OPINION: Which way should Potato's democracy go?
- Jonas Albert
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
This is an OPINION ARTICLE. This article does not represent the opinions of the rest of PMI.
At the time of writing, it has been 563 days since the last election in Potato Empire (6 October 2024). Technically, an election should have been held on 6 March 2025, introducing a new political system the UCP had proposed the previous election. However, fate had a different idea.
As it turns out, all you need to disable Potato democracy is gather a bunch of people who think the country is stagnant, invade on a random Monday, and watch as Potato (1) accuses its rivals of being co-conspirators of the invasion, and (2) fails to log on to the server to defend their own land from the hordes of factions they just angered.
As a result of this severe mismanagement, Potato was forced to halt their plans for the new reforms, grinding Potato's political system (and Potato itself, for that matter) to a halt. No new elections, no debates, no shifts of power. Potato has been effectively frozen, spare for some build projects and the introduction of a new currency, for the past year and a half.
It is about time Potato did something to get the wheels moving again. After all, a PMI poll done in March found that 75% of respondents wanted new elections. But which way does Potato go? Does it find a new system, or continue on the path it was originally heading?
Here are a few proposals, with some suggestions of how those systems could turn out for Potato, its parties, and its politics.
All scenarios below assume the popular vote in the election that takes place will be identical to the poll conducted by PMI between 31 March 2026 and 3 April 2026.
Option 1 - Potato stays on course
Let's start by considering what would happen if Potato sticks to its current political system. The four-seat democracy chugs along. NESPA never gets passed. Parties continue to compete for electorates using a ranked choice ballot.
In my opinion, moving in this direction would practically kill the UCP, and guarantee the Potato Democrats total control.
In October 2024, the party achieved a tie with the Potato Democrats, each winning three seats. Two of those seats, Bird Land and Thailand, had strong support for the UCP, who won those seats most elections. Those seats are now gone. The remaining seats don't appear likely to go to the UCP:
Wench and the Allied Seat are Democrat strongholds, and will likely send SpecShark back to the Council until the end of time.
Due to how Potato's political system works, Potato Central would likely be won by the Action Party (if the polls are anything to go by).
Assuming cYRK64 is still a member of PD, it is very possible Tajmir would vote red again.
Ultimately, the election would result in a victory for the Potato Democrats. Assuming JVTA doesn't find some miracle solution, SpecShark would remain prime minister, overseeing a majority government. It is possible that this could be entirely upended; politics have surprised many before. However, I don't think that is likely.
Option 2 - NESPA enters the picture
Let us now envision a situation where NESPA comes into play. The New Electoral System for Potato Act was introduced in February of 2026 by the Potato Democrats. It adds a number of reforms to the Potato political system, bringing it in line with modern standards.
One major difference is that Potato Central would elect not one but two representatives. On those numbers, assuming the two candidates elected are whoever comes first and second, it is entirely possible that party leaders McTwoPoint0 (Action) and JVTA (PD) would be elected, based on opinion polls.
The rest of the results appear mostly identical to the previous scenario (a Potato Democrats majority government), with the obvious difference being that JVTA, not SpecShark, would be prime minister. This could, of course, be upended by a surprise shift in voting patterns in the other seats. It is entirely possible; Action are leading in the polls.
Option 3 - Do it like Jonasland
Here's an idea that could up-end the entire Potato political system. Copy Jonasland.
Let me explain. Jonasland's legislature (the Parliament) elects its members through the D'Hondt method. Citizens in that faction vote for a party. The percentage of the vote then corresponds to seats. In the most recent election there (Jan 2026), the NDP won 66% of the vote, and was subsequently assigned 13 seats (65% of the seats).
Now, obviously 20 seats won't work for Potato. A single-digit number would be more likely. For this scenario, we'll assume that the legislature has seven seats. Potato has had a maximum of six seats in the past.
If we take the percentages from the most recent PMI poll, and assign seats accordingly, the resulting seat counts would be as follows:
Action Party (42.9%) - 3 seats
Potato Democrats (28.6%) - 2 seats
Reform Party (14.3%) - 1 seat
United Crop Party (14.3%) - 1 seat
The resulting parliament is a hung parliament with Action as the largest party. Unless Action decides to go it alone as a minority government, a coalition is required. All three parties are likely candidates; the UCP have had experience working with Action, and the Democrats agree with Action on many positions. I'm not too sure on what Reform would do, considering they are new and therefore haven't really done anything.
Regardless of who goes with them, however, Action is guaranteed the premiership, making McTwoPoint0 prime minister.
Option 4 - The nuclear option
You could, of course, get rid of democracy altogether. There isn't exactly a lot of political activity, after all. All you really need to do is hand legislative power back to Taylor and the rest of the Potato Monarchs. Back to monarchism we go.
This move would almost definitely be controversial. Action, Reform, and the Democrats would all cry foul at the torching of democracy. Decision-making would be taken out of the hands of those elected to represent the people, decreasing the power citizens have.
Miscellaneous options
The following are a series of other options Potato could pick. These range from somewhat realistic to full-on crazy.
Merge Potato and the URA members into one sovereign state. You'd have plenty of voters after that!
Do a mix of Jonasland and Potato's electoral systems. (Something similar to New Zealand's electoral system.)
Overthrow the monarchies, become a full democracy with an elected president.
Remove the government all together, become an anarchy. Faction decisions are done through referendums.
Conclusion
In any case, it's not up to me. The decision on whether to change Potato's democracy is that of Taylor and the government. Who knows what path they'll take.
Only time can tell.
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