By-elections will be held in the constituency of Kindersley, Melfort and Swift Current on Thursday, March 1. You will find important information related to these electoral events below. Please share these communiques throughout your party and with your candidates and their teams.
By-Elections Called
Earlier today, I received an order from the Lieutenant Governor in Council instructing me to issue writs of election to our returning officers in the constituencies of Kindersley, Melfort and Swift Current. By-election day for all three events will be Thursday, March 1, 2018.
An election calendar listing key dates is attached. For hard copies of this calendar, please email Richard Hall at [email protected].
Section 7 Powers
Under Section 9 of The Election Act, 1996, a returning officer is to reside within the constituency that they represent. In instances in which a qualified returning officer is not available, I am able to use my authority under Section 7 of the Act to appoint an individual living outside the constituency.
I wish to advise that, for the coming by-election in the constituency of Swift Current, I have appointed Ms. Laureen Debusschere as returning officer. Presently, Laureen resides in Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park but plans to move into Swift Current at the end of March. She is very familiar with the city and I am confident that she is well-equipped to serve as Returning Officer.
Please accept this as notice pursuant to Section 7(3)(a) of the Act. In accordance with Section 7(3)(b), I would ask that you share this information with your candidates in the constituency of Swift Current once they are nominated as well.
Returning Office Contact Information
Returning office contact information for all three constituencies is listed below.
Constituency of Kindersley
Returning Officer: Chelsey Roesch
Street Address: 544 Atlantic Avenue, Kerrobert, SK S0L 1R0
Telephone: 1.306.834.6580 / 1.833.597.9490
Fax: 1.833.597.9490
Email: [email protected]
Constituency of Melfort
Returning Officer: Darlene Thompson
Street Address: 620F Saskatchewan Drive East, Melfort, SK SOE IAO
Telephone: 1.306.752.6180 / 1.833.863.6467
Fax: 1.306.752.6184
Email: [email protected]
Constituency of Swift Current
Returning Officer: Laureen Debusschere
Street Address: 197 4th Avenue NW, Swift Current, SK S9H 0E9
Telephone: 1.306.778.8904 / 1.844.787.4163
Fax: 1.306.778.8907
Email: [email protected]
Nomination Day
The nomination deadline for the by-elections is 2 p.m., Tuesday, February 13. You will know that this is a legislated deadline and I would encourage you to have your candidates contact their returning officer to set up an appointment to review the package and clarify any issues or questions well in advance of nomination day. Nominations can be filed anytime after the writ drops before the legislated deadline – there is no need to wait until the last day.
Nomination papers are available on our website at https://www.elections.sk.ca/candidates-political-parties/forms-and-guides/. A completed nomination package must include:
A guide to completing the nomination package can be found at the above link. If you have questions, contact Jennifer Colin at 306.787.4061 or by email at [email protected]
Preliminary Voters List
Preliminary voters lists for all three constituencies will be available before the end of the day on Tuesday, February 6 in both PDF and CSV format. If you have a user account for our FTP site, the list will be available for you to download. If you do not have a user account or if you cannot remember your login/password, please contact Son Lu, IT Analyst, at [email protected].
Updates to Register of Political Parties
As is the case for all recent elections, Section 226 of The Election Act, 1996 requires registered political parties to update (or confirm) the information found in the register of political parties within ten days of a writ of election being issued. This statement must be in writing and must be signed by the party leader.
The leader can also designate a representative to endorse a candidate. The deadline for this is Monday, February 12. These statements can be scanned and emailed to Jennifer Colin at the email address provided above – we do not require a hard copy. It can be sent as a letter, or using Form E-515 which can be found online at https://www.elections.sk.ca/candidates-political-parties/forms-and-guides/.
As with all recent electoral events, I will communicate key information to you through a By-Election Communique. In the interests of simplicity, we will include all communications for these three events in one Kindersley, Swift Current & Melfort By-Election Communique for Chief Official Agents. If there is an item that does not relate to all three constituencies, it will be marked clearly in the title of the section.
My hope is that you won’t hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions throughout the writ period. Thank you again.
Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan