Political Scene of Korolia and its predecessors

The political scene of the Korolia is really dynamic, with many parties appearing and fading into obscurity in the matter of years.

The 970s
977 ACA marked the Novozemjan independence, and during this period the NZ largely ran on the old provincial government inherited from the times when they were part of Rodinnbrok.

The 980s
The 980s were relatively unremarkable in terms of political life, save for the Red Spring of 983, during which a communist revolution was attempted, led by Jan Gryc and Nada Cvetkovic. Things however quieted down after few protests and rallies. Cvetkovic and Gryc later founded the NAP.

The 990s
In the 990s, the voices calling for democratization sounded out louder than ever, with it looking like a question of when will it happen rather than if.

The Crisis of 993 also took place, resulting in several oustings in the government, including Pavel Letavski, who back then was the Pjervod - appointed by Lord Protector - later leader of the PNU - which was founded in 996.

The 00s
The 1000-1010 ACA decade was dominated by the UC reformation talks. The Second United Commonwealth itself was reformed only in the tail end of the decade - in 1007. Because of that, it was also the time of the Provisional Government, so no elections were held in that decade.

The four parties that existed at the time traced their roots back to the State of Nova Žemja, the UCRP, PNU, NDU and NAP. Back then the centre-right was in full swing, with all three moderate parties being inside that zone.

The 10s
The first half of the 1010s was marked with Provisional Government, with the constitution being finally drafted in 1019. It would've been drafted earlier if not for the annexation of the second member of the UC - Czervoslavia,by Plagatea-Lunaris. The same four political parties dominated the scene.

The 20s
In 1021 the first elections in the new United Commonwealth took place. The elections were a big victory for the Progressive-National Union, which won absolute majority of seats in the United Sejm, and was able to push Matos Slavski-Epitichan for the Pjervod seat. The Sejm was filled in with the NDU, who were in coalition with the PNU, and the UCRP. NAP didn't win any seats.

In 1026 after his coronation, the Csar Slout V Korol was banned from participating in any party under Csar's non-partisanship, so the leadership of the UCRP was passed down to Ludomir Korol.

In the next elections however, which took place in 1027, the result was wildly different, with the National Agricultural Party achieving victory, taking up 40% of the Sejm. The remaining 60% was evenly divided between the remaining four.

The 30s
In the next elections of 1033, PNU recovered, taking up just as much seats as the NAP, which was mildly embarrassed by the Constitutional Crisis of 1029. The NDU was out of the Sejm this time. Prior to the elections, UCRP also announced it's dissolution, throwing the country into a short period of two-party system.

After the election, two major parties formed, which will later become both embroiled in controversy - Zerkalo Lands! and the National Democratic Party.

The election of 1039 was won by the Zerkalo Lands! party, who after striking a coalition with PNU, had complete control over the government. NAP and NDP also got seats but they were no match for the ZL-PNU coalition.

The 40s
The 1039-1045 term was marked with the Zerkalo Commonwealth controversy, as it turned out that ZL! party was part of a wider scheme of the organization known as the ZC, to infiltrate democratic governments and take control of them, with later plans of merging the countries into Zerkalo Empire. Luckily, due to the ZC being preoccupied with other locations, all the UC suffered were few years of stagnation until the election of 1045, with the plans of the ZC never succeding.

The election of 1045 saw the victory of the National Democratic Party, which yet again made a coalition with PNU. The country saw major progress, however that was soon to end...

The 50s
In 1055, during the NDP-PNU's term, vassalization agreement with Aurea was signed. However, the public did not like that, and set up foundations for what will become known as the Orange Revolution.

In the period between 1055 and the 1058 - the year of the election, following events took place:


 * National Democratic Party reformed into National Labour Party
 * Conservative Party of National Rebirth was formed and dissolved
 * League of Commonwealth Patriots was formed
 * The anti-vassalization coalition of the LCP, NAP and NDU was formed, known under the names of Anti-Integration League, Free Commonwealth List, and the Free Commonwealth Alliance.
 * The Progressive National Union ceased cooperating with the NLP, and ran in the election as a third party.

