“This is the most ridiculous thing the New Brunswick government has done since making our license plates read “Be … In This Place.” Said Rosaire L’Italien, Interim Leader of the NB NDP. “Tacking “preferential ballots” onto our current voting system doesn’t solve any of the systemic problems we have, it exacerbates them. It will increase strategic voting and disproportionately favour the centrist party. Which is the only conceivable reason the Liberal Government would be bringing this in.”
“There was a clear consensus in the only public town hall that the commission hosted in favour of proportional representation.” Said Mr. L’Italien. “It’s great that the commission said that proportional representation be given consideration when riding boundaries are next redrawn, but history shows that once a decision on electoral systems is made it takes decades to reverse.”
The NDP raised concerns about the process, citing that there was little or no publicity given to the report, the commission and the process.
“The meetings were only being held in one location rather than going around the province, they are only being held during working hours, there is only one round of presentations, you are seemingly trying to push Preferential Ballots without looking at other systems, there is a distinct lack of transparency and the entire process was rushed with an abject lack of a broad range of input.” Said Mr. L’Italien.
“The report and the process smacks of having had decided in advance what the one solution is and appearing to have a process to reach a preconceived notion.”
Mr. L’Italien praised the commission for advocating lowering the voting age to 16: “The NDP had been pushing lowering the voting age to 16 for years, and it’s great that this idea is finally catching on.”
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