Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) is axing its long-planned April leadership review convention and moving to mail-in voting.
A memo sent to UCP members Wednesday morning said the switch to mail-in ballots is to “ensure that every single member of our party has an opportunity to vote in the leadership review.”
Members were set to vote at an in-person convention in Red Deer April 8 on whether Premier Jason Kenney should be allowed to remain leader of the UCP.
The memo from the UCP said a national auditing firm will be retained to oversee the mail-in vote, with details to be “released in the days ahead.”
More than 15,000 people registered to attend the Special General Meeting in Red Deer, seven-and-a-half times what the venue can accommodate.
UCP members had to pay $150 to attend. With the move to mail-in voting, all members will be permitted to vote.
“We have responded to the thousands of you who have asked us to make it easy for our grassroots members to participate, by eliminating the registration fee and the need for travel,” the UCP memo says.
Kenney has faced mounting opposition from within his own party over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. One of his most vocal critics, Brian Jean, was elected as a UCP MLA in a by-election last week.
Kenney critics have theorized that the UCP is changing the rules out of concern anti-Kenney forces were behind the high sales for the Red Deer leadership review.
The April 9 meeting will proceed online as an election readiness training event.
“This extraordinary interest in the democratic process shows the strength of our Party. We thank you for being part of it,” the UCP says in the memo.
