Craftian presidential election, 2071

The Craftian presidential election of 2071 was the 22nd presidential election. It was held on Sunday, 12 April 2071. United nominee Melati Tjandra narrowly defeated incumbent president and Conservative nominee Jacqui Rao after preferences.

Rao, who had become Acting President upon the resignation of Jon Takashi 1 month before the 2067 presidential election, had served one full term as president and was eligible for re-election. She was narrowly defeated by Tjandra despite leading by 5.53% in the primary vote. This is the largest gap in the primary vote of the two leading candidates in which the candidate who gained a plurality lost the two-party-preferred vote. This is also the third presidential election where the two leading candidates were both women, after 2027 and 2063.

Preference flows

 * Hancock: 53.09% to Tjandra, 46.91% to Rao
 * Keigh: 59.13% to Tjandra, 40.87% to Rao
 * Woodward: 87.50% to Tjandra, 12.50% to Rao
 * Ige: 57.23% to Rao, 42.77% to Tjandra
 * Cox: 65.29% to Rao, 34.71% to Tjandra
 * Trader: 52.14% to Tjandra, 47.86% to Rao
 * Total: 58.80% to Tjandra, 41.20% to Rao

Candidates
According to the Popular Election of the President Act 1993, parties represented with at least one seat in the Parliament of Craftia, or parties or independent candidates that gained at least 5% of the popular vote in the previous presidential election, may nominate candidates directly. Parties that endorsed other parties in the previous presidential election do not automatically qualify. Otherwise, candidates can be nominated via petition signed by at least 1% of the turnout at the previous election. Under these rules, the following parties and independent candidates were automatically eligible for this election:
 * Craftian Conservative Party
 * Independent candidate James Hancock
 * Liberal Party of Craftia
 * Craftian Greens
 * Independent candidate Sarah Cox
 * National United Party
 * Craftian Reform Party
 * Mojang Democratic Party

National United Party
Candidates were determined by an open primary, with the nominee for the election being elected by United Party members over a period of 14 days, followed by a ballot of the parliamentary United caucus. Voting was conducted using the preferential voting system. The two voting blocs were weighted equally in determining the winner.

Candidates

 * Melati Tjandra, former Senator for Jebsten (2061–2067)
 * Mike Jefferson, former Minister for Finance (2061–2064)
 * Samantha Woodhouse, former MP for Clarendon (2052–2068)
 * Stephen Layes, former Mayor of Yoollagarra (2066–2070)

Craftian Conservative Party
With no candidates nominating against incumbent President Jacqui Rao, a simple vote between supporting or opposing her nomination was held by Conservative Party members over a period of 14 days, followed by a ballot of the parliamentary Conservative caucus. The two voting blocs were weighted equally in determining the result.

Candidates

 * Jacqui Rao, President of Craftia (2067–2071)

Opinion polling
Several research and polling firms conduct polls in relation to voting intentions in the lead-up to the election (from the official start of the campaign period on 1 February onwards).

How-to-vote cards
Candidate volunteers distribute how-to-vote cards to voters at polling booths which show the candidate's suggested preference allocation. Candidates and parties which suggested preferences are shown in each column of the table below.