Gallente Presidential elections have begun!

Current President of the Gallente Federation, Jacus Roden

Early voters in the Gallente Federation can begin casting their votes for their favorite presidential candidate now! As announced in an earlier report, the voting would normally occur on 29 January, and it remains the offical voting day.
The reason to open this advance voting stage is less poetic however. In light of recent events, like Caroline's Star & the rising threat of Seekers, it was believed to be in the best interest of the democratic process to allow voters to vote early, in case new developments regarding wormholes & Seekers would make things difficult on the 29th of January, the actual voting day.

On top of it, these recent events also lead to a near-blackout on government communications, making campaigning hard for candidates. However, make no mistake, the core points of each candidate's campaign will be hotly debated once again, as is usual in Gallente politics!

The list of candidates is as follows:

-Current President Jacus Roden:
Aiming for a second term after his successful first term, where his biggest achievement was the removal of the State Titan Threat to Gallente Prime during the Battle for Caldari Prime.
In his speech, held at the Highlander monument in Arcurio, Caldari prime, he reminded people that the Gallente federation was still in a state of war with the Caldari State through the Capsuleer Militia conflict. He also put emphasis on the economic growth of the Federation under his presidency, displaying that his policy of improved security & enhanced military is not harming the Federation economy.

-Governor Celes Aguard: 
Rising up for presidency once again after she got cut short in the previous voting due to the controversial 'No Vote!' - bill (now discarded). Before this bill passed, she was actually one of the fore-runners in the elections!
Her focus in infrastructure development during her term as Governor for the Essence region made her popular. Jacus Roden will have a tough challenger with her in the elections!
However, due to unknown circumstances, she was unable to hold a major public speech or rally, which will surely hurt her chances for elections, as Gallente love their electoral propaganda!

-Retired military officer Eliaron Idama:
Idama's Election day rally for his supporters turned into drama when a bomb exploded. In total 3 people were killed and 12 injured. Among the wounded is Eliaron Idama's wife, Onara Shiikeru who is in critical condition.
While it isn't the first time Idama has been targeted due to his strong stance & actions against criminal organisations, it's the first time that bystanders have been injured through this.
His notable campaign point was centered around his outspoken stance against organized crime, like the Serpentis & their enforcers, the Aenebra Death Cult. Due to this, investigators suspect the culprit of the bombing originates from them.


-Digital Artist Kelen Ontbad:
In a recent holorally event, people got the chance to find out more about this artist. The main appeal to people is his ability to speak openly about various political issues & events, sometimes even taking a controversial stance!
However, his main point in running the campaign seems to be to improve the integration of the Minmatar within the Federation, a sore point that emerged after a few painful incidents over the years like the Elokur Trial.
Due to this, he can count on much support from the Minmatar population, immigrants & integrated alike. However, the one-sidedness of his campaign could also turn against him, as people like candidates who offer possible solutions to various problems, internal & external.

-Actress Serena Nova:
The campaign of the actress suffered a blow when documents emerged that she might have undergone a voice modification surgery under alias.
While most of her supporters proclaim to be loyal to her, blaming it to be an attempt by another candidate to discredit her, the more financial backers of Serena Nova's campaign have backed out in light of this revelation, claiming they do not want to support an environment where artists feel forced to undergo surgery to keep within expectations of the people.
So short for the elections, this could provide a major blow to her candidacy, as many voters could be turned away by this revelation.

-Former Major of Arcurio & Caldari Prime resistance fighter Shaileen Ramnev:
While not much info exists about her as well, she might prove to be a tough challenger to beat, especially with the whole Gallente-Caldari militia wars ongoing.
The recent speech she gave goes give a good idea whom she represents & what she hopes to achieve: 'Status of Caldari Prime in election spotlight as Shaileen Ramnev speaks'
Thanks to this speech we now know she strives for peace between the State & Federation, perticulary because she first hand witnessed the horrors brought by war on her home Caldari Prime
Her background as member of the Joint Resistance Movement does show she truly cares about the people, putting them above the interests of the nations. On top of this, no candidate will likely be able to challenge her on her Caldari Prime stance as her personal experiences there as resistance member will give her a powerful tool in debates. Moreso, Gallente love heroes! Especially those who fight for the people!
She looks like the outsider to watch out for during these presidential elections!

This is the current list of candidates. So far it seems 3 out of 6 candidates have a serious chance in claiming the next presidential term, Jacus Roden & Celes Aguard have the most advantage, having a solid supporter-base due to previous elections. However, Shaileen Ramney is the outsider that can shake things up due to her background! People love heroes!
You can find most of the info in the offical Scope announcement: 'Gallente Presidential elections enter advance voting stage'

The result of the voting can be found here: 'Gallente President Jacus Roden is elected for a second term'