The Conservatives won their 11th straight election last night, in what could be considered – on the surface – an impressive victory. But when you add up the numbers, they don’t exactly paint a picture of a content electorate.
Out of a possible 2,252,104 votes possible this year, the Stelmach government received just 501,028. However, the combination of low voter turnout and Alberta’s first-past-the-post system means that even with such a low number of actual supporters, the Conservatives ended up with a majority government.
“Nearly 80% of eligible voters couldn’t bring themselves to put an X beside the name of a Conservative Candidate,” said CUPE Alberta President D’Arcy Lanovaz. “Most leaders wouldn’t consider that something to be proud of.”
“Ed Stelmach needs to remember that what he did was win 87% of the seats with 53% of the votes from 41% of the people,” concluded Lanovaz.
Elections Alberta has admitted it “wasn’t prepared” for this vote, which resulted in a crashed website, incomplete voters’ lists, and a great deal of frustration for those Albertans who did decide to participate in this election.
For more information contact:
D’Arcy Lanovaz (403) 861-5235
Audra Williams (780) 504-2837
