I’ve heard stories about elections that were rigged, even ones where dead people somehow registered and voted but, up until now, I’ve never heard of a case where someone who was taking a dirt nap won an election. The residents of a Romanian village have elected a dead man as their mayor.
From Reuters…
Neculai Ivascu, 57, who ran the village for almost two decades, died from liver disease just after voting began — but still won the election by a margin of 23 votes.
If you’re the loser, it’s kind of hard to put a positive spin on that.
“My opponent refused to talk about real issues. He took the low road.”
“It was a hard fought contest and now I throw my full support behind my worthy, yet departed opponent.”
“I know he died, but I don’t want change,” a pro-Ivascu villager told Romanian television.
Fancy that, a voter who does not want change.
In the end, election authorities gave the post to the runner-up, but some villagers and Ivascu’s party, the powerful opposition Social Democrat Party (PSD), have called for a new vote.
That brings up an interesting point; the dead guy’s own party is calling for a new vote. Think about that. The party knows that they won’t be able to manipulate the deceased. The party won’t have any influence at all over a dead guy.
The more I think about it, these people in this Romanian village might be on to something here. It just makes good sense to elect the defunct. The guy won’t be currying any favor to powerful, special interest groups. The chances of an embarrassing sex scandal are nil. The guy can’t embezzle money or hire a nephew.
In short, a dead Mayor won’t be making bad decisions.
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