Elections of 1058
The elections of 1058 we're quite possibly one of the most polarized in Commonwealth history. The subjugated nation was divided over continued vassalisation under Aurea or independence. With minor pro-independence opposition parties uniting under the Free Commonwealth Alliance, polls indicated that they were in the lead for the election. The NLP, to secure their power, used questionable vote gathering methods. These methods included granting immediate citizenship to foreigners, usually from Aurea, so they could influence the election in pro-Aurean favor. These methods also included using family connections to siphon votes for the pro-Aurean camp, and intimidating possible pro-independence voters and politicians through threats of arrest. The NLP also portrayed the pro-Independence camp FCA as extremists and radicals, when in reality the camp was ideologically diverse, representing communists, nationalists, liberals, and centrists alike.

Accusations of corruption, political violence, and conflict at the polls made the election extremely difficult to complete. The Free Commonwealth Alliance represented the grassroots pro-independence minor parties, with the majority of members supporting peaceful post-independence relations with Aurea, however it should be noted that the FCA was tolerant of more extreme nationalists and anti-Aurean rhetoric. The National Labour Party represented the establishment pro-Aurean political force in the nation, being an associated party to the New Banners Conspiracy. The PNU ran as a third party in the election, positioning themselves as moderate on the issue of independence, supporting a soft pro-Aurean policy, and endorsing a "Let's get back to work" mentality to campaigning. The PNU would attract moderate voters, however the PNU's track record of cooperating with the NLP, ZL!, and then their participation in the New Banners Conspiracy resulted in this election being the beginning of the PNU's slow demise.

This election marked the highest turnout in the history of the Commonwealth, at 27 voters. This is a 17 voter increase from the previous election of 1045, in which there were only 10 votes.

Results:


 * Free Commonwealth Alliance - 44% (2 seats in the sejm)
 * National Agrarian Party - 17%
 * National Democratic Union - 11%
 * League of Commonwealth Patriots - 16%


 * National Labour Party - 43% (2 seats in the sejm)
 * Progressive National Union - 13% (1 seat in the sejm)

No Clear Winner in '58 - Orange Revolution
Due to archaic laws of the constitution (that we're later amended), even though the NLP lost the election by vote tally, Alexei Vargas still became Pjervod.

After the elections of 1058, the Orange Revolution took place. The Orange Revolution summarized was a political reformation and birth of new Korolian nationalism in Commonwealth society. Due to the closeness of the election and archaic laws in the constitution, the election essentially led to no clear winner. The FCA decided to use their platform following the election to reveal evidence of a plot by PNU and NLP representatives to coup the United Commonwealth. What ensued was chaos, with several politicians from the former NLP-PNU coalition arrested, military trying to enforce martial law to prevent the country from collapsing but then withdrawing and more. After that, the country stabilized under the Interim Government, with the Alexei Vargas and Matos Slavski-Epitichan respectively dying and facing trial for treason (ultimately declared innocent).

In the aftermath of the Orange Revolution another event took place, the "Springtime of Parties" with about half of the active parties being formed during, or after the Revolution. This springtime can be attributed to the minor party victories in the election boosting confidence of electoral success, and the subsequent death of the two-party PNU/NLP system.

The 60s
The elections to finish the Interim Government period are planned for early 1060s. The parties have already announced their programs, with some notable things happening, such as the PNU switching their logo, and the NDU switching from centre-right to centre-left.

Then, another crisis shaken the country of UC - Veridian secession - the people living in the south - ethnically the same as the north - dissatisfied with the Interim Government declared their independence as the newly created Kingdom of Veridia. After negotiations the United Commonwealth let them go, with the most of Svalmarc Voivodeship ceded to them.

This, multiplied the already sky-high lack of trust and belief in the government, resulting in several events:


 * Foundation of the Change Party - a reactionary left-wing populist party, one could say a left-wing clone of the League of Commonwealth Patriots, as both seem to have authoritarian leanings.
 * The Novozemjan independence referendum, where Nova Žemja - the main constituency of the union, without which the union would virtually collapse, tried to break away from the UC, seeing the need to sort it out themselves.
 * As the Lukasz Dvorák was crowned King of Veridia, he left the CRP to the Snake Oganesan.

In addition to this, the election, predicted onto 1062, was pushed even further due to the crisis, locking the United Commonwealth in a political limbo.

So far the referendum failed, so the country stays as the United Commonwealth, but that may change soon.

Elections of 1064
2 years later, after the Veridian Secession, the UC held the early elections - the results were a landslide victory for the younger Alliance of Social Democrats and League of Commonwealth Patriots, with the older parties losing support. The election marked the highest turnout ever in a Commonwealth election.

