How Seat Contests Work

A seat contest is a race for a single constituency during an election cycle.

Declaring

Any citizen can declare a candidacy for their own constituency once an election cycle is open. You may stand as an independent or under a party — at most one candidate per party may contest the same seat (independents aren't capped).

Outcomes

Every contested seat resolves to one of three outcomes once the cycle ends:

• Won — you take the seat and become the sitting MP
• Lost — a rival candidate (or NPC incumbent) wins instead
• Withdrawn — you pulled out before the cycle closed

What affects your odds

Your standing in a race is driven by momentum, built up through Candidate Centre actions, party endorsements, and how active you've stayed — going quiet for too long triggers a complacency penalty that erodes an incumbent's safety over time.