Telamonese Social Democratic Party

The Telamonese Social Democratic Party (TSDP), commonly known simply as the Social Democrats, is a center-left political party in Telamon. The party is one of the country's major political forces, and is led by its founder Matthew Carter.

Following their founding in 3776 the Social Democrats joined the Socialist International in 3780. The party traces its origins to the General Confederation of Labor, at the time a radical labor union center. Founded as the Socialist Party of Telamon they gradually moderated their initially anti-capitalist policies and transformed into a center-left reformist group.

Early history
The Socialist Party of Telamon was founded in January 3776 by Matthew Carter and delegates from the then-radical leftist General Confederation of Labor, the country's largest labor union. Following the 3777 general election, the socialists rebranded themselves as the Telamonese Social Democratic Party, with the abbreviation TSDP.

While the Social Democrats initially struggled to extend their demographic base of support, they rapidly grew in the late 3770s and into the 3780s to become one of the major parties in the country, initially alongside the center-right Rightful Radical Party.

Support base
With roots in the socialist labor movement, the Social Democrats have traditionally had its stronghold in the working-class demographic groups. The industrialized areas of Telamon have historically been highly centralized in its major cities; as a result, the TSDP has usually governed these regions.

Young voters and women have also traditionally favored the Social Democratic Party over their conservative rivals. While the Social Democrats originally denounced religion altogether, they later adopted certain policies of the religious left.

The Social Democrats virtually always receive a vastly larger level of support from ethnic minority voters, than from the general population. For unknown reasons, the TSDP has fared bettern in elections in the single-member districts for the National Council, than in the proportional vote.

Electoral results
Telamon has employed a mixed-member-proportional system since 3767, currently with 40 members from single-member districts elected with the first-past-the-post system, and 35 elected from national lists with proportional representation. Since district seats are taken into consideration when allocating list seats, the overal seat distribution is generally proportional to the parties' vote shares.

Party leaders

 * Matthew Carter (3776 – present)