann Arboreal - Elected in round two:  32.3% in Round 1 (2nd place), 51.6% in round two.
 * 2662
 * Legislative: 115 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (4th place, 19.2% of the legislature)
 * Member of the Opposition
 * Executive: President Ann Arboreal - Defeated: 19.45% of the vote
 * 2668
 * Legislative: 310 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 51.75% of the legislature)
 * Outright Majority - Controlled entire government
 * Executive: Presidential candidate David Dogwood - Elected outright:  52.0% of the vote.
 * 2673
 * Legislative: 299 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 49.92% of the legislature)
 * Coalition: PCU-SP coalition formed, due to SP being one vote shy of majority.  PCU chaired coalition in power-sharing deal.
 * Executive: President David Dogwood - Re-elected in second round:  48.8% in round 1, 50.86% in runoff.
 * 2679
 * Legislative: 223 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 37.2% of the legislature)
 * Coalition: SP-PCU coalition, with the SP taking the chairmanship, under the SP-PCU joint government agreement dating back to the 2650s.
 * Executive: Presidential candidate Bob Birch - Defeated in second round:  43.5% in round 1 (1st place), 48.3% in runoff.
 * 2684
 * Legislative: 253 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 42.2% of the legislature)
 * Coalition: PCU-SP coalition reaffirmed, PCU chairing.
 * Executive: Presidential candidate Bob Birch - Elected in second round:  41.35% in round 1 (1st place), 55.5% in runoff.
 * 2690
 * Legislative: 256 of 599 seats in House of Delegates (1st place, 42.7% of the legislature)
 * Coalition: PCU-SP coalition reaffirmed, PCU chairing.
 * Executive: President Bob Birch - Re-elected in second round:  43.1% in round 1 (1st place), 56.8% in runoff.
 * 2695
 * Legislative: 281 of 599 seats in House of Delegates (1st place, 46.9% of the legislature)
 * Coalition with PCU until 2698, Opposition thereafter, when PCU swung to the pan-left government.
 * Executive: President Bob Birch - Re-elected to a third term in second round:  47.7% in round 1 (1st place), 54.1% in runoff.
 * 2700
 * Legislative: 218 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 36.4% of the legislature)
 * Member of the Opposition
 * Executive: President Bob Birch - Re-elected to a fourth term in second round:  36.9% in round 1 (2nd place), 52.9% in runoff.
 * 2705
 * Legislative: 217 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 36.2% of the legislature)
 * Member of the Opposition, officially. In practice, there was no governing coalition.
 * Executive: President Bob Birch - Defeated in his bid for a fifth consecutive term:  35.8% in round 1 (1st place), 44.5% in runoff.
 * 2707
 * Legislative: 312 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 52.1% of the legislature)
 * Outright Majority - Controlled entire government
 * Executive: Former President Bob Birch - Re-elected outright:  52.6% of the vote
 * 2712
 * Legislative: 340 of 599 seats in the House of Delegates (1st place, 56.8% of the legislature)
 * Outright Majority - Controlled entire government
 * Executive: Former President Bob Birch - Re-elected outright:  57.1% of the vote

Party Chairman History
Traditionally, the party has been chaired by the Presidential candidate, win or lose. Often, after a loss, a new candidate would take over the party, and chair the party whether they won or lost the Presidency, until replaced. In 2697, President Birch decided it was time to delegate the duty of running the party to someone else, and handed the reigns to Prime Minister (then Opposition Leader) Robert Redwood. In 2716, after President Birch announced he would not seek a seventh term as President, Danielle Dogwood (daughter of former President David Dogwood) sought and won the Chairmanship of the party, and the position as its Presidential candidate in 2717.


 * 2638 to 2655: Franz Fernidad
 * 2655 to 2666: Ann Arboreal
 * 2666 to 2675: David Dogwood
 * 2675 to 2697: Bob Birch
 * 2697 to 2716: Robert Redwood
 * 2716 to pres: Danielle Dogwood