Far-right extremist, Avi Yemini has publicly declared he would register the ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Muslim Votes Matter’ Parties to funnel votes to far-right political parties, intentionally deceiving voters to get himself and other far-right extremists elected.
This is currently legal under Victoria’s undemocratic ‘group voting’ system.
Victoria is the only state in Australia where, if you vote above the line in the upper house, like over 90% of Victorians do, you don’t get to choose your preferences - political parties decide for you.
Some bad actors manipulate this system, making fake parties with progressive names, harvesting votes to get far-right conservatives like Avi Yemini and One Nation elected.
Other dodgy actors charge want-to be politicians up to $55,000 to syphon preferences from these fake parties, getting politicians elected with tiny percentages of the vote.
In 2022, One Nation got an MP elected through this vote harvesting scheme with just 3.72% of the vote.
Yemini is the second person so far to announce they will use this corrupt system to harvest votes. In February, anti-lockdown campaigner, Monica Smit, said she would run under the name of “Save the Environment Party” to funnel votes to right-wing parties who have anti-environment policies.
Group voting has been abolished everywhere else in Australia, and multiple Victorian inquiries have said it’s bad for democracy and should be reformed.