Alberta NDP leadership race Chief Returning Officer Amanda Freistadt announced 85,144 members will be eligible to vote for the next leader. Freistadt called the Alberta NDP leadership race “a historic moment for the Alberta NDP.” “Voters from all walks of life and all regions of our province joined the Alberta NDP because they are excited to support our party in forming the next government,” said Freistadt in a Sunday press release. .Eligible voters had to be members in good standing by the membership sales deadline on April 22. The NDP leadership race was initiated when leader Rachel Notley announced she would step down when a new leader was selected after one decade of being in charge of it. Notley confirmed in January she would not be leading the Alberta NDP into the next election. READ MORE: UPDATED: Notley resigns as Alberta NDP leaderWhile Notley was stepping down as NDP leader, the resignation would not take effect until a new one is selected in a leadership race. She said she might or might not be staying on as an MLA.“I have informed both the senior officers of Alberta’s NDP as well as my caucus and staff that upon the selection of a new leader, I will be stepping down from that role,” she said. Soon after, the NDP Provincial Council set the rules and timelines for the leadership race. The NDP said an independent voting company will conduct the election on behalf of it. It added the winner will be determined by a ranked choice ballot. At the end of May, it said ballots and voting information will be mailed to members via Canada Post. It added members will have the option to vote online, by telephone, or by returning their ballots through Canada Post to the voting company. Voting opens June 3, and all ballots must be received by June 22 at noon. It will announce the new leader at the Hyatt Regency Suites in Calgary on June 22 in the afternoon. Freistadt concluded by saying the leadership race rules “ensured a process with a high level of integrity and transparency.” “The largest number of NDP members in Alberta’s history will be eligible to vote,” she said. “We look forward to a high voter turnout given the energy and enthusiasm the race has attracted.”
