Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
November 5, 2007
Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans Election
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer would like
to advise that in order for a candidate to officially withdraw from an
election, he or she must do so in accordance with subsection 76(1) of
the Elections Act, 1991, which states:
"A candidate who is nominated may, not later
than 48 hours before the opening of the poll, withdraw, by
filing with the returning officer, a declaration in writing to
that effect, signed by the candidate and attested by the
signature of 2 qualified electors in the electoral district."
This issue arises in response to the situation
concerning Mr. John Woodrow, who had, until November 3, indicated his
intention to represent the Liberal Party in the November 6, 2007
election in the district of Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans.
Mr. Woodrow did not notify the returning officer for
Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans of his intention to officially withdraw his
candidacy and did not file with that returning officer the required
declaration. As a result, Mr. Woodrow will continue to be represented on
the ballot.
The Chief Electoral Officer will be requesting
election officials to inform electors in Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans of
Mr. Woodrow�s publicly-stated intention not to represent the Liberal
Party in the November 6 election.
In response to a query as to whether votes cast for
John Woodrow would be either "spoiled" or "discounted", because Mr.
Woodrow has not officially withdrawn as a candidate in accordance with
the Elections Act, 1991, ballots cast for Mr. Woodrow will be
counted in his favour. It will be for electors to decide whether they
cast their ballots in favour of Mr. Woodrow given the present
circumstances.
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