Chapter 67: The General Election
It was Election Day, and all registered voters gained access to websites run by the Economic Institute. Each voter was given two unique pin numbers. One number was to access the main voting page. The other number was to access the region location page. The region location page generated another number based on the location of the voter. This number needed to be entered into the main voting page to access the voting page for the region. This page contained information about each candidate. This would include manifestos, commitments, summaries of press releases, and short videos. Voters were not allowed to move onto the next page until the allocated reading time and viewing time had expired. This process would take approximately an hour. On the final page, the voters would rank the candidates in order of preference.
The voting website was operated off a decentralised database. The database consisted of blocks of information. Every thirty seconds, a new block was added to the database. Each block consisted of votes cast by voters during the election. The votes were verified by standardised software run by volunteers. These volunteers were randomly selected from a larger pool of volunteers one month before the election. Upon verification, the database was updated with a new block. The updated database was transmitted to the devices of all volunteers running the standardised software.
Voting was open for twelve hours. Therefore, when voting closed, the final database consisted of 1,440 blocks. There were 1,440 volunteers. Each volunteer randomly verified the votes in just one block. The system was designed to prevent any meddling in the voting process. No one had the authority or capability to change or disregard votes as the database was replicated across the devices of all 1,440 volunteers.
Demarcus convinced both Jacob and Janice to rank Darren the highest and not rank the candidates aligned with the Business Sector. Demarcus did not have a vote as he was considered dead, and Darlene was still too young to vote.
As there were six candidates, the first-ranked candidate would receive six points, the second five points, and so on. Unranked candidates received zero points. Jacob finished voting in just over an hour. Janice took an extra hour, as she wanted to scrutinise each candidate. None of what she read or watched changed her mind, and she voted as agreed earlier with Demarcus.
At 9 p.m., voting closed. The Bramley family turned on the television to see the outcome of the election. All media companies broadcast the results show. The results for each region were to be announced in alphabetical order. The results for Adoy Region were to be announced first.
Senyek, the head of the Economic Institute, approached the podium. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the Economic Institute is proud to bring you the results of the General Election,’ he declared.
Senyek raised his hands in the air. The audience applauded loudly. ‘It does not matter whose names I read out tonight. We have two guaranteed winners. The first winner is democracy.’
The audience roared in delight. ‘The second winner is Sapey. The new representatives represent the best interest of all Sapiens,’ shouted Senyek as he tilted his head back while raising his microphone above his mouth.
The audience roared in delight again. ‘Let’s begin with our first region, Adoy. The perfect place to start. A region that sorely needs new blood at the top.’ In an attempt to build up some excitement, Senyek paused for a few seconds.
‘The candidate with the most points is Ray,’ announced Senyek. ‘Ray is a superb choice. He encompasses all the best values of the Business Sector.’
Senyek looked back down at the computer screen in front of him with a smile on his face. ‘The candidate with the second most points is Dratsab.’ There was a loud applause from the audience.
The Bramley family collectively sighed in disappointment at the results.
‘This means the Business Sector takes both seats in Adoy,’ announced Senyek. ’This is the first time in three decades. Change is definitely on the horizon.’
As the night continued, the candidates who aligned themselves with the Business Sector won region after region. Altogether, the candidates who aligned themselves with the House of Divine Knowledge lost almost half their seats.
In the Capital Region, Pardi was having a party with his friends from the Business Sector. They all watched the results of the election on a giant screen on the rooftop of Pardi’s apartment building.
After the results from each region were announced, they would shout and cheer. After the results for Cellrebrum were announced, Pardi called Collingswaggle to congratulate him and the other two representatives that won seats for the Business Sector. Collingswaggle jokingly said he was disappointed they did not take all four seats.
In the West Region, the results were very bad for the House of Divine Knowledge. Leanne was the only candidate aligned with the House of Divine Knowledge to win a seat.
Lily was sitting in her apartment alone, watching the results of the General Election. She was filled with sadness as the Business Sector had now firmly gained control of Parliament and would soon take control of Government in the upcoming Governors Election.
For the first time in her life, Lily felt completely defeated. She knew Pardi had outmanoeuvred her in every way. She picked up her phone to send a message congratulating Pardi. She received a vulgar, automated response from him. She looked over at her window. She could see her own reflection. She was angry at how she could have let herself be manipulated. However, her anger began to shift towards herself. She knew she played the same games as all the other politicians. She played them very well for years. She knew the adulation she received from so many was not fully deserved. She watched her reflection in the mirror change from the strong, tall, beautiful leader to the frailer and less physically attractive entity that she felt, at this moment, was more symbolic of the truth.
Lily looked at her phone again. She was used to seeing hundreds of messages. Most of them she would ignore or let one of her employees handle. This time, she had only a few messages. She wanted to take the time to see who was still paying attention to her.
She read a few of them. They were not angry messages. They were from a few who were grateful for what she had done in office. She finally opened a message from Demarcus. It caught her attention because Demarcus was from Adoy. Arguably, this is the place where her downfall began. After reading the message, she smiled to herself. She responded to the message. In her message, she agreed to meet Demarcus at her office in the West Region.
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