With banners, buntings and posters plastered everywhere, election season has made just about every spot in the country look like a festive party, now culminating in election day itself today.

Everyone appreciates how elections are an integral part of the democratic system and treat it as serious business. However, even the most serious business can be given some levity, with strange candidates sometimes appearing on the ballot.

As it happens, in some places, you don’t even have to be human to contest for a seat; you can be four-legged too and actually win!

Here are just a few strange stories of animals who were elected to office – no kidding.

1. Ioiô the Goat

In 1931, the town of Fortaleza, Brazil went into mourning after a beloved city councillor was laid to rest after many years of service. In fact, it was a ‘statesgoat’.

First arriving in Fortaleza in 1915, Ioiô was commonly seen wandering the city streets, where he became a town legend for his frequent romantic conquests.

In an attempt to clean up the city’s image, a law forbidding wandering animals on the streets was passed, much to the anger of the citizenry.

In the subsequent election, spiteful voters wrote Ioiô’s name on the ballots and thus, the goat ended up on the city council, allowing him to henceforth continue patrolling the streets.

2. Boston Curtis the Mule

With so many candidates campaigning for office, it is advisable to take the time to know who you are voting for, as well as what you are voting for.

In 1938, the town of Milton voted for one Boston Curtis to be their Republican Party candidate, with said candidate winning by 51 votes.

Boston Curtis turned out to be one heck of a stubborn politician, which was to be expected given that he was literally a mule.

Later it was revealed that it was one huge practical joke by another politician, who wanted to make a point that some voters have no idea who they’re voting for.

While the paperwork filed in Boston Curtis’ name was entirely legitimate, his signature was replaced by a hoofprint instead!

3. Tuxedo Stan the Cat

Spay-and-neuter campaigns are important to control the stray animal population, but in the Canadian city of Halifax, the campaigns were only for dogs and not cats.

To raise awareness about this form of discrimination, a group of citizens formed the Tuxedo Party and named Stan, a black and white cat, as their candidate.

The lack of a birth certificate actually disqualified Stan from having his name on the ballot, but nonetheless, the charming cat drew attention from far and wide.

Celebrities such as Anderson Cooper and Ellen DeGeneres endorsed his efforts and the city council actually took notice and donated US$40,000 to the local SPCA.

Sadly, in 2013, Stan lost his battle with cancer. His mantle would later be picked up by fellow feline brother, Earl Gray, who ran for the province’s premiership afterwards.

4. Morris the Cat

With all the political shenanigans going on, members of the public often become disillusioned with politicians.

In Xalapa, Mexico, this political disenchantment led to many voters throwing their support behind a feline candidate named Morris.

Despite it starting as a joke, support for the cat skyrocketed, much to the exasperation of the election organisers who urged people not to waste their votes on a cat.

With a campaign slogan of “Tired of voting for rats? Vote for a cat”, Morris became popular with the citizenry, finishing fourth against 10 other candidates.

At one point, his Facebook page had more “likes” than all other human candidates standing for election in the city!

5. Saucisse the Dog

Appropriately named “sausage” in French, Saucisse was a dachshund who drew immense attention during his life in Marseilles, France.

Found in a dustbin by animal rescuers, he was rescued and put up for adoption, eventually finding a forever home with a local publishing house.

Saucisse was famous as the protagonist of several detective novels and in 2001, he joined the local municipal elections with the slogan, “For a more human sauciété (a French pun on “society” and “sausage”).”

Despite the challenges, he actually garnered 4.5% of the vote, and he would go on to make a bid for the French presidency in 2002.

Until his death in 2014, Saucisse would live a rather eventful life, having a wine and city square named after him.