How to Register a Leadership Contest
Bill 54: Election Statutes Amendment Act impacts all provincial electoral legislation. This page is being updated to reflect the new legislation, and as such the information below may be outdated.
Leadership Contest Responsibility
A party who needs to select a new leader must inform Elections Alberta before holding a leadership vote, by submitting a Leadership Contest Statement identifying the start date of the contest and the date or dates for voting.
After the leadership vote, the party must inform Elections Alberta of the results by completing and filing a Notice of Leadership Contest Results.
Leadership Contestant Responsibility
A person must apply for registration as soon as the person announces their intent to seek the leadership of a registered party. The announcement date becomes the registration effective date and is when the leadership contestant can start raising and spending funds for their campaign.
The above applies regardless of whether or not the registered party has notified Elections Alberta and/or announced their leadership contest.
Complete a Registration of a Leadership Contestant form indicating it is for initial registration.
Ensure the financial institution section is completed as to where the leadership contestant’s campaign has established or plans to establish its bank account. The form must be signed by both the leadership contestant and the chief financial officer.
Submit the completed application to Elections Alberta as an original document to our head office address.
- If the application is approved, we will send a registration approval letter to the leadership contestant, copied to the chief financial officer and the party’s chief financial officer. The letter will include a signed copy of the application, and the leadership contestant will be entered into our registration records. We will provide the chief financial officer with access to our Online Financial System (OFS), for meeting the leadership contestant’s campaign return reporting obligations.
- If there are any issues with the application, we will contact the leadership contestant or chief financial officer who signed the application.
IMPORTANT: A person cannot be a chief financial officer if that person is currently on Elections Alberta’s ineligible persons list.
Withdrawal
If a registered leadership contestant decides to withdraw for any reason, inform Elections Alberta as soon as possible by submitting a Withdrawal of a Leadership Contestant. The leadership contestant’s campaign will end on the date of withdrawal, and a campaign return will be required to be submitted.