章節 15: Chapter 15: Arthur's Visit
"No way, is it really that crazy?" Henris was half convinced, half skeptical. Although he knew his friend wasn't exaggerating, he still dared not fully believe it.
"Oh god, can't you believe me? I swear, when I arrived this morning, there were at least a few hundred people already here. I've never seen this building so crowded before." Martin said confidently.
Seeing his friend so sure, Henris believed him completely and continued to ask, "Martin, so how many people are running for election today? We are not going to be shut out of the State Parliament, right?"
The massive number of people caused even the usually confident Henris to doubt himself. Sydney had the fiercest competition in Australia, and even the well-liked Henris worried he wouldn't even make it into the State Parliament.
"Probably over a thousand, I'm afraid. At least several thousand contenders throughout this week's election period. But you don't need to worry too much, Henris. Over the years you've been in office, you've helped hundreds, if not thousands, of families. As long as half of them still remember your kindness, you can win this election." Martin looked at his worried friend and couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.
For officials like them in the city government, running for office automatically offered some advantages.
After all, legislators were involved in the nation's development and construction, and even a small state legislator could elect a governor and help shape state development policies.
This also meant the position required certain political aptitude, which was an advantage they had over ordinary Australian people.
On top of that, Henris had been quietly helping many poor families in Sydney, which had earned him an excellent reputation in the political arena.
With all these factors combined, Henris was one of the most advantaged candidates. Even if he couldn't make it into the House of Commons, getting into the State Parliament would be more than enough.
"I hope so. There's always the next chance if I don't make it into the House of Commons this time, right? Elections are held every two years." Henris felt relieved and more relaxed after being reassured by his friend.
Before long, a path was suddenly cleared through the packed State Parliament, and several guards carrying a roster entered. They stood in the center, signaling for everyone to be quiet before announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen, by order of His Highness the Duke, the first House of Commons election for the Australian Principality officially begins! Here is a list of registered participants. Once you register, you will be considered an official contestant. From now until May 17th, you may campaign and canvass throughout the entire Sydney district, but bribery and coercion are forbidden. Additionally, all candidates' votes for themselves will be considered abstentions and will only count votes cast for them by others. Voting closes at 24:00 on May 17th, and late votes will be invalid. These are the rules, and those who want to participate may now line up to register."
Scenes like this played out in all the designated cities for voting. As it was Australia's first House of Commons election, guards were tasked both with supervising the process and clearly explaining the rules and procedures for voting to all participants.
Among the rules, they specifically emphasized the prohibition of bribery and forceful methods to gain votes, which were strictly forbidden by Arthur throughout the entire voting process.
"Martin, let's go! If we wait any longer, we might miss our chance!" Seeing the long line in front of the guards, Henris hurriedly urged his friend.
For Australians, casting a vote was easy—just register their name, home address, and the candidate they support, and it would be considered a successful vote.
But for a candidate, winning the election wasn't that simple.
At least several thousand participants would emerge in Sydney alone throughout the week, and standing out among them to become one of the few who would ultimately enter the House of Commons was as difficult as climbing to heaven.
However, once they made it into the House of Commons, they entered the upper echelons of the Australian political establishment and even had the qualification to be elected to the Cabinet.
Perhaps with dreams of personally developing their country in mind, or fulfilling their politician dreams, or simply out of curiosity to try participating in an election once, the House of Commons election was widely welcomed by the Australian people.
May 10th, 10 PM.
When Arthur saw Sydney's election figures for the day, he was astonished.
In just a single day's time, Sydney had 1,342 candidates and 96,300 ballots cast. Among them, the candidate with the most votes already had nearly 500 votes, gaining some advantage in the election process.
This piqued Arthur's curiosity about the election, and he decided to check it out in person.
May 17th, Sydney, New South Wales Parliament.
It was the last day of the entire Australian House of Commons election and the craziest day of the election process.
After six days of continuous voting, there were over 5,300 candidates in Sydney alone, with more than 250,000 votes cast.
Although the statistics for other states didn't reach Arthur due to the short timeframe, he was able to infer from Sydney's figures that the number of participants in this election was by no means small, and it completely exceeded his original estimation.
As it was already the last day of the election, Arthur decided to visit the election site in person and see if he could gain some popular support in the process.
At the familiar State Parliament, Martin and Henris stood outside, discussing their respective poll numbers.
As it was already the final day of voting, no matter how many more speeches were given, the number of votes obtained would be very limited.
Thus, Martin and Henris planned to let fate decide, waiting to see if their efforts over the past few days had paid off and if they could enter their dream House of Commons.
Just then, the pair heard shouts from the crowd, "His Highness is here! His Highness is here!"
"His Highness is coming? Let's go, hurry! We may miss it if we're too late." Martin was instantly excited and dragged his friend towards the commotion.
Outside the State Parliament, Arthur stepped out of his horse carriage. As he smoothed his attire, he smiled and greeted the excited and fanatic crowd around him.
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