When They have enough fine control over the rigging, They love to "just barely squeak out" a win. Think about it: do you seriously believe anything is so evenly split in human affairs? They'd get a bigger differential just asking, "Were you assigned male or female at birth?"

They believe "The Unbegun" find these "close contests" most convincing, and They're probably correct about that. "If it was rigged it would be really lopsided, so this is proof that it wasn't!"

There is an additional subtle emotional pressure relief effect: "So close! We'll get them next time for sure!" The peasant extremists will put away any torches and pitchforks and return to their huts for another couple of years.