[centre][h1][u][colour=FF8430]Democratic Alliance for Reform[/colour][/u][/h1]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/bXnqR2b.png[/img][/centre]

Ephraim Yombi was conducting a press conference in Kamidye, ahead of next week's first presidential debate. The Democratic Alliance for Reform was set to face off against their main local competitors, the Liberal Democrats, as well as the rurally strong Samgola Dawn and the newly coalesced Samgola Patriotic Party. The debate had the chance to be a decisive moment in the campaign, and Yombi had been tasked with setting the stage for Samuel Bassong's return to the presidential capital; any lingering issues were to be settled by him, so Bassong could enter the debates without any baggage. The press conference was being held inside the new D.A.R. headquarters: an office building a few blocks down from the apartment complex that had been used as the party's temporary HQ immediately upon their arrival in country. As befitted a political centre, party banners and Samgolan flags were strewn about every wall and desk, leaving no room to imagine to which party this office belonged. The backdrop of the stage behind Ephraim was itself decorated with both the flag of Samgola and the civic flag of Kamidye, a clear attempt to further bolster the D.A.R.'s already dominant popularity in the national capital.

Questions were already underway. The first had been softballs—easy to answer, generic inquiries about the need for investment in infrastructure and the economy. This was to be expected, as most of the press gathered were of the friendly sort, both foreign and domestic reporters with a heavy pro-D.A.R. lean. Unfortunately for Ephraim, though, the conference wouldn't have been able to perform its goal of clearing the air ahead of the debates if at least a few less partisan outlets weren't invited. Easily the most biting question was saved for last by Ephraim, a reporter from a local outlet in the northwest of Samgola sitting patiently in the back of the room, waiting the entire conference to ask it.

The hot button issue of the past phase of campaigning had been the attacks in Kolodan, inflicted by an Islamist group among the National Militias. The knee-jerk reaction of the émigrés that dominated the D.A.R.'s membership had been to quickly and loudly denounce the attacks, but Yombi had successfully been able to caution silence thus far. He was more in tune with the spirit of the average Samgolan than most of Bassong's men, the less recent émigrés. Ephraim understood what Samuel did not—that the National Militias were extremely popular among many Samgolans, and no action of theirs could be fairly depicted when treated in isolation. The militias represented the Samgolan Republic's sectarian divides, and most of their infighting was the continuation of tribal rivalries that had existed under the Rubusana regime and even earlier. Any denouncement of the Islamic Army would be understood by many of Samgola's Muslims as a denouncement of Islam, and Samuel and Ephraim had agree to cautiously avoid being seen to favour one of Samgola's major religions over another.

Ephraim cut off the reporter just after he'd finished contextualizing his question, preempting an inquiry about what specific steps needed to be taken in response to the attacks. It helped to frame things more in Yombi's favour if the subject was more general.

"Right, right, of course..." he began, speaking into his microphone and drowning out the last part of the reporter's question. "That is an important issue, an extremely important one." Trying to diffuse any tensions that might have been riled by introduction of such a charged subject, Ephraim lightened the room with a joke. "I'm sure you're one of many journalists here in this room who would love to have me talk about such a controversial subject."

Letting a few chuckles across the room cease first, Ephraim then went on. "The National Militias are more rounded a topic of discussion than many of you might have heard or thought. Many of them are violent, and acts of aggression always need to be condemned, but any conflicts going on between the National Militias are part of a larger problem of disunity in Samgola. People don't trust each other. Many villages in the northwest, the homeland of my own family, they do not trust the sometimes corrupted and underpaid and overworked government officials that are meant to be helping them. The militias are local people that help local communities, and that I think is charity. We always need to support charity, just like we always need to condemn aggression. But instead of going up in arms and denouncing this or that attack, we instead need to denounce, and more importantly to solve, the underlying problems that cause these conflicts. People need to have their trust in the government restored after they lost faith in the old, failed regimes, and people need work and to have prosperity or they will continue to turn to anyone who will offer help to them. Samgola is a country that is broken and wounded in many places, and we need to heal those wounds instead of yelling at them for bleeding. That is what I stand for and that is what the Democratic Alliance for Reform stands for, truly fixing what's wrong with Samgola and not just addressing the results of those problems."

Satisfied he'd sufficiently subdued the issue, Ephraim went on, eager not to leave an awkward silence after his remarks. "Any other questions, friends?".
[hr]
[hider=Week 4 Election Actions - Democratic Alliance for Reform]
[b]Fundraise:[/b] Ayoullo. [i](-2 Energy)[/i]
[b]Travel by Car:[/b] Ayoullo to Umembe. [i](-$4000)[/i]
[b]Travel by Car:[/b] Umembe to Kamidye. [i](-$4000)[/i]
[b]National Militia:[/b] Spin. [i](-1 Energy)[/i]

[/hider]