Pirates in two countries have had to face disappointing results in recent elections. While the Swiss and the Czechs are still celebrating recent electoral victories the Pirates of Finland and the ACT region in Australia  must recharge their spirits from the recent low results.

Finnish Municipal Elections
On Sunday the 28th of October Finland had their municipal elections. The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported that the overall turnout for the election was “hugely disappointing”. The election participation fell to 58.2 %, a decline of three percentage points from 2008. Even the nationalist Finn’s Party, who in their prognosis was meant to do very well, ended up far from expectations. It seemed that Finland wanted to send a message of satisfaction with the current coalition and the Pirates were squeezed out along with the others. For the Finnish Pirate Party the 0.2% they received were even more disappointing as they had done better in the 2011 parliamentary elections.

Australian Capital Territories Election
A little more than a week ago (20th of October) the Australian Capital Territories (ACT) region had their regional election. Because of the complicated counting procedures the results have just been made official. The ACT Pirates did not manage the surprise of winning a seat in their parliament either. As reported earlier, despite a last minute membership drive, PPAU were unable to reach the hurdle required to stand as a party in the regional election. The three candidates had to stand as independents and did quite well considering the circumstances. However they did not get far enough in the complicated preferential voting system that was used.

The candidates from both elections may not have gained any seats but they and their campaign staff have gathered valuable experience that will be of great value in the next round of elections. Not only for themselves but for the Pirate movement as a whole.

On a lighter note, here are three entertaining videos of the ACT candidates campaigning with the help of Lego: Glen Takkenberg, Stuart Biggs and Mark Gibbons. Maybe you could use as similar idea for a campaign in your region.

Featured image CC-BY-SA Pirate Times with content from wstryder and OzMark17

About Andrew Reitemeyer

I joined the Pirate Party of Lower Saxony in Germany in April 2012, once I found out that non citizens were welcome to join and become active members of the Party.
I joined the Pirate Times soon after it was started as a proof reader and am now an editor and author. Since then I have returned to my native New Zealand and joined the Pirate Party of New Zealand.
Politically I come from the libertarian left and have, up to now, not regarded any political party as having a solution for the democratic deficit that envelops the world. With the advent of the Pirate Party, which truly embraces grass roots democracy, I have found a political home. The Pirate Times is a way I can contribute to furthering the Pirate Movement around the world.
Skype: frithogar

 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

 

Pirates in two countries have had to face disappointing results in recent elections. While the Swiss and the Czechs are still celebrating recent electoral victories the Pirates of Finland and…