Swedes vote for Harry Potter, James Bond and Your Mum
As the Alliance government stands to miss out on an overall majority by a whisker, handwritten ballots for parties such as Joy Division, Pull Yourself Together and Djingis Cat have had an unlikely impact on Swedish politics.
Swedish elections rules allow for handwritten ballots, and parties such as the Feminist Initiative and Pirate Party urged their voters to make use of the alternative if printed party ballot papers were not available at local polling booths on election day.
But among the handwritten ballots are a plethora of names with a less serious nature.
Some had a film theme, with Harry Potter claiming a couple of votes, James Bond getting support, as well as Disney stars Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse given a voice.
Many ballots were of a more regional political nature, for example Stop the E4 west, Against Road Tolls and the Anti-Sleeping Policeman Party, or of a constitutional nature such as All Power to the King.
There were those of a more cruder nature, such as Shit piss cunt cocksucker motherfucker tits which claimed two votes in Gothenburg, and Masturbators for Peace getting recognition in Alingsås. While others included petty jibes at mainstream politicians, such as the Polish Reinfeldt's Bald Dome Party.
Christian religious figures also made an appearance, with Jesus, Jesus Christ and Jesus wins all claiming backers in western Sweden, while Father Christmas also got a look in despite the season. The more inter-faith God, also got a handful of votes from followers across the country.
Some had a family theme with Your Mother claiming one vote, My Self claiming a couple of adherents, while others were of a sporting and leisure nature, such as FC Juventus, Xavi Hernandes, and The Small Car and Intoxicating Liquor Federation.
With a total of 1971 votes being registered by hand-written ballot, and with the Alliance only 297 votes short of a popular majority (if not a majority of the seats in parliament), politicians across the political spectrum will sure to be mulling the votes that got away.
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Swedish elections rules allow for handwritten ballots, and parties such as the Feminist Initiative and Pirate Party urged their voters to make use of the alternative if printed party ballot papers were not available at local polling booths on election day.
But among the handwritten ballots are a plethora of names with a less serious nature.
Some had a film theme, with Harry Potter claiming a couple of votes, James Bond getting support, as well as Disney stars Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse given a voice.
Many ballots were of a more regional political nature, for example Stop the E4 west, Against Road Tolls and the Anti-Sleeping Policeman Party, or of a constitutional nature such as All Power to the King.
There were those of a more cruder nature, such as Shit piss cunt cocksucker motherfucker tits which claimed two votes in Gothenburg, and Masturbators for Peace getting recognition in Alingsås. While others included petty jibes at mainstream politicians, such as the Polish Reinfeldt's Bald Dome Party.
Christian religious figures also made an appearance, with Jesus, Jesus Christ and Jesus wins all claiming backers in western Sweden, while Father Christmas also got a look in despite the season. The more inter-faith God, also got a handful of votes from followers across the country.
Some had a family theme with Your Mother claiming one vote, My Self claiming a couple of adherents, while others were of a sporting and leisure nature, such as FC Juventus, Xavi Hernandes, and The Small Car and Intoxicating Liquor Federation.
With a total of 1971 votes being registered by hand-written ballot, and with the Alliance only 297 votes short of a popular majority (if not a majority of the seats in parliament), politicians across the political spectrum will sure to be mulling the votes that got away.
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