Independent Candidate

Originally published in July, 2022.

I am trying an image-based prompt for the first time. The inspiration was Mister Bump UK and his post Accidental Hero. Kindly read him as well. Please give me feedback if you have any in the comments. Will help me a lot in improving my writing in the future. And as always, thanku for reading. Enjoy!

1051 words. 4 minutes.

“He was our hero,” remarked Ben Nelson walking with his best friend up the narrow streets of Heins. “We have done everything we can to win the seat, but if we fall short, don’t you think this will stain the history of the man who fought for this nation.”

Heins, once a famous city and tourist location, has now long been abandoned by its people as resources run dry and capitalism takes over the nation. Ben Nelson who is now 56, is running for the parliament from Heins as an independent candidate with high hopes of making his voice heard and changing the way people see the city once famous for uniting the nation against the oppressor.

“Very unlikely.”

“Well, I hope my funds don’t go to waste because as much as I am your friend, I funded your campaign with the hopes of reviving my old school tourism business,” exclaimed Freddie Jackson, a childhood friend of Ben and the owner of a large tourist group in Heins.

“And I wish you luck on that mister.”

It was getting dark at 5:45 pm. Heins was a small city with not much news. The only news station in the city had to work overtime to get some news and keep themselves a little relevant. Their cause was hugely helped by Ben, who after leaving the capital city as the secretary to the mayor, announced that he is running for the parliament from Heins. He is a modest guy with clear history. He helped the mayor up his ranks for the last ten years and had received a fair share of applause for it. However, he could not see his hometown and historical city of Heins get neglected and die out.

Heins was the epicenter of the famous independence movement that helped the nation defeat the rulers from Britain, who depleted the nation’s land for their benefit. And the center of this movement was the great George P Keeton, who fought and led his people throughout the revolution and brought them independence. Later he helped the fragile nation up its ranks by advocating for various economic reforms and human rights.

“But I would say that you brace yourself for what is coming as winning and losing is not in our hands. We have voiced ourselves and expect to see the results”.

“Don’t you think it’s getting a little too late?” asked Freddie with a long sigh.

“Yes, it is getting late, but you don’t expect the election commission to count the ballots for a city as small and irrelevant as Heins until they finish with the rest of them.”

The streets Ben and Freddie were walking was where the great George P Keeton fought for his people. Ben had extensively used the historical figure in his campaigns to remind people that they have something to cheer for. The migration rate in Heins was the highest in the nation. People were losing hope, and not just jobs and money. People had given up on political parties that did nothing for the city in the last 20 years. The voter turnout was the lowest as well. But this time, something changed. People got to see a new face, from their land, with the same demeanor as the great George Keeton. Freddie funded the campaign of his long-time friend with hopes of reviving his business.

As the clock turned 6 pm, Ben opened the news stream to see what was happening. He had avoided any news today because of the pressure, but he has to face it at some point. He had nothing to lose. He was up against the 3-time winner and millionaire Josh Benedick, who was expecting to win this time too. People had voted for Josh generously ten years ago with the hopes of a big business owner reviving their long-forgotten city, but it had been in vain. Josh had rallied in the early days to get some things done but later as his own family business boomed, he was never seen extensively in his constituency. Josh benefited thanks to his millionaire status and his support of the prime minister. The city of Heins, not so much.

“Hello everyone, as the evening comes to an end, we have fresh and exciting election news you have been waiting for. The election commission has just finished counting the ballots from the city of Heins and in dramatic fashion independent candidate and former chief secretary to the mayor of the capital Ben Nelson has registered a thumping victory in the national urban body elections. His win ends the 10-year tenure of the popular millionaire Josh Benedick who didn’t spend a single penny for his campaign and was expecting to win”.

“Jesus, we have made it.”

“Calm down, and listen.”

“Victorious Ben Nelson, who is one of the only 13 independent candidates to contest elections in the nation, got over half a million votes as opposed to Josh who was only able to score a hundred thousand votes. Nelson’s victory is a historic feat and what makes it sweeter is that it comes from the city of our founding father the great George P Keeton. Nelson will be the first independent parliament member in our history and as pledged during his campaigns will work to bring economic reforms and infrastructure back to the city just like its forefather. I am Mike, and you are watching ASM news”.

“Well, they made it sound like an easy win, didn’t they.”

“You got half a million votes, Ben. That is what you call an easy win”.

“Yes, but we weren’t expecting the win 20 minutes ago. And here we are now. That is not an easy win, my guy”.

“I don’t care. I guess I would be able to recover my funding and revive my business thanks to you”.

“Ha! calm down, mate. I have a lot on my plate right now, and you are certainly not the biggest piece there”.

“Remember, you have used the name of our founding father during the campaigns. You won’t have an easy way out like Josh if you do weird shit”.

“Well, Fred, I don’t have time to whine about elections anymore. Let’s go upstairs and meet Josh and listen to what he has to offer”.

The end.