In this election, the highest turnout of any election recorded to this date occurred, with 33 voters in total. This is an increase of 6 votes from the election of 1058. It should be noted that this election had a 2 day time period for voting, instead of the usual 1 day.

Results:


 * League of Commonwealth Patriots - 36% (3 seats in the sejm)
 * Alliance of Social Democrats - 28% (2 seats in the sejm)
 * Democratic Commonwealth Party - 19% (1 seat in the sejm)
 * National Democratic Union - 9% (1 seat in the sejm)
 * Progressive National Union - 6% (0 seats in the sejm)
 * The Change Party - 2% (0 seats in the sejm)

The ASD and LCP founded a coalition, despite their ideological differences, appointing Tim Lucid as Pjervod and Halprin Deitsch as the VP. They also divided the Cabinet 50/50.

1064 Election - Regional Results Breakdown
Regionally, the election showed many interesting developments. The LCP, DCP, and ASD competed for winning in the city of Zlatoport, which held the highest population. In the end, the LCP got a close first, with the ASD and DCP equally trailing behind. The NDU obtained the majority of their voters from Zlatoport, and The Change Party had their only solid voting bloc in an industrial neighborhood in the west of Zlatoport. Lipanovo-Ostrokochod became a solid base of voters for the ASD, and the city was held by the socialists. In Rodinno, the PNU maintained its wavering historical hold on the city, and only light gains were made by the ASD, DCP, and LCP. Fort Korolia, a voting military district populated by soldiers from the First Infantry and Third Reserve, voted in what was almost a tie between the LCP and DCP, both parties who are more hawkish and have supported increasing the military budget before.

Elections of 1066
Following the snap elections of 1064, the official elections were announced and completed by the Csar. In the election, the National Agrarian Party returned from its hiatus, and all parties besides The Change Party participated again. What occurred in this election was a left-wing vote split, and the crushing defeat of the NDU and PNU. The election result showed the electorates desire to move forward from the older political establishment. The election was marked by a slight decrease in the turnout from the previous election, but was still historic in turnout, especially for the election process only being 1 day in comparison to 1064's 2 day.

This election was marked with a slight decrease in voter turnout, as 33 voters turned into 31 voters. However, this was as a result of abstention from multiple members of society, and can be attributed to a return to 1 day voting periods, where instead of a 2 day voting period as given in 1064, there was a 1 day voting period as for all other elections.

Results:


 * League of Commonwealth Patriots - 56% (4 seats in the sejm)
 * Democratic Commonwealth Party - 20% (1 seat in the sejm)
 * Alliance of Social Democrats - 11% (1 seat in the sejm)
 * National Agrarian Party - 10% (1 seat in the sejm)
 * Progressive National Union - 2% (0 seats in the sejm)
 * National Democratic Union - 1% (0 seats in the sejm)

The result came as a shock to political pundits, as the far-right League of Commonwealth Patriots won enough seats to have a non-coalition governing majority, and went up 21% in votes compared to the last election. On the left, the divided electorate resulted in vote splitting and ideological infighting, leading to the left-wing parties underperforming. The only pre-existing non-LCP party to have gained anything was the DCP, which went up 1% compared to last election. The astonishing result for the LCP is primarily based on the pre-existing party structure, LCP appeal to Ryzani/Korolian international arrivals, and their position as one of the few right-wing parties in the race.

Following the election, members of the PNU and NDU attempted to publicly contest the results, attempting to claim that the election was rigged. These comments were later retracted by members of these parties following data presented by the Commonwealth Electoral Commission and the Csar. It has been revealed that Veridia had been attempting to spread disinformation and sow division amongst members of Commonwealth society by having them doubt the functions of their own democracy.

1066 Election - Regional Results Breakdown
Regionally the voting blocs had changed. In Zlatoport, which held around 60% of the total electorate, the LCP dominated, blowing past the only possible contender to the city, the DCP. The left's hold on the city was shattered due to the splinter in the left-wing voting bloc, dividing the electorate between the NAP and ASD. The NDU's influence in Zlatoport was completely shattered, and it was the only place the NDU still received votes. The LCP succeeded in Zlatoport so well as Zlatoport was the top destination for most Ryzani and Nebskoslav immigrants, which voted almost entirely for the League. The LCP had also heavily focused campaigns on the key city, including massive torch bearing night rallies to gather support. Their key victory in Zlatoport has been attributed to their general victory in the election.

