Political Analysts Question Aguard's Chances Following No-Vote Bill

Following the passing of the bill to deny votes in occupied Federal systems, several political analysts in the cluster agree that presidential candidate Celes Aguard may have lost one of her largest voter blocs.

"Aguard's pledge of support for frontier settlements and low-security regions, as well as her wish for a total military effort to reclaim the lost systems gave her a strong base of support in Placid and Verge Vendor," says Arroch Dermani, an expert at Gallente politics working for Amarr Certified News. "The disenfranchisement of those territories has denied the Aguard camp one of its strongest cards."

"This has strengthened Jacus Roden position as a top candidate, followed by Garioss. Aguard still places high in Everyshore polls, but with the loss of these potential votes her chances of winning the presidency are slim," comments Felisenne Olvenari, Professor of Political Sciences at the University of Caille in Aporulie.

The Scope's own Remi Eyeleranne said in his news segment Eye on the Election: "Celes [Aguard] now has to fight an uphill battle where most of her opponents have the higher ground." And the passing of the bill prompted him to move Aguard down from her position in his "Election Prognosis" after having been one of the front runners for many weeks.

Aguard herself was an outspoken opponent of the bill, and called Senator Vilard Garioss - supporter of the bill and one of her opponents in the race for president - "a villain who ravages our constitution with no thought of the implications for the people of the Federation."