In season 1, episode 3, Capt. Apollo is taken hostage by Tom Zerek, who is played by Richard Hatch, who played "Apollo" from original BG.

In original Battlestar Galactica, they used "Microns" and "Centons" for time measurement. Now Minutes and Hours?

I have a hard time believing that anyone, especially prisoners would be so concerned about something like elections at this point in their ordeal. Prisoners certainly wouldn't be worried about it since it wouldn't serve them any purpose at all. They may stage a rebellion to get out of their cells and get better treatment, but for an election? I'm not buying it. They are a ship full of prisoners who bring very little benefit to the rest of the fleet. All they are up to this point is a drain on resources. I think they would know that they have very little leverage and once the hostages are either dead or released they have nothing. They are 100% expendable. A ship full of well behaved prisoners can be tolerated so long as supplies last. A ship full of rebellious prisoners that now pose a threat to the rest of the fleet, can not be tolerated. I wouldn't think twice about leaving them to their own devices now that its only the prisoners on that ship. Worrying about politics is for people in relative safety, not for those in imminent danger.