One can only wonder what example established democracies are setting to the developing world with regard to democracy.
We are very quick to accuse fledgling democracies of being less than democratic. Yet a few years ago we had the Bush/Gore fiasco and now the UK election. Long queues and many people unable to cast their vote because election officials were unable to process them before the close of the poll.
Then in South Australia we had labor activists handing out how to vote cards wearing family first T shirts.
If we cannot get it right do we have any basis for having a go at these fledgling democracies for their shortcomings?

The case you put before us has nothing to do with Democracy.
Your complaint is about human nature.
If I looked at Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Somalia, I could find much more to be concerned about.
Could you?

And I should add we're not even that much of democracy- we live under the Westminster system and as a result we don't even directly elect our government (we simply elect a local rep who among other local reps of the same party, form government at their own discretion- over half of the elected reps have no function, the majority of the remainders are delegated to backbench and a minority dominate senior role- without any other input from us, nor through term).
As are many self-proclaimed democracies.

I think we should instead try Switzerland, Sweden and Austria as examples to ourselves. For one thing, they ALL require an actual majority of representatives to lead the nation, instead of the smallest-loser takes-all (Switzerland requires an even broader church to maximize representation- albeit a controversial formula).

Not to mention the Swiss have Citizen Initiated Referenda.

King Hazza,
fully agree but how do you change the ingrained mentality of opportunism ?

Short answer individual, is we hopefully all elect a party that would at least allow full BCIR.

Easier said than done, but that's pretty much our only option.

Unless of course we vote in someone (ie one such lobbyist) who is massively dedicated to said reforms.

In short, until we get someone like that AND that person has a huge amount of people who would form a coalition with him or her in other electorates that ALL get voted in, I won't be holding my breath.

Although at least this seems to be an age where things are starting to change and people's political attitudes are broadening.