In what should be considered the most unlikely PR for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Darth Sidious himself, Emperor Palpatine, has been elected to office in the recent Ukrainian parliamentary elections. Well — an Emperor Palpatine, at least.
Specifically, Palpatine Dmitry, a 25-year-old man whose job title at “LLC Palpatine Finance Group” is officially “Emperor,” was elected with 54.4 percent of the vote to a seat on the Odessa City Council, according to a Facebook post by mayoral candidate Sasha Borovik. “This is beyond my understanding,” Borovik wrote. “People, what is wrong with you?”
Dmitry was only one of a number of candidates in the elections named for Star Wars characters; other candidates for the Ukrainian Internet Party gave their names as Darth Vader, Yoda, Padme Amidala and Chewbacca, with the latter being arrested outside of a polling station Sunday for canvassing while costumed.
Additionally, Ukrainian artist Aleksander Milov last week unveiled a statue of Darth Vader, which had originally been a statue of Vladimir Lenin that was transformed — including the placement of a Wi-Fi hotspot in Vader’s head — in order to avoid removing the statue under a law banning Communist symbols in the country.
Clearly, Ukraine has taken the suggestion that there has been an awakening very literally. If only voters could remember what happened last time a Palpatine took office …
