Instead of calculating who they hate more, the Sri Lankan people voted for the candidate they liked - an anti-corruption activist who got ~3% of the vote last time and was supported by a fringe left-wing party - and he won the presidency over the candidates of the two established parties.
This is cool news. It’s always great when politicians who think their jobs are secure get a reminder that voters really do get to decide who will represent them. That said…
Sri Lanka has a form of ranked choice voting. It looks like it hasn’t seen much use, with the two major parties trading the Presidency back and forth for some time, but it exists, and that’s a lot better than first past the post, which a lot of us are stuck with for the time being. If you’re trapped in America like me, then I definitely recommend agitating and organizing for voting reform, but until that happens, voting as if it doesn’t exist yet, because it doesn’t.
This election had fewer total votes cast than the last California gubernatorial election. Major political upheavals like this can happen, but they are more likely to happen in smaller elections. If you care about outsider political parties, the best move is to organize at the local or state level, and build a respectable foundation. The next time I hear someone talk about voting third party at the US Presidential level, I’m going to have a Ralph Nader / Florida / Bush vs. Gore flavored aneurysm.
I’m not up to date on Sri Lankan politics. What’s happening?
Instead of calculating who they hate more, the Sri Lankan people voted for the candidate they liked - an anti-corruption activist who got ~3% of the vote last time and was supported by a fringe left-wing party - and he won the presidency over the candidates of the two established parties.
Just doing a tiny bit of research…
This is cool news. It’s always great when politicians who think their jobs are secure get a reminder that voters really do get to decide who will represent them. That said…
Sri Lanka has a form of ranked choice voting. It looks like it hasn’t seen much use, with the two major parties trading the Presidency back and forth for some time, but it exists, and that’s a lot better than first past the post, which a lot of us are stuck with for the time being. If you’re trapped in America like me, then I definitely recommend agitating and organizing for voting reform, but until that happens, voting as if it doesn’t exist yet, because it doesn’t.
This election had fewer total votes cast than the last California gubernatorial election. Major political upheavals like this can happen, but they are more likely to happen in smaller elections. If you care about outsider political parties, the best move is to organize at the local or state level, and build a respectable foundation. The next time I hear someone talk about voting third party at the US Presidential level, I’m going to have a Ralph Nader / Florida / Bush vs. Gore flavored aneurysm.
Ah so this is funny because it disproves the rule. How do you like them apples, Duverger?