Chapter 44: Governors Election
It was the day of the Governors Election. Pardi arrived early to avoid contact with any of the representatives or current governors. He went straight to the gallery. The representatives gradually took their seats on the Parliament Floor. Collingswaggle arrived. He glanced up at Pardi. Pardi looked back unemotionally.
Soon after, Lily arrived. She was making her way to her seat when Jallelle called out to her. ‘You backstabbing little bitch.’ Lily turned around to face her. Jallelle walked right up to her. ‘After all I have done, you want to just kick me to the curb,’ said Jallelle angrily and in a raised voice.
‘I appreciate everything you have done, but you don’t have sufficient support anymore. We need the numbers,’ replied Lily calmly.
‘We’ll see who has the numbers. You might be surprised,’ Jallelle said as she walked to her seat. Lily continued to make her way to her seat.
A few minutes later, all the representatives were in their seats. The lights dimmed. A member of the Economic Institute entered the Parliament Floor. He walked up to the podium.
For the election sessions, a randomly selected member from the Economic Institute was selected to chair them. Jagwa was the chair for this session. The chair’s responsibility was to explain the rules of voting, declare the start of voting, declare the end of voting, and announce the results of voting. All votes were cast electronically and were tabulated immediately after voting was closed.
‘Welcome everyone to the Governors Election,’ said Jagwa. ‘For this type of election, only representatives who do not hold governor positions are allowed to vote. Each representative has twelve preferential votes. They are required to rank their votes from one to twelve. Their highest-ranking selection is given twelve points. Second highest, eleven points, and so on until the twelfth selection, which receives just one point. For this election, there are forty-six candidates. Representatives are allowed to vote for any of these candidates. Representatives are given thirty minutes to rank their selections. They are permitted to change their minds as many times as they like within this time period. Once the thirty minutes have expired, the votes are finalised. I will announce the newly elected governors in order of who received the most votes. Representatives, your time begins now.’
Jagwa moved from the podium. The lights brightened. A giant countdown appeared on the giant television screens. It began counting down.
Yassme and Yassmay were sitting in their lounge watching the elections on their television. They had their Lily merchandise out and a big banner across the lounge with the words ‘Go Lily, you’re the G.O.A.T.’ written on it.
‘She’s going to win hands down, I know it,’ said Yassme.
‘Odds are good. She is ranked third favourite of winning a position,’ said Yassmay. ‘There are twelve positions. So there is reason to be confident.’
‘Better than Collingswaggle,’ said Yassme. ‘He is ranked tenth. So, she will smash him for sure.’
‘He was. According to an update by Cella, he is ranked fifth, only two behind Lily,’ said Yassmay.
‘Shouldn’t worry, the guy is a loser,’ said Yassme.
The clock ran down to zero. The giant television screens switched to ‘voting over’. The lights dimmed again as Jagwa made his way to the podium.
‘I would like to inform everyone that voting has closed. I will now announce our new governors,’ said Jagwa.
He pressed the button on the screen in front of him. ‘Our first new Governor is John. He is affiliated with the House of Divine Knowledge,’ announced Jagwa. ‘Our second new Governor is Margo. She is also affiliated with the House of Divine Knowledge. Our third new Governor is Ramidian. He is affiliated with the Business Sector.’
Jagwa continued reading names. The next seven governors in a row were from the Business Sector. Collingswaggle was the seventh name to be called. The eleventh governor to be named was Lily. The twins sighed in relief, but they were annoyed that she was selected so low down.
There was only one governor left to be called. If he or she was from the Business Sector, the Business Sector aligned governors would gain a powerful majority. Lily was hoping that the last Governor would be Maria, but she would also be relieved if it was Jallelle. She did not want it to be Denver or Mac.
Jagwa gave a long pause before announcing the twelfth governor. ‘Your twelfth and final governor is Denver. He is affiliated with the Business Sector,’ he called out. The Business Sector representatives jumped to their feet in celebration.
Lily took a deep breath. She sighed in disappointment. She considered the result to be a setback rather than a disaster. She knew there would be a vote tomorrow for a General Election. Pardi told her the Business Sector was strongly in favour of calling one for six months. She believed they were overconfident.
Pardi waited for Parliament to clear before leaving. When he got home, he messaged Lily. ‘Sorry things didn’t work out. I tried to get you the fourth position. I guess the Business Sector had too much momentum.’
‘Don’t worry, I know you tried,’ replied Lily in a message. ‘It is more on me than you. I should have kept support for Jallelle. She may have lost public support, but not necessarily support from the representatives.’
‘Come over, the girls are cooking cauliflower burgers and carrot chips,’ messaged Pardi.
‘That sounds tempting. Sure, why not?’ messaged Lily.
Around an hour later, Lily showed up at Pardi’s apartment. Pardi opened the door to welcome her. She was carrying two bottles of pineapple juice. Pardi led her to the dining area. The girls placed the food on the table. Lily poured everyone a glass of pineapple juice. They all tucked into the food.
‘These cauliflower burgers are really nice. How did you make them?’ Lily asked the girls.
‘Easier than you might think,’ replied Yassme. ‘We have a burger patty maker. Insert any ingredient you like, and it makes it into a patty.’
‘Well, almost,’ added Yassmay. ‘For best results, follow the cookbook for recommended combos.’
‘Well, I look forward to eating lots more of these,’ said Lily.
‘So, you are still interested in coming over despite the disappointing election outcome,’ said Pardi.
‘Of course, the election result wasn’t a disaster,’ replied Lily. ‘The two governors with the most votes represent the House of Divine Knowledge. I still have my position. Collingswaggle didn’t do as well as he expected. It seems like you have been true to your word.’
‘I’m glad you are taking things so well,’ said Pardi with a smile.
The five of them spent the rest of the evening playing the game ‘Shootem-up.’ After that, Lily tucked the girls in bed.
‘Do you want to discuss any strategy for tomorrow’s vote?’ asked Pardi.
‘Nope, it’ll be straight forward,’ replied Lily. ‘It is clear everyone believes a General Election is in their best interest.’
Pardi kissed Lily on the cheek as they said their goodbyes.
Lily was right about the desire for a General Election. Eleven of the twelve governors voted in favour of having one in six months. John was the only governor to vote against it.
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