471.21 // Duneeden Elects War-Hawk Hammond Peramis
[Pictured: Senator Hammond Peramis at age 32 – a vocal opponent of the Republic’s position during the Thanium Wars, now in his 50s.]
DUNEEDEN: The Republic’s newest signatory planet has elected veteran senator Hammond Peramis as its representative in Coruscant, following a contentious election held in the capital of Ro’dyn.
Local candidate Warden Mok Drask of Ro’dyn was narrowly defeated after a snap election to elect Duneeden’s representative in the Galactic Senate. Mok Drask is the Warden of the capital of Ro’dyn, and previously oversaw Duneeden’s introduction into the Republic. He was assumed to take the role of the planet’s elected Senator without serious contest in the election.
Yet in a shock result veteran politician Hammond Peramis, former diplomat and envoy, won with a slim majority following a late recount. Peramis, a native of Coruscant, entered the election race with the promise of “modernising Duneeden” and “opening the doors” to Republic businesses to develop and protect the planet.
Mok Drask has refused to congratulate his opponent – blaming the election defeat on “a flood of foreign corporate cash” and Peramis’ ties to the powerful “war-hawk” lobby in the Galactic Senate. Duneeden’s proximity to Coruscant, and the recent attack on the planet, furthered the faction’s influence in the capital during the late stages of the campaign.
Peramis is a member of the Pym-Peramis political dynasty, founded by the Republic senator and corporate leader Drextar Pym (24 BBY – 57 ABY), the chief prosecutor for the Senate panel responsible for prosecuting Imperial military leaders after the Galactic Civil War. Hammond Peramis describes himself as a “constitutional warrior”, and earned infamy for his public opposition to Chancellor Khorta, and support of Jedi Master Kudor Okun, during the Thanium crisis.
He is expected to take up his new office in Ro’dyn in the coming days.