Hello folks, and hello Clif
Just bought the game and decided that it is quite unrealistic to not be able to rig elections.
I am from Eastern Europe myself, so I know that if there is no rigging in elections, then these are not in fact real world elections.
So, I am now working on a mod, (and I will release it soon) that according to my plan should enhance your roleplay experience with this cool game.
The Roleplay mod will be separated in couple of modules, that will exist under one roof. The roof will be one single mod called Roleplay Mod.
So far, I am working on Dictatorship Module that will let you stay in power no matter what people think about your amazing persone.
Dictatorship Module
+ Ability to implement dummy “Change of the Government Policy”
Roleplay dummy-policy (cheat). Before the coming elections, if your party is not passing through 50% voting threshold, you can enact this Policy for no cost and immediate effect in order to boost the % of all voting groups up to 100%. Under normal conditions this is cheating, but if you Roleplay, you get immediate reelection, and you continue your game. This roleplay move is simulating the actual party change, and famous “change is in the air” voters cheer-up mood. If you continue to roleplay, you should be advised to cancel the policy next turn after elections, so the voters actual % gets to reality. This way you can roleplay the change from Conservative to Liberal government, when first half of your game you play as Conservative, and second part of the game you roleplay the Liberals.
For greater effect dismiss the Cabinet and reshufle it completely. (I will try to do it through events, if I can)
+ Ability to rig the elections
Roleplay policy. With substantial financial cost and drop in other stats, you can choose your power base voter group (separate policy for each of voter groups) and rig elections with their help. For example if your support among patriots is the biggest in comparison to other groups, you can roleplay it as if this is your powerbase, and these people will help you to stay in power. You can “call them to streats” and organize manifestations in your support, which will boost their % on your elections. If your “loosing margin” is small enough (lets say you just need additional 5-8 %) your power group (lets say Patriots) can be boosted up to 100% and help you secure the elections victory. For roleplay sake, you should cancel the policy once again after being re-elected.
I will add more, as there are other options I am thinking about, in order to help you to stay in power for as long as you want to be El Presidente 