In Lipanovo-Ostrokchod, sometimes referred to as the "Red City" by political pundits, the LCP made headway, but failed to receive more than 20% of the vote in the historically left-wing city. The cities voters we're divided between the NAP and ASD, and that is where the majority of the remaining 80% of votes went. In Rodinno, which has historically been a stronghold for the Progressive National Union, that status as a lock for the PNU was crushed. The PNU still won a majority of votes, but this majority was below 50% of the total vote, and every other party (especially the LCP) made immense headway into Rodinno. This can be attributed to the LCP, DCP, ASD, and NAP all promoting a Rodinno re-development plan.

In Fort Korolia, which is a voting military district populated by soldiers from the First Infantry and Third Reserve, the LCP won 70/30 to the DCP. The soldiers coming out to vote in droves were a major deciding factor in the election of 1066, as their lack of support for the socialist parties cost them the election. The more hawkish and pro-military nature of the LCP and DCP gave them the opporitunity to capitalize on the military vote.

The 70s
WIP

The 80s
WIP

The 90s
WIP

Descriptions of the Active Parties
WIP

National Agrarian Party
The party, oldest in the whole country, was founded as a result of the worker strikes of the Red Spring in 983 - it was founded by the leaders of the revolution - Nada Cvetkovic, who believed in Agrarian Socialism - in particular she was strongly against formation of the UC and Jan Gryc, who had more general socialist views. After Gryc died and the leadership was passed onto Olsevski, the party again put more focus on agriculture, however still clinging to general socialism. After not participating in the election of 1064, the party participated in 1066, garnering 10% of the vote and splitting the left-wing vote. The National Agrarian Party has done well in poor rural regions, and industrial regions such as the cities of Rodinno and Lipanovo. It would appear that Gryc's view of socialism won out in the grand scheme of things as despite being called the National Agrarian Party and party leaders such as Olsevski focusing more on the agricultural aspects of socialism the party is welcome to all forms of leftists. This has resulted in a very internally fractured yet still entirely stable party that hosts a wide array of parties from anarchists to even authoritarian communists on the more radical ends. But the largest factions are still the democratic socialists and agrarian socialists.

League of Commonwealth Patriots
Started in 1057 ACA, is one of the younger parties. It's a group of radical nationalists, founded in response to the Aurean Vassalization, firmly believing in political strength. The League of Commonwealth Patriots has appealed to the discontent of the public, and is known for frequently holding night rallies, and holds some extremists factions under their wing. The party has entered the field of political controversy as political pundits accuse the party of "authoritarian sympathies". The party is generally on the right-wing to far-right, but is economically moderate and has a broad range of factions. The first election the party ever participated in, the LCP ran with the FCA list, obtaining 16% of the vote nationally. In recent years the party has steadily grown in popularity and support, going from 36% of the vote in 1064 to 57% of the vote in 1066, and has become the leading force of the right in Commonwealth politics. The party garners votes from members of the military, many fresh immigrants from the 60s (especially the refugees after the Failed Coup of 1064 in First United Crowns of Syltör), the middle class, and rural voters.

The League's election result in 1066 was the turning point in the left-wing dominated history of Commonwealth governance. The League's vote share of 57% resulted in that result being the highest ever percentage received by one party in the history of the UC. This also resulted in the League obtaining 4 seats in the 7 seat parliament, resulting in the party being able to pass any piece of legislation without the support of another party. The League has taken advantage of this absolute majority by passing controversial culture laws, election laws, economic laws, and amendments to the military budget, with some of these laws being met with staunch left-wing opposition. The League has also deepened their anti-communist rhetoric, further inciting tension between the left and right in the parliament.

The LCP, being the largest party in the UC, has a broad range of factions:

National Governance Faction (right-wing to centre-right)
This faction has 1/4 1066 LCP Sejm representatives as a member, and makes up around 20% of the party membership. This faction appeals to urban right-wingers, right-wing intellectuals, moderates, and the upper class. Led by Sejm Representative and Party Chairman Snake Oganesan.
 * Economic Liberalism
 * Social Centrism
 * Civic Nationalism
 * Radical Democracy
 * Monarcho-Neutral

League Study Committee (right-wing to far-right)
This faction has 2/4 1066 LCP Sejm representatives as members, and makes up around 50% of the party membership. This is the largest faction. The faction appeals to military voters, the middle class, and the majority of rural voters in the UC. Led by Pjervod and Party Leader Halprin Deitsch.
 * Economic Liberalism
 * Social Conservatism
 * National Conservatism
 * Korolian Nationalism
 * Soft Pro-Monarchy

International Coalition for Korolian Liberty (far-right)
This faction has 1/4 1066 LCP Sejm representatives as members, and makes up around 30% of the party membership. This wing appeals to Nebskoslav and Ryzani immigrants/exiles, and is considered the hardline far-right faction of the LCP. They also appeal to rural voters and authoritarians. Led by Sejm Representative and Party Member Adawulfa Sigrun.
 * Libertarian Conservatism
 * Korolian Nationalism
 * Feudalist-Freehold Thought
 * Illiberal Democracy/Authoritarian Democracy
 * Pro-Monarchy

Shaifan Identity Movement
In the 1046, after contact has been made with Shaifan Identity Movement, a small bit of territory of Primozan and Lipanovo Voivodeship s has been made into an autonomous republic of the natives, with it's capital in the town of Ambata. This autonomous territory has since been ended by the LCP government, considering the depopulated region attributed to the Shaifan nomadic lifestyle.

Zerkalo Commonwealth
The controversy known as the ZC Controversy, or simply the Zerkalo controversy took place in the Zerkalo Lands! party existence and revolved around them, and specifically their (or rather wider Zerkalo Commonwealth organization's) plans toto infiltrate democratic governments and take control of them, with later plans of merging the countries into Zerkalo Empire. Luckily, due to the ZC being preoccupied with other locations, all the UC suffered were few years of stagnation until the election of 1045, with the plans of the ZC never succeeding.

UC-Aurea Agreement
In 1055 a vassalization agreement between Kingdom of Aurea and the UC has been signed, ending the "cold war" in the region between the two, and intending to secure both external safety of the UC, and the cooperation of the two. A strong amount of public criticism of the agreement was ignored by both the PNU and NLP, and they forced the bill through parliament without a referendum or any public input. The undemocratic nature of the passage and the governments forcing of the Csar to sign the bill would soon boil over into mass protest against the bill.

New Banners Conspiracy
Following the vassalisation agreement, the NLP/PNU governing coalition had secret negotiations with the monarch of Aurea, in which they discussed using lethal force against Commonwealth citizenry to put down any possible resistance to the agreement. They also discussed subverting democratic institutions and slipping the country into a more authoritarian system under Aurean overlordship. Pro-independence politicians were informed of this act of treason by Snake O. This would be revealed to the public in which the three accused culprits we're Nevermore, Alexei Vargas, and Matos Slavski.

Aurean Crisis / New Banners Rebellion / Orange Revolution
The Aurean Crisis revolved around the Aurean Vassalization of the UC, and the events surrounding it - such as the discontent of the citizens with it, the controversial way of pushing it through, and finally, after the society expressed their discontent, with the planned "coup" of the UC to turn it away from democracy, and towards a more autocratic, although more stable government. The Orange Revolution sparked after the Elections of 1058, when the coup plans were released to the public, and people involved with it got arrested, two prime suspects who were meant to face trial - Alexei Vargas of NLP and Matos Slavski-Epitichan of PNU were later respectively: killed in a murder framed as suicide, and declared innocent by the Supreme Court.

The Aurean Crisis resulted in the dissolution of the National Labour Party, and the ending of the vassalization, setting ground for future lack of trust and rivalry in the region.

Veridian Secession
The secession was a chaotic period around the end of the interim governing period. During the technocratic rule of the "Interim Government", during the absence of the Csar, a minority of citizens in Kozbyn believed that the government was "ignoring their needs". Dalerac-Slavski and Nevermore "Radio Man" took advantage of this minor unrest in the south and used it to their own advantage to further their political aspirations. During this time, the Interim Government was just trying to keep the nation stable and together, and minor grumblings from "Veridian leadership" we're thought of as only minor grumblings. Promises we're made by the government to handle their issues, but Veridian leadership decided to break away anyways. This breakoff was conducted without any referendum, and it is widely understood that "Veridia" was created because Dalerac-Slavski was attempting to complete the authoritarian aspirations of his late persecuted half-brother Alexei Vargas. While Nevermore had his own personal grudges for being considered a bystander to treason by the population of the Commonwealth, even though he obviously was.

When Veridia broke off without any warning or referendum, the Commonwealth government responded by organizing the military and the LCP responded by discussing reorganizing their own members into a government-backed militia. The armies were hoping to return to Kozbyn and restore democracy to the nation. Veridia prepared for the possibility of full-fledged conflict as well, and minor border skirmishes we're reported in the territories west of Lipanovo and north of Kozbyn. Soon, diplomats discussed a border renegotiation, cutting Veridias size in half. Detente was then supported as the order of the day, however the Commonwealth militarized the border by establishing a fort and creating a wall/entry checkpoint to handle migration and keep the area secure. A sort of "Korea situation" has emerged, with the Southern dictatorial regime and the Northern democratic commonwealth.

1000 Novožemjan General Election
A crucial step in United Commonwealth restoration was Nova Žemja's democratization in 1000 ACA, known as Reforms of 1000.

There were two major blocks competing for power: Progressive-National Union and Novozemjan Democratic Union's "sovereignity bloc" which was against the United Commonwealth for the reason that EKC at the time was closely tied to Simulami's influence zone, something PNU-NDU coalition wanted to avoid spilling over to Nova Žemja.

The other side was the United Commonwealth Restoration Party which believed that reforming United Commonwealth will be worth it despite the price of being tied to Simulami.

The results came out:

Party Name - Vote Percentage - Percentage of Seats in Ljudny Sejm:

United Commonwealth Restoration Party - 40.5% - 60%

Progressive National Union - 20.7% - 20%

Novozemjan Democratic Union - 19.8% - 20%

ManCorp Party - 9.6% - 0%

Dalerac Slavski-Shan (Independent) - 9.4% - 0%

With UCRP winning the election, UC revival came much closer than ever.

Elections of 1021
1021 was the year that first United Sejm elections took place. There were 4 parties competing for the seats: PNU, NDU, NAP and UCRP. PNU won absolute majority, with Matos Slavski-Epitichan (who later became the Pjervod), and Pavel Letavski at it's helm. The full seat division was: 60% for PNU, 20% for NDU, who are in coalition with the PNU, and 20% for UCRP. The NAP did not get into the Sejm.

Elections of 1027
In 1027, next elections took place for the United Sejm. This time Sejm was evenly divided between parties, with the division being:

NAP - 40%

NDU - 20%

PNU - 20%

UCRP - 20%.

Elections of the 1033
This election had a turnout of 9 voters, a marketable low for Commonwealth elections, but understandable as the democratic process was kicking up.

1. Progressive-National Union - 21 votes (41,17%) - 2 seats

2. National Argarian Party - 15 votes (29,4%) - 2 seats

3. Mr.A (independent) - 14 votes (27,45%) - 1 seat

4. Novožemjan Democratic Union - 1 vote (1,96%) - no seats

Elections of the 1039
This elections turnout was 11 voters, a 2 voter increase from the elections 6 years prior. This election was notable as it had the most parties participating in any election until this point. The Zerkalo Family backed political party Zerkalo Lands! won the election.


 * Zerkalo Lands! - 39% - 2 Seats
 * Progressive National Union - 25% - 2 Seats
 * National Agrarian Party - 11% - 1 Seat
 * National Democratic Party - 10% - 1 Seat
 * Mr. A (Independent) - 8% - No Seats
 * The Drugs Party - 6% - No Seats

Elections of 1045
The elections of 1045 saw Alexei Vargas winning the majority leading the National Democratic Party. This election only saw 10 voters, a decrease of 1 voter from the last election.

Election Results:

1.National Democratic Party - 28 votes (46,6%) - 2 seats

2.Progressive-National Union - 16 votes (26,6%) - 1 seat

3.Snake (independent) - 10 votes (16,6%) - 1 seat

4.Novožemjan Democratic Union - 6 votes (10%) - 1 seat

The Sejm elected Alexei Vargas as Pjervōd with Matos being his Vice Pjervōd.

Trivia
Both Strana and Partija in Korolian translate to "party" (in context of a political party) but the first one is a native word, and the second one is a loan word from Traveler's Tongue, which explains the fact that it's more frequent in the newer party names.