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Party Management

Your political party is your primary tool for participating in Lawmaker. This guide covers how to create, customize, and manage your party effectively.

Creating a Party

To create a new party:

  1. Select a country to participate in
  2. Click "Create Party Here" (or "Join with Invite Code" for private countries)
  3. Fill in the party details
  4. Define your ideological positions
  5. Launch your party!

Joining a Private Country

Some countries require an invite code to create a party. These private countries show a padlock icon and a "Join with Invite Code" button instead of the standard "Create Party" button.

You can join in two ways:

  • Direct invite link — The country owner can share a URL like /countries/<slug>/new-party/<code> that pre-fills the code for you.
  • Manual code entry — Click "Join with Invite Code", type the code you were given, and proceed to party creation.

Ask the country owner for their shareable invite link if you don't have one.

Party Information

Basic Details

  • Name - Your party's full name (e.g., "Progressive Democratic Alliance")
  • Abbreviation - Short form for displays (e.g., "PDA")
  • Color - Hex color code for charts and visualizations
  • Slogan - A memorable phrase (e.g., "Progress for All")
  • Description - Longer text explaining your party's goals and vision

Naming Your Party

Choose a name that reflects your ideology and appeals to voters. Generic names like "National Party" are less memorable than "Green Future Coalition" or "Free Market Alliance".

Defining Your Ideology

The most important part of creating your party is setting ideological positions. You'll choose 4 policy pillars from the available issues and set your position on each:

The Political Issues

Issue Left Position Right Position What It Means
Gender Equality Traditional gender roles Full gender equality Family structure, workplace equality, gender policy
Role of Religion Secular governance Religious influence Church-state separation, religious freedom vs. tradition
Environment Economic growth first Environmental protection Climate policy, regulation, green energy vs. industry
Individual Liberty Strong leadership Maximum freedom Government authority vs. personal autonomy
Military Diplomatic solutions Strong military Defense spending, intervention, peace vs. strength
Immigration Border security Open borders Immigration quotas, citizenship, cultural integration
Economy Wealth redistribution Free market Taxation, welfare, regulation vs. capitalism
Workers' Rights Business-friendly Worker protections Labor laws, unions, minimum wage

Additional Issues

  • Multiculturalism
  • Support for Young People
  • Law and Order
  • And more...

How to Set Positions

Each issue has a slider from -1 to +1:

  • -1.0 = Strongly left/progressive position
  • 0.0 = Centrist/neutral position
  • +1.0 = Strongly right/conservative position

Example Party Ideology

"Green Progressive Alliance"

  • Gender Equality: +0.9 (strong equality)
  • Role of Religion: -0.8 (secular state)
  • Environment: +1.0 (maximum protection)
  • Individual Liberty: +0.6 (personal freedom)
  • Military: -0.7 (diplomatic approach)
  • Immigration: +0.5 (welcoming)
  • Economy: +0.4 (moderate redistribution)
  • Workers' Rights: +0.8 (strong protections)

Party Pillars

Your ideological positions become your party's pillars - the core values you campaign on. These are visible to:

  • Other parties (to understand your positions)
  • The game's voter simulation (affects which voters support you)
  • Players researching the political landscape

Changing a Pillar

Sometimes a party needs to evolve. You can replace one pillar with a different ideological position at any time — but it isn't cheap or quiet.

Cost: 75 Political Power (PP)

How it works:

  1. Go to your party page and click "Change Pillar"
  2. Select which of your current 4 pillars you want to replace
  3. Choose a new position from the available issues (you cannot pick an issue already covered by your other 3 pillars)
  4. Review the change and confirm — this is permanent

What happens after:

  • Your party's pillar is immediately updated
  • The country's political journalist automatically posts a news story about your party's ideological shift, generated by AI
  • Other players and voters will see your new position straight away

Think carefully

Changing a pillar is a significant political signal. Voters who liked your old position may be alienated, while new voters may be attracted. The journalist post means everyone will notice — there is no quiet way to do this.

Picking the right moment

Consider changing a pillar after an election to give voters time to adjust before the next vote. Mid-cycle changes can be risky if they contradict your recent voting record.

Your party can have a custom SVG logo that appears across the game - on your dashboard, in election result tables, in the messaging drawer, and on party detail pages.

To add or change your logo:

  1. Go to Edit Party
  2. Drag and drop an SVG file onto the upload area (or click to browse)
  3. Choose a colour tint to apply to the logo: white, black, grey, red, or blue
  4. Use the scale slider (50–100%) to adjust how large the logo appears in its avatar circle
  5. Save changes

Logos are stored securely and display wherever your party appears in the interface.

On the Edit Party page you can remove your current logo with a two-step confirmation. This resets your party to the default monogram-style avatar.

