>>96544032
>The Tau Empire is ruled by Elemental Councils whose members are chosen by merit
And?

Being chosen by merit doesn't make you not a fascist. If anything it actually makes it more likely since they're not using a democratic method of choosing them but instead deciding who is the most fit to lead.

And them having auxillaries included doesn't mean they're not fascist either. Fascism doesn't have to mean an ethnostate, you can have a fascist state that merely embraces civic nationalism.