Popular YouTuber Niko Omilana is running in the UK election against Rishi Sunak in his Richmond and Northallerton seat.
Known for his comedic skits and prank videos on YouTube, this isn’t the first time Omilana has joined an election, having previously run for London Mayor in 2021.
While he ultimately came fifth and was unable to secure the title of London Mayor, Omilana did finish as the “biggest independent party.” And it seems he has not given up on a career in politics, now running against Sunak instead, who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2022.
YouGov has given a polling projection that could see Sunak’s party experience a wipeout of 232 seats, down to 140 MPs, while the Labour Party is forecasted to win with a historic 422 seats. And now, a YouTuber fancies his chances of winning a seat himself.
🚨 NEW: YouTuber Niko Omilana, who previously ran and came 5th in the 2021 Mayor of London election, is running against Rishi Sunak in his Richmond and North Allerton seat
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 7, 2024
The news of Omilana running was first shared by X account (formerly Twitter) ‘PolitIcsUK,’ with viewers claiming “this has potential to be the funniest election of all time.”
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The election is to select Members of Parliament to the House of Commons, with 650 constituencies each requiring one MP to represent local residents. According to PolitIcsUK, Omilana is running for a seat in Richmond and Northallerton.
“‘Niko Omilana’ is standing in at least five different constituencies, despite only being allowed to stand in a maximum of one,” the X account wrote. “The names are tied to different home addresses, suggesting people may have changed their name to Niko Omilana and stood.”
The general election will take place on July 4, giving Omilana just under a month to run his campaign and secure votes. As of now, he has yet to offer any insight into his participation in the election — though some fans are already stating they “hope he wins.”
“Residents of Northallerton. Please please do something funny,” one person wrote. Another fan was more skeptical of Omilana’s second election, writing, “He won’t win but I’d love him to.”