Sask. Party leadership race ballots accepted until Friday

The Saskatchewan Party’s longtime executive director says he expects voter turnout in the party’s leadership election to be similar to that in recent races to lead the federal Conservatives and Alberta’s new United Conservative Party.

“I can tell you that we’ve received a significant volume (of ballots) and that I think the numbers will be very comparable,” Patrick Bundrock said Tuesday.

Turnout in the Conservative race, which was held in May and resulted in Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer beating out 13 other candidates, totalled 55 per cent, with 141,000 of 259,000 members casting ballots.

While 90 per cent of UCP members who registered to vote in the party’s October leadership election cast a ballot, overall turnout in the new Alberta party’s leadership race — which resulted in a Jason Kenney victory — was also 55 per cent.

A similar turnout on Saturday would result in about 14,800 of the Sask. Party’s 27,125 members voting for Brad Wall’s successor and the province’s 15th premier.

Bundrock said ballots can be received by mail or dropped off at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon or the party’s Regina office until 5 p.m. Friday. Exact figures won’t be known until Saturday, he said.

Mailed in ballots to the party’s office are collected by representatives of the auditing firm MNP and locked up. They will remain inaccessible to everyone except the auditor until around 5 a.m. Saturday, when the counting is set to begin.

The race, the Sask. Party’s first contested leadership race since Elwin Hermanson won the party’s leadership in 1998, began in August. The five candidates running to replace Wall are: Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Ken Cheveldayoff, Alanna Koch, Scott Moe and Gord Wyant.