Farage Re-Elected in By-Election as Joke Candidate Surprises with Strong Showing

Hard-right British politician Nigel Farage was re-elected to his parliamentary seat Friday in a by-election shunned by the major parties -- handing his main rival, joke candidate Count Binface, a larger than expected share of the vote. Farage, who triggered Thursday's polls by resigning from the parliamentary seat he had held since 2024 over an investigation into his finances, swept 63 percent of the ballots in the eastern English constituency of Clacton, results showed. While votes were still being counted, Farage had declared victory, and refused to attend the official count. "The verdict is in and it is a convincing and overwhelming win," he said as supporters chanted his name at an event in Essex broadcast on X . Count Binface, the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey -- exceeded expectations, however, taking 9,455 votes, 27 percent of the total. Analysts had anticipated a win for Farage but underestimated the appeal of the self-styled "intergalactic space warrior" from planet Sigma IX, who campaigns wearing a rubbish bin on his head. The vote had been snubbed by Britain's main political parties, including the governing Labour Party, as a stunt by the Reform UK leader to dodge scrutiny of his financial dealings. That gave dozens of fringe candidates including Binface a chance to seize the spotlight. "The moral victory is already mine," Binface told AFP at the counting centre early Friday. If the other parties "choose not to stand, somebody has to stand up and be the opposition. And so it's my humble duty to actually be His Majesty's official opposition," he added. "If a majority of the voters of Clacton say they would like (Farage) to be returned as their MP, that is to be respected," Binface added. Farage said Essex Police had warned him that an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result" was planned. Acting Returning Officer Ian Davidson said election officials had worked with police to ensure the process was "completed safely and securely".