I went up to the Federal Liberal Leadership Delegate Selection Meeting in Edmonton Strathcona last night only to find out that I wasn’t on the delegate ballot in Edmonton Strathcona.
Not sure what to do, I spoke to the Local Returning Officer at the meeting. He said that I would need to call the central Federal Liberal Office in Edmonton. I called them. They didn’t have my Edmonton Strathcona delegate registration form on file. I had sent in the delegate form before the deadline. It appears that they had no record of me registering to be on the ballot as a Gerard Kennedy delegate in Edmonton Strathcona.
Quite lame.
As someone who paid $5 to be part of this leadership selection process, I am quite displeased.
Though I wasn’t sure if I would have the funds available to attend the leadership convention in Montreal this November, it looks like I won’t have to worry about that now.
After talking with a friend, it appears the same thing also happened to a Stephane Dion delegate in Edmonton Strathcona (who apparently personally handed in his delegate registration form), as well as numerous problems of members not being on the voters list and hence not being able to vote.
As well, the confusing ballot was split in to two pages (one with leadership candidates and one with delegates) was extremely confusing. The explanation on the second page detailed that you could only vote for 4 youth (2 male and 2 female), 2 adult males and 2 adult females, 2 male seniors and 2 female seniors. With 30-40 listed delegates on the ballot, this process is a case study in ridiculousness. I wouldn’t be surprised if I checked the wrong box and accidentally voted for Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, or Pat Buchanan. It’s a perfect case for a one-member one-vote system.
Though I understand that a leadership election is a huge endeavor, the importance quality, transparency, and accuracy is paramount. The price for not having one is huge.
It’s legitimacy.
