VOTE-SPLITTING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1720, 10 April 1913, Page 6

VOTE-SPLITTING.

The number of candidates announced for the City Council seats this year probably constitutes a record for Wellington. While it is in son:?. respects, a" healthy sign that there should ba so many publicspirited citizens ready (o come forward and offer their services to the municipality, the. situation is not without its embarrassments. The present election is one of unusual interest and importance on account of the determined attempt which is being made by the Labour-Socialists to capture complete control of the Council! As already pointed out on previous occasions, the LabourSocialists have nominated fifteen candidates for the fifteen scats, and these arc bsing run as a ticket. The Labour-Socialists and their friends and supporters know exactly where they are in recording their voters— they simply vote "the ticket." The result is that they will concentrate their whole strength on the one set of fifteen candidates. Those who are net Labour-Socialists, and who wish to prevent the control of the City's affairs passing into the hands of a class organisation of the kind, are in the embarrassing position of having so many candidates outside of the Labour-Socialist tiekct to vote .for that it is quite certain there will

be a splitting of votes. This is, of course, playing right into the hands of the Labour-Socialists, aud apparently there is no way of preventing it. The "ticket" supported by the Municipal Association is not one which can be relied on to sccure anything like a block vote, owing to the fact that there are candidates omitted from it who will, on their individual merits, command a very large share of public support. The best solution of the difficulty would be for certain of the candidates to retire, but any arrangement of this kind appears to be out of the question. Possibly, as election day draws nearer, there may be a better_ opportunity than now of estimating the individual chances of the candidates outside the Labour ticket, and citizens will then be able to form a sounder judgment as to how to avoid wasting their votes on those who have little prospect of success. At present, however, it is a very puzzling problem.