2035 Christian Democratic Party leadership election

The 2035 Christian Democratic Party leadership election in Derek took place during April 2035. There were two ballots held, the first on 23 April and the second on 26 April. The first ballot was called by incumbent leader Margaret Day following the decision of her deputy leader Peter Berejiklian to resign and challenge her for leadership of the party. This decision was sparked by tensions in the party over the grand coalition between the Christian Democrats and Labour.

Day won the first ballot with a large majority (38-19) but announced her resignation as leader on 26 April due to the large vote against her. A ballot that evening saw Christopher Owen, an influential figure in the conservative wing of the party, come first but failing to secure an outright majority. A third ballot was avoided after his two opponents, Cooper Morgan and Peter Berejiklian, withdrew, allowing him to be elected unopposed.

Background to the contest
Discontent with Margaret Day's leadership of the party had been growing during the grand coalition government. The coalition with Labour had been very unpopular with the conservative wing of the party and the party had seen a large slump in the polls since the election with a poll in the month before the challenge showing the CDP had dropped to 11% from 22% at the election.

February spill motion
A leadership spill motion was called in the party room by conservative members of the party on February 8 over Day's support for the grand coalition government.

The motion to spill the leadership of the party garnered only 7 votes and talk of Day losing support in the party was stopped for a few months however Peter Berejiklian began privately talking to conservatives in the party about a potential leadership run following this result.

First ballot
The first ballot was called by Margaret Day during a regularly scheduled party room meeting on the morning of 23 April following the resignation of her deputy Peter Berejiklian earlier that week.

Although Day had obtained a clear majority, the strong result for Berejiklian prompted a series of resignations from the coalition government cabinet by conservative members of the party. Day released a short statement to the media following her win stating that she was "glad to have the support of the party room and remained committed to the grand coalition."

After the first ballot result the conservative wing of the party boasted of momentum and requested Day call a second ballot. Christopher Owen, a more influential member of the conservative wing, announced his intention to run in a second ballot that evening. Cooper Morgan and other centrists in the party pledged their support to Day but gave her advice in private that she should step down and allow for a more popular centrist to run. Day initially refused but she faced increasing pressure after Cooper Morgan publicly announced he would contest a second ballot if Day chose not to.

Day announced her resignation on the morning of 26 April 2035. As a result of this, Cooper Morgan and Christopher Owen both formally announced their candidacies for the second ballot.

Second ballot
The second ballot was held on the evening of 26 April 2035. It was contested by Christoper Owen, Cooper Morgan and Peter Berejiklian. Outgoing leader Margaret Day did not publicly support any candidate but it was clear that Morgan was the preferred candidate of the centrists.

Owen secured a narrow lead of 5 votes over Morgan. As Owen did not secure a majority, another ballot between him and Morgan was required and would be held the next day.

Peter Berejiklian announced his endorsement of Owen just minutes after the results of the vote were announced. Due to the expectation most of Berejiklian's voters would vote for Owen over Morgan, Morgan announced his withdrawal from the race the next morning. Owen was therefore elected leader unopposed.

Outcome
Christopher Owen was declared the leader of the party on the afternoon of 27 April 2035. Following his election, he immediately began the process of withdrawing the Christian Democrats from the grand coalition government. This caused an early election to be held in 2035.

The conservative wing of the party declared the win by Owen to be a second chance for the party and hoped for a resurgence in the polls however opinion polls taken in the months after the leadership election showed the Christian Democrats plummeting to 8%. The popularity of the Derek Party and the new Alliance Party caused the Christian Democrats to struggle to rebuild their support in the lead up to the early election.