The thread for flipping shits (and tables)

I wasn't going to let this go any further than bitching about it on IRC, but the fact that the electoral tribunal, behind closed doors, ruled in favor of the corrupt incumbent party is intolerable.

At my uni, the student union is usually controlled by a party that manages its $16 million budget. Each year, elections are held to determine this party. Parties need to register their name and members in order to be on the ballot as an official party - otherwise they have to run as independent and don't get listed on the official ballot.

This year, the incumbent party decided that they were going to change, without notice and behind closed doors, certain key pieces of legislation: namely one that protects registered names for major parties for up to ten years. They then went ahead and registered the names of every opposing party, as well as a swathe of other names (interestingly, one of these was 'Beer'). As a result, every opposing party was barred from registering, and changing their name would have to result in thousands of dollars' worth of merchandising, brand building, flyers, shirts, posters etc. needing to be replaced, which couldn't be afforded because, as previously mentioned, the incumbents have the 16 million dollar budget.

The parties then withdrew in protest, leaving only a smattering of independents to run against the juggernaut that is the incumbent party. They formed a group for democracy, which is now being spammed by proponents for the incumbents employing bars to rational thought like PRATT (Point Refuted A Thousand Times) i.e. repeating themselves every fifteen minutes in a new post, demanding evidence and ignoring it when it's presented. The movement, however, got the mainstream media on the scene, which is a Good Thing on that matter at least.

But dammit, the fact that this happened just makes me despair for humanity.

Oh, right, did I mention that the incumbents have been in power for the past five years? And that last year they were going to lose, but also changed the vote counting from alternative vote to first past the post at the last minute so that they could win?

Not to mention the fact that over those five years, they've done nothing but bring franchises into the uni in order to make money, and spending that money on extravagant parties and merchandise, all the while promising to improve student services and abolish student taxes? And goddamn textbook subsidies?!

Sigh.

If i am incoherent on irc later this is probably why.