The first result is in from the five referendums being held in Zongongia following the five-party coalition deal made last year. The question, “Should Zongongia establish a carbon rationing system”, has been rejected by 73% of voters who submitted a valid ballot paper. This question was proposed by the Green Ecology party and was listed fourth on the ballot. A significant number of submitted ballot papers were discounted as being invalid, predominantly for the reason of remaining blank.
The carbon rationing system would have allocated a number of “carbon credits” to each Zongongian citizen per year, with goods and services having a carbon cost allocated to them based on the amount of carbon and other greenhouse gases consumed in their manufacturing. For example, flights would be highly expensive, while organic produce from a nearby farm would be significantly cheaper. The proposal was designed to combat the effects of climate change and encourage citizens to choose less carbon-intensive options, according to the proposal published by the Green Ecology party.
Almost 17% of ballot papers submitted were deemed invalid, and 93% of that 17% were left blank. This is significantly higher than the average number of invalid ballots, which usually sits at less than 1%. Polling experts suggest that a large number of voters did not have an opinion or desire to vote on this particular question, and would likely not have turned out to vote had the other referendums not been on the same day. Turnout on the referendums overall was 87%.
Green Ecology leader Jacob Johansen, who has recently come under fire for rumoured connections with Kerlile, expressed his disappointment with the result, saying: “climate change is the number one issue of our times – without tackling the climate crisis, we will lead ourselves on a path towards the extinction of humanity. We must all be prepared to take measures to combat this crisis, even when they make us uncomfortable, and I am disappointed that my fellow citizens do not see it this way. We will, of course, respect this result as a party and look towards alternative solutions moving forward.”
