Opinion: Recall is the Way Forward
Written by Vlaska
The election process and the right to vote are things that are held sacrosanct in Europeia, and we will do anything to protect them. Recently, we had a record number of people exercising their right to vote, which resulted in the Brunhilde/Rach ticket winning. Brunhilde was recently banned for disturbing predatory behavior. In the aftermath of these events, a petition to hold a referendum on new elections, started by Justice Skizzy Grey, passed, and now we have a great question in front of us. Did we elect Rach to be our President?
The answer to this question is a resounding no. While the law says we did, there is more to this question than a purely legal interpretation. Rach was a replacement Vice President (VP) and had a limited role in crafting the campaign vision set forth by the ticket. Ideas and cabinet picks were a greater manifestation of the original ticket rather than Rach’s own influence as replacement vice president. I wish for someone to win on their own ideas and platform, or win on a platform where many of their own ideas are manifested.
“The entire election was carried out under false pretenses,” Skizzy Grey, the original creator of the referendum petition, stated. “We need to start over. If she does [want to be president], I hope she runs on her own platform.”
Comments in the current recall debate contain a vehement opposition to a new election. Many have compared this situation with Writinglegend's ascension to the presidency after Cat’s resignation.
“Rach has just as much of a democratic mandate as Gleg had when he assumed the Presidency last term,” Punchwood, former Senator, commented. “Rach has already shown her determination to get us through this tough time by asking her opponent in the elections to serve as her vice president. That is not only unifying, that is true leadership.”
This is very different situation because Writinglegend had much more involvement in the Cat/Writinglegend platform and was not a replacement figure. He was there from beginning to end to assist with cabinet choices and campaign vision.
Cat and Writinglegend were on the same page, however, Rach actively campaigned against politically active Vice Chancellors (VCs), yet jumped straight onto Brunhilde’s ticket. That to me says that Rach doesn’t wholeheartedly support all of Brunhilde’s ideas and plans. If she wants to be president, she needs to be given a direct support from the people on her own ideas and contributions.
People voted for Brunhilde’s platform, not Rach’s, and any votes for the ticket was for the President and not the vice president. People did not believe that executing the platform would fall onto Rach. Rach has rebutted these statements saying that she wrote a complete section on the World Assembly Legislative League (WALL) and “helped mold” the foreign affairs section as she was initially selected to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
”So the concept that I was not very involved is incorrect. The whole election period was one that I poured my heart and soul into,” she rebutted. Rach's involvement in these two sections cant really be described as major. People voted for those sections to be executed as they were planned by the other individual on the ticket, and that is yet another reason to have this recall and give a new mandate with a fresh platform.
In these tough times, we need to rally behind someone we all directly chose to be president with a strong democratic mandate. Regardless of the outcome, the recall referendum is the best way to decide if the mandate belongs to Rach or if there will be new elections. In my opinion, Europeia should vote for new elections at the ballot to give a separate mandate after the recent administrative actions. If Rach feels comfortable as president, then she should be ecstatic launching a campaign based off of her ideas and strategies for the future of our region.
