It is not the government's job to mandate how independent political parties run their affairs. It is the responsibility of party officials to govern themselves appropriately and responsibility.
Are you suggesting Hui Liliʻuokalani was at fault for what happened? Besides, federal law already mandates rules regarding how parties are ran. We might as well make federal law work to protect small parties from hijacking.
Forcing "default by-laws" onto political parties is the wrong way to go about this. It is long-standing tradition that the federal government not play a major role in the operating business of party management. The few laws we do have on the books, like Sec. 5 of the Federal Electoral Act, are extremely minimal. To demand that all new parties immediately implement specific details regarding nomination periods specific and unanimous consent exceptions frankly robs them of their independence. Instead of implementing rigid rules as how parties can operate, let's pass a measure that will protect the autonomy of minor parties and prevent this from happening again.
Current federal law mandates that a majority of registered members (seemingly including members expelled from the party) can propose by-laws or elect a chair at any point in time, regardless of what a party's by-laws claim. Wouldn't it make sense to require that those by-laws or chair elections be voted on for a period longer than few minutes rather than leave open the current ambiguity?
Also, these are hardly "rigid rules" if they can be repealed and modified at will. It would stop outsiders from seizing control within a few minutes and leaving just as quickly after they accomplished their scheme.
What alternatives do you think would work better to protect small parties from these tactics?
