PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Mt Albert By-Election

Massive Voter Boycott In Mt Albert

Libertarianz leader Richard McGrath expressed bitter disappointment today that his party’s candidate, Julian Pistorius, was only able to muster 35 votes in the Mt Albert by-election.

“However, an electorate that has returned Labour MPs for the past 63 years was hardly going to vote for a party that promoted individual freedom, personal responsibility, smaller government and peaceful co-existence, was it?”

Dr McGrath said the mainstream media must shoulder a large share of the blame for the failure of small parties to challenge what he called “the Old Guard”.

“The prevailing mentality in our mainstream media, that only those parties represented in parliament have any ideas worth considering, is a kick in the guts for small parties such as Libertarianz. Without equal time on the podium at this by-election, most voters wouldn’t have known that United Future, the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party, the Kiwi Party, Bill and Ben and Libertarianz – all of them registered political parties with experience in previous general elections - were even in the Mt Albert race.

“Those who champion democracy will feel let down by the media, whose failure to expose voters to new ideas is a damning indictment of their so-called neutrality and even-handedness.”

“But let’s look at the result and highlight some more of what the mainstream media didn’t tell you – firstly that David Shearer was actually the runner-up in this by-election.”

“Fewer than 50% of eligible people in Mt Albert actually voted. It is estimated that 52% of voters boycotted the poll, which makes None Of The Above the winner, beating the Labour candidate into second place. The Mt Albert seat in Parliament should be left vacant.”

“Secondly, the Labour candidate received nearly eight thousand fewer votes than Helen Clark did a mere seven months ago. Thirdly, the Labour majority has been reduced by a thousand, despite National running one of its worst candidates in living memory. Fourthly, Julian Pistorius scored double the number of party votes received by Libertarianz in Mt Albert in 2008.”

“I would like to commend Julian and his campaign team for a superb effort over the last six weeks,” added Dr McGrath. “Unfortunately when the media ignore smaller parties and their ideas, it is difficult to gain traction, even in a by-election. For me, the eight hundred pound elephant in the room is the silent majority - the twenty thousand voters who stayed at home on Saturday, about which the mainstream media have written diddly-squat, pretending these people don’t exist.”

ENDS

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