The McGillicuddy Serious Party (McGSP) operated as a satirical political party in New Zealand politics during the late 20th century. Between 1984 and 1999, McGillicuddy Serious provided "colour" to New Zealand politics to ensure that citizens not take the political process too seriously. The party's logo, the head of a medieval court jester, indicated McGillicuddy Serious's status as a joke party.
The party stood candidates in the 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996 and 1999 General Elections; and the 1986, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1998 Local Body elections; along with various local-body and parliamentary by-elections and even some university student-association elections.
The McGSP gained its highest ever number of votes in New Zealand's last first-past-the-post (FPP) election in 1993, when it stood candidates in 62 out of 99 electorates and received 11,714 votes, or 0.61% of all votes cast.
Read more about McGillicuddy Serious Party: Origins, Challenge For The Crown, Selecting Candidates, Policies, Decline and Plummet, Disbandment and Deregistration, Electoral Results, McGillicuddy Candidates, Younger Pretenders, Current Status
Famous quotes containing the word party:
“Yesterday the Electoral Commission decided not to go behind the papers filed with the Vice-President in the case of Florida.... I read the arguments in the Congressional Record and can’t see how lawyers can differ on the question. But the decision is by a strictly party vote—eight Republicans against seven Democrats! It shows the strength of party ties.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)