Why Australia doesn’t have novelty candidates like Count Binface
A law change in 1998 meant an end to any possible joke candidates — though Mr 'Of The Above None' did slip through one year. The post Why Australia doesn’t have novelty candidates like Count Binface appeared first on Crikey .
Australia does not have novelty candidates like Count Binface due to a law change in 1998. This change ended the possibility of joke candidates running in elections. However, one exception was Mr Of The Above None, who managed to slip through the system one year.
Count Binface, whose real name is Jon Harvey, is a comedian and Oxford graduate who has specialized in satire. He first ran for election in 2017 as Lord Buckethead, a character inspired by a Star Wars parody film, and has since become a well-known figure in UK politics, often running against prominent politicians.
In contrast to the UK, where Count Binface has received hundreds of votes and gained viral fame, Australia's electoral laws have prevented similar characters from emerging. According to Crikey, this is due to the 1998 law change.
Brief written by urgent.news from Crikey, BBC News — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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