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Voters support left-wing reforms on Referendum Day Allie Vega, Chief politics writer Monday, 17 May 2021 The fifth annual Referendum Day concluded on Sunday, allowing Valkyrians to decide on a record number of referendums. With eleven total questions on the ballot, the Valkyrian people agreed to pass seven referendums that ostensibly favours the left-wing. In the ten referendums that the governing New Conservative Coalition took a formal position on, none of the results went the Coalition's way, putting the governing bloc in an uncomfortable position just a year before the next scheduled general election. In a speech at the Utøvende, Chancellor Stella Kaufman admitted defeat on Referendum Day but argued that "no one can win on every issue". However, Socialist leader Steve Bennett is arguing that he can, given that the Socialist Party won on all ten of the referendums that the party took a position on, "We have seen the Valkyrian people reject the toxic authoritarian nationalism that the Coalition injected into our politics." The Socialist leader went as far as to demand the chancellor's resignation and called for a snap election given the government's "humiliating defeat" on Referendum Day. Referendums 1, 8, and 11, which would respectively legalise solidarity action and impose a wealth tax and rent control, all passed, forcing the government to accept these changes to the national regime. The Valkyrian Housing Authority will now have the power to set limits on rent increases but not before imposing a two-year moratorium on such increases. Meanwhile, Referendums 3, 4, and 6 all failed. The New Right put forward these plebiscites with the Coalition's support. These referendums would have imposed a five-year moratorium on immigration, transformed the unitary state into a federation, and constitutionally recognised only two genders. However, they failed to pass by similar margins, with the most supported of those referendums only getting nearly 35% of the vote favouring passage. The citizenry proposed the remaining five referendums, with one being written and proposed by former Chancellor Margaret Harrison. By a slim majority, Referendum 7 passed, legalising voluntary euthanasia, which would allow a physician to end the life of a consenting patient. The former chancellor campaigned for its passage on behalf of Dignity Valkyria, a non-profit organisation that advocates for the "right to die". Referendum 7's passage comes after 2018 Referendum 2, which legalised assisted dying that year. Then-chancellor Harrison campaigned for the passage of Referendum 2, calling it an "issue of personal significance". The former chancellor's mother, Sigrdrífa Björnsdóttir, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in March 2011, an often fatal cancer diagnosis, and unsuccessfully sought to end her life before dying in August that year. Since then, Harrison has been a staunch supporter of legalising voluntary euthanasia. As chancellor, Harrison twice attempted to legalise the practice but did not receive enough support within the governing bloc to enact such reforms. In a referendum that will greatly impact Valkyria's foreign policy, the voters passed Referendum 2, which commits the country to denuclearisation so long as all other nuclear-weapon states agree to disarm simultaneously. The referendum's passage represents the culmination of a years-long effort by anti-nuclear activists to disarm Valkyria's nuclear weapons arsenal, and Referendum 2 paves a path to denuclearisation. With the passage of Referendum 5, Valkyrian police will no longer arrest people if they possess illicit drugs. Furthermore, the referendum imposes an increased sales tax on recreational cannabis to fund drug rehabilitation programmes. Referendum 5 is the latest drug liberalisation plebiscite in Valkyria sponsored by advocates for drug reform. In 2018, voters passed the similarly-numbered referendum, which allowed recreational cannabis to remain legal throughout Valkyria. Later that year, Harrison signed the "coca bill" into law, which legalised coca production. The bill was supported by the same groups that pressed for Sunday's decriminalisation and drew criticism from the international community, leading to more stringent inspections of Valkyrian exports. With Referendum 9 passing, Valkyrians will now be able to enter into non-monogamous relationships and marriages. Called the "modern marriage referendum" by its advocates, Referendum 9 passes constitutional and statutory legislation that legalises and regulates polyamorous relationships, fundamentally revising Valkyria's marriage laws that were designed for monogamy. Most opponents of Referendum 9 argued against the plebiscite on religious and cultural grounds, believing that its passage would lead to "moral degeneration", as New Right leader Nicole Chancellor stated during the campaign. However, some who opposed Referendum 9 did so because it would "dramatically alter" marriage law without a broader discussion, as Liberal leader Jason Sullivan pointed out. Lastly, Referendum 10, which would have introduced religious exemptions from mandatory vaccinations, failed by a great margin. The plebiscite was supported by several non-Valrissi advocacy groups who argued that Valkyria's vaccination laws were inconsistent with their religious beliefs. Most of the mainstream parties, save for the Liberal Party, opposed the referendum. The results
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