Branding Effect on Turnout

Having a custom logo gives your party a +5% boost to supporter turnout at election time. Parties without a custom logo face a -5% penalty instead. This reflects the real-world importance of recognisable political branding.

Easy Gain

Uploading any SVG logo is one of the cheapest ways to improve your electoral performance - it costs no Political Power.

Managing Your Party

Party Dashboard

Your dashboard displays:

  • Current seats in each legislature
  • Political Power (PP) available
  • Active proposals you need to vote on
  • Upcoming deadlines (elections, votes closing)
  • Recent activity in your country

Party Actions

With your party, you can:

  1. Vote on proposals - Shape legislation (free)
  2. Propose new laws - Submit legislation (30 PP)
  3. Recruit characters - Add activists to your team (10 PP)
  4. Commission polls - Survey electoral prospects (10 PP)
  5. Send messages - Communicate with other parties (free)
  6. Attempt cabinet formation - Form governments (free, requires seats)
  7. Call early elections - Trigger special elections (30 PP)
  8. Found and join international blocs - Build cross-country alliances (50 PP to found, 20 PP per application)
  9. Change a pillar - Shift your party's ideology on one issue (75 PP)

Party Growth

Gaining Seats

Your party gains seats through elections. Seat count is determined by:

  • Vote share - More votes = more seats (proportional system)
  • Voter preferences - Electors vote based on their values
  • Your voting record - Voters judge you by your legislative history
  • Consistency - Voting according to your ideology builds trust

Building Influence

Successful parties:

  • Vote consistently with their stated ideology
  • Build coalitions with like-minded parties
  • Recruit charismatic characters with high follower counts
  • Time their proposals strategically
  • Manage Political Power efficiently

Party Reputation

Your party builds a reputation through:

  • Legislative record - How you voted on every proposal
  • Laws enacted - Which laws you successfully passed
  • Government participation - Cabinet positions held
  • Longevity - Surviving multiple election cycles

Party Strategy

Ideological vs. Electoral Strategy

There are two main approaches:

Vote your values consistently

✓ Clear party identity ✓ Attracts ideologically aligned voters ✓ Builds trust and credibility ✗ May limit electoral appeal ✗ Could alienate centrist voters

Vote to maximize appeal

✓ Broader electoral base ✓ Can win centrist voters ✓ Flexible coalition building ✗ Inconsistent record ✗ May confuse voters ✗ Vulnerable to attacks on flip-flopping

Finding Balance

Most successful parties find a middle ground: stay true to core values while being flexible on less important issues.

Coalition Building

Since proportional representation rarely gives any party a majority:

  • Identify natural allies - Parties with similar ideologies
  • Communicate actively - Use the messaging system
  • Build international relationships - Use international blocs for cross-country coordination
  • Coordinate proposals - Support each other's legislation
  • Share government - Distribute cabinet positions fairly
  • Build trust - Honor agreements and vote as promised

Timing Your Proposals

Strategic timing matters:

  • Early in election cycle - Less risky, gives time for voters to forget
  • Mid-cycle - Normal time for routine proposals
  • Late in cycle - High-risk, highly visible, defines your campaign
  • After winning election - Mandate to implement your platform

Party Settings

Communication Preferences

Configure how you receive notifications:

  • Email alerts for new proposals
  • Election reminders
  • Message notifications
  • Vote deadline warnings

Privacy Settings

Control visibility of:

  • Your party's ideological positions (always visible)
  • Commissioned polls (public or private)
  • Internal party information

One Party Per Player

Each player can control one party at a time. Choose your country and party carefully — this is your sole vehicle for participating in the game.

Disbanding Your Party

You can voluntarily disband your party at any time:

  • All activists are released
  • Cabinet positions are vacated
  • Legislature seats are forfeited
  • The party is marked as disbanded

Reviving a Party

A disbanded party can be revived by its owner, restoring it to active status. However, seats, cabinet positions, and activists lost during disbanding are not automatically restored.

Inactivity and Auto-Disbanding

To keep countries active, Lawmaker monitors party activity:

  • After 8 days of owner inactivity, you'll receive a warning email
  • After 10 days of inactivity, your party is automatically disbanded
  • Auto-disbanding only occurs when the country is 70% or more full (to free up space for active players)

Stay Active!

Log in at least once every few days to prevent your party from being automatically disbanded. Even casting a single vote or sending a message resets your activity timer.

Tips for Party Success

Best Practices

  1. Define a clear ideology - Pick a lane and stick to it
  2. Vote consistently - Build a coherent legislative record
  3. Engage actively - Vote on every proposal
  4. Build relationships - Communicate with other parties
  5. Manage PP wisely - Don't waste Political Power on low-value actions
  6. Study voters - Commission polls to understand the electorate
  7. Recruit strategically - Choose characters that align with your brand
  8. Think long-term - Electoral success takes multiple cycles

Next Steps