Ms. Alexandrea Datii, the diplomat fellow from Moldova was today elected Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Loudenia. The victory makes Ms. Datii the first woman to occupy such an esteemed office in the history of the Ben Franklin Institute. Ms. Datii cruised to victory after beating Ms. Uche Esonu at a run-off election. The voting was preceded by a lively campaign and debate among all five competing candidates. Ms. Datii’s message of “a new beginning” and her promise to work across the aisle played well with an electorate who seemed tired of the decades-long bickering and fighting among the six major parties of Loudenia. Some pundits are suggesting that Datii’s victory will pave the way for talks leading to the return of Loudenia’s exiled founding father Dr. Allan Louden. The feminists’ coalition of Loudenia, in a statement, also cited Alexandrea Datii’s victory as an important forward-step in the struggle for the equality of the sexes “Ms. Datii has punched one more hole in the proverbial glass ceiling and in the process has made it easier for parents all over Loudenia to say to their daughters “see you can achieve anything””. In her acceptance speech, the newly elected Speaker promised to be fair to all parties during Parliamentary deliberations.Mr. Connor Caudill of the LEDU party, Mr. Adrien Rorive of the LEAR party, and Mr. Ethan Gentes of the HME party were also on the ballot.

The next Parliament is scheduled to sit on Monday July 28 and Tuesday July 29.

• I can only guarantee that an election took place and Alexandra Datii won. The other facts are very fluid