They all passed the scrutiny of the candidate nomination committee, so the six nominees seeking the right to represent the Conservative Party in next year’s federal campaign are now seeking the support of party members.
The six Conservative nominees in the Souris-Moose Mountain constituency, who are vying to become the candidate to replace current MP Ed Komarnicki in the next federal election, will learn their fate by Nov. 15.
Komarnicki, who easily won this south Saskatchewan seat in the past three elections, announced earlier this year that he was retiring from the political wars.
Barry Firby, the regional organizer for the Conservatives, said all six nominees were vetted by the nomination committee that included one person representing the party’s national body.
Of course, the leader, Stephen Harper, has to sign off on all nominees who become the official candidates. The vote among party members in the local constituency will be conducted on Nov. 14 in Kipling then Weyburn and Estevan on Nov. 15.
“Party members who are eligible to vote are being informed when and where they can go to cast their ballots for the nominee of their choice,” said Firby, who noted the media will not be invited to attend nor will they be informed as to the number of ballots cast in favour of the various nominees. He said because this is a party-only event, “you will be informed as to who won and that person will become the Conservative candidate in Souris-Moose Mountain,” he said.
The nominees include three people from Estevan, namely Phillip Zajac, Robert Kitchen and Lori Carr. Randy Schiller from Weