BARRIOS SWEEPS FIRST EVER WEST CHANCHAJILLAN ELECTION, BECOMING PRIME MINISTER

BARRIOS SWEEPS FIRST EVER WEST CHANCHAJILLAN ELECTION, BECOMING PRIME MINISTER
Barrios had led national polling for the historic and ground breaking referendum

Newly-elected Prime Minister of West Chanchajilla Juan Diego Barrios arrives at the National Assembly in Ivora following the historic referendum

IVORA - The historic referendum has arrived, the West Chanchajillan people have voted for the first time in their history, and they have chosen Juan Diego Barrios by an overwhelming margin to be the nation's first democratically elected leader. In an address claiming victory in the internationally moderated election cycle, Barrios stated "I take this victory as a mark of history for the people of West Chanchajilla. Not through me, but through you, our voices are heard. The democratic principles have been ushered in our nation for the first time. Tyranny is no more. A respectable, interactive government is created. I pledge to you, the great people of West Chanchajilla, to be a leader for you and you alone."

President Gideon Boer called Barrios, whom he had publicly backed for months, congratulating him on his victory in the historic election. He pledged East Chanchajillan cooperation going forward, and committed to continued investment in reconstruction efforts following the four-month long military spat and ongoing peacekeeping operation with East Chanchajillan and Janapan forces. Barrios also received the backing of other world leaders, notably Zamastanian President Atticus Moreau and Quetanan President António Brafeo, which has both spurred excitement and rally for Barrios within West Chanchajilla while also growing conspiracy theories about international meddling.

Barrios ran on a platform of a mixed socialist-capitalist economy, which would do away with much of the nationalized economic functions that occurred under the late dictator Frederick Armbar and open more individualized and privatized businesses. However, government oversight and general redistribution will still be a part of the economic system, which Barrios says will allow for sustainable growth and prosperity among West Chanchajilla's notably poor population. He also rallied around a call to de-militarize, with the former People's Armed Forces of West Chanchajilla already being disorganized and restructured, a drive to remove missile systems and the reported chemical weapons deposits Armbar built around the country.

Just minutes after assuming the Prime Ministership, the newly elected parliament had approved several members of his new cabinet and the appointment of several ministers, including the new Foreign Minister Aimar Bacque. Mr. Barrios had tried to appoint a balanced cabinet to ease ethnic divisions in the country and to weaken the power of the warlords by drawing them away from their power bases to the capital, but his first steps appeared tentative. The day had been exhausting and difficult, he said in an interview afterward in the gardens of Ivora's old palace, adding, ''I never want to have to pick a cabinet again, but the process isn't done yet.'' Mr. Barrios said he hoped his new legitimacy would strengthen his hand in securing peace for Afghanistan and winning the country much-needed international aid.

Barrios is known as perhaps the most infamous dissident to Armbar's regime, having been targeted, arrested, exiled, and ultimately becoming a self-imposed fugitive in Paraboca. Blamed by Armbar for dissenting and leading the 2020 coup attempt, which has never been proven, Barrios led massive international social media campaigns to expose human rights abuses by Armbar's government. Following the fall of Ivora and Armbar's death in April of this year, Barrios returned. First hesitant to run for office, according to his family, Barrios ultimately decided to join the race when the referendum proposal produced a Armbar-supporter in the campaigning cycle. Quickly, Barrios rose through polling and is widely expected to win the election by a large margin.

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