The 2015 Nishinomiya by-election (兵庫県議会議員西宮市選挙区補欠選挙, Hyōgo Kengikai Giin Nishinomiya Senkyoku Hoketsu Senkyo, Hyōgo Prefectural Assembly Nishinomiya District By-Election) was a by-election held on 25 January 2015 to fill two vacancies in the seven-member Nishinomiya district of the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly.
Five candidates contested the two seats. Masakazu Yoshioka of the Liberal Democratic Party and Yugo Nakano of the then-recently formed Japan Innovation Party were elected, winning 29.4% and 24.6% of the vote respectively. Voter turnout was 21.3%, the second-lowest ever for a by-election for the assembly.
Background
editThe vacancies arose due to the resignations of Ryutaro Nonomura, who was caught in a scandal surrounding inappropriate expense claims, and Haruyo Omae, who had resigned to seek a seat in the House of representatives in the December 2014 national general election.[1]
Candidates
editFive candidates had nominated for the election by the deadline on 16 January 2015; none of whom had previously held a seat in the prefectural assembly. The candidates in order of their time of nomination were:[2][3]
| Candidates for 2015 Nishinomiya by-election[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party | Age | Occupation |
| Toyotake Moriike | Independent | 68 | Citizens group leader, former Nishinomiya city councilor (3 terms) |
| Naomi Okuno | Democratic Party of Japan | 49 | Elementary school teacher |
| Yugo Nakano | Japan Innovation Party | 32 | Manufacturing company president |
| Masakazu Yoshioka | Liberal Democratic Party | 40 | Company president, former Nishinomiya city councilor (2 terms) |
| Hironori Sakai | Independent | 38 | Company president |
Results
editYoshioka and Nakano won the two vacancies by receiving the highest number of votes under the Single non-transferable voting system. Voter turnout was 21.3%, the second-lowest turnout for a by-election for the Hyogo assembly behind the 16.95% that voted at a 2000 by-election.[1] During the campaign, Yoshioka relied upon his record of 8 years and 2 terms as a Nishinomiya city councilor, stating that a "battle-ready politician is necessary".[1] On the other hand, Nakano broadened his support by focusing on reform including measures to help families with children, claiming that "cutting reform must come first, as we musn't pass the tab on to our children".[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDP | Masakazu Yoshioka | 22,907 | 29.4 | ||
| Ishin | Yugo Nakano | 22,907 | 24.6 | ||
| Democratic | Naomi Okuno | 15,436 | 19.8 | ||
| Independent | Toyotake Moriike | 11,046 | 14.2 | ||
| Independent | Hironori Sakai | 9340 | 12.0 | ||
| Turnout | 80,693 | 21.30 | |||
Effect
editUpon the entry of the two new members into the Assembly, Junko Tokuyasu resigned from the Democratic Party and joined with Nakano to give the Innovation Party two members in the 89-seat Assembly.[5] Yoshioka increased the Liberal Democratic Party's membership to 44 in the Assembly, giving the party a one-person majority due to two other seats being vacant.[6]
Both Yoshioka and Nakano retained their seats in at the general election held 11 weeks later in April 2015. Omae returned to the Assembly after unsuccessfully contesting the national election, while Okuno and Moriike were once again unsuccessful at winning one of the seven vacant seats. Overall, the Innovation Party increased their representation in the assembly to nine seats while the Liberal Democrats were reduced to 40. The overall number of seats were reduced from 89 to 87 due to the merger of districts.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "西宮県議補選 吉岡氏と中野氏が初当選" [Nishinomiya prefectural by-election: Yoshioka and Nakano first-time winners] (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ a b "西宮県議補選告示 新人５人立候補 野々村元県議らの欠員受け" [Nishinomiya prefectural by-election nominations: 5 newcomer candidates to replace Nonomura and another] (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "立候補者一覧" [List of candidates] (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "兵庫県議会議員西宮市選挙区補欠選挙 開票状況表" [Hyōgo Prefectural Assembly Nishinomiya District By-Election - Table of Vote Counts] (PDF) (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "兵庫県議会の会派の結成及び会派別所属議員数の変更について" [Concerning the formation of a party within the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly and a change to the number of members belonging to parties] (PDF). 2 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "会派別所属議員数の変更について" [Concerning changes to party membership numbers] (PDF). 9 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "開票結果-道府県議選・兵庫県【統一地方選2015】" [Results, Hyogo Prefecutral Election (2015 unified elections)]. Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved 26 February 2016.