Ár Ré presidential primary, 4346

Ár Ré held a presidential primary in 4346. The primary was automatically triggered when the incumbent presidential candidate, Gordon McGuinness, withdrew his candidacy for the Presidency. The election was contested between Tanaka Tsukoda, the party's Deputy Leader, and Lawrence Saint-Germain, a backbencher. Tsukoda won the election outright and became the party's next presidential candidate. 57,550 votes were cast in the election.

Background
In the July 4343 elections, Ar Re fell from its high of 290 seats down to 199 seats in the General Assembly, a net loss of 91. Whereas it was previously victorious in Dirlana, it now only came second - the party only had a plurality in its traditional powerhouse of Nuchtmark. Despite the poor results relative to the last election, it was still overall one of the party's stronger results, and most party members were satisfied.

Píoráidí, the fourth largest party represented in the General Assembly after those elections, proposed a new Cabinet which included them. Ar Re will still hold the post of Prime Minister, along with the Ministry of Health and Social Services and Ministry of Science and Technology. With the new Cabinet formed, Thompson resigned as Leader of the party, triggering a new leadership election which saw Gordon McGuinness win and resign his subsequent candidacy for the presidency.

Procedure
The last revision for the presidential primary was in 4300 and no significant changes have been made then.

Those seeking to join the presidential primary must be members of Ár Ré, and pay a fixed deposit. Signatories for their candidacy are optional. In the event that more than six candidates participate in the primary, all but six candidates in the first round will be eliminated.