Elections in Alberta recommends 2027 vote be postponed as allegations of conspiracy emerge

Alberta’s chief electoral officer in his letter suggested to Legislature Speaker Ric McIver that the next election in the province should be held with the current electoral restrictions in place, or postponed.

Gordon McClure said in his letter to McIver, shared by the Opposition NDP, that Alberta elections will have sufficient time to conduct the provincial election, currently scheduled for Oct. 18, 2027, with integrity and safeguards.

McClure’s recommendations come ahead of a controversial report on new election restrictions that will be released next week.

“I urge all Members to consider the time required for implementation while discussions regarding electoral boundaries continue,” McClure said in his letter, which was dated Friday.

“Timely and definitive resolutions, as well as appropriate contingency plans if additional time is needed, are critical to protecting the readiness and successful conduct of Alberta’s next Provincial General Election.”

The letter was also addressed to Alberta MLAs.

McClure said there is already disagreement over the new boundaries suggested in the upcoming report, which has been presented to an all-party legislative committee and will be presented to the legislature in August.

Monday, and the disagreement could cause delays.

He said voting at the provincial level requires up to 18 months of preparation, and the body has experienced limitations in recent months, for various reasons including a secession referendum earlier this month.

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The report has been the subject of heated debate in the legislature over the past week.

NDP Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi said, after being briefed about it, that they were carrying out gerrymanders in two cities in southern Alberta – Lethbridge and Calgary.

Gerrymandering is a tactic that sees electoral districts designed not to reflect geographic or population patterns, but to concentrate or divide voters to benefit a particular political party.

Two members of the committee that produced the report said the proposal would draw a line between rural and urban voters.

The recent provincial election saw the UCP dominate rural areas and small towns, while the NDP held Edmonton. Both have struggled to make ends meet in Calgary.

Nenshi said if the boundaries were changed after the legislative vote passed, the NDP’s support would weaken in favor of the UCP. He said his party would challenge the decision in court on constitutional grounds.

The Constitution protects voters’ rights to effective representation.

Nenshi also said that the report showed that the panel tasked with designing the new boundaries appeared to receive instructions from the government and was not independent.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith accused Nenshi of questioning the integrity of the judges, including Brian O’Ferrall, a former judge and chairman of the panel in charge of the redraw.

Smith also denied NDP accusations that his government attempted to manipulate the election results in his favor.

He told Nenshi to stop complaining and start campaigning.

Calls for a new report and a panel to review the boundaries came after a previous bipartisan boundary commission split on its recommendations after months of public consultations.

The Justice Secretary’s office responded Saturday that it was reviewing McClure’s letter and would have more to say once that review is complete.

The NDP remains vocal heading into the weekend.

“For months, the Alberta NDP Caucus has warned against the UCP’s attempts to violate the democratic rights of Albertans and bring in electoral maps intended only to give the UCP a win in the next election, whatever the voters want,” Nenshi said in a statement on Friday.

“Now Elections Alberta is saying they don’t have enough time to implement the rigged UCP map in time for… the appointed election date – a date that Danielle Smith has extended to give herself six more months in power.”

In 2024, Smith’s government moved the fixed election date every four years from May to October, to avoid clashes with major natural disasters such as bushfires or floods.

—With files from Lisa Johnson and Jack Farrell

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