This Canadian man has made history by becoming the first candidate to get zero votes in an election
Felix-Antoine Hamel, a candidate in the by-election in Toronto's St. Paul's, has created history, not with his winning or losing margin, but for not getting even a single vote. In the elections on Monday, Hamel got zero votes, a first for any candidate in the country in a Federal election.
Protest candidate?
By his own admission, the 45-year-old Montreal musician was not in the election to win but to register his protest. According to Hamel, he decided to run for office as part of a protest over the first-past-the-post election system in the country.
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Longest ballot in Canadian history?
He was one of dozens of activist candidates who contested the by-election to protest the Trudeau government¡¯s abandonment of electoral reforms. This resulted in more than 80 names being listed on the ballot paper, the longest in Canadian history.
While hundreds of candidates in the past have also received no votes, in those cases, they still won their seats because they ran unopposed. The last such acclaimed seat was won in a 1957 by-election in Lanark, Ontario.
True unity candidate??
Despite not getting even a single vote in his name, Hamel was still upbeat and pointed out the bright side of things. ¡°When I saw the result, I was like: ¡®Well, I am the true unity candidate. Everyone agrees not to vote for me,¡¯¡± Hamel told CBC News. Hamel was joined at the bottom by two other candidates who got two votes each against their names.
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Wasn't expecting to create history?
According to Hamel, while he knew he wasn't winning, he never expected to make a mark in the history books. ¡°I¡¯m one of the last people that would be expected to make Canadian history in any way,¡± he said. Hamel said his zero vote was worth it as it brought attention to the need for voting reforms. ¡°As long as I have the right and the privilege to get zero votes in an election, then we are truly in a democracy,¡± he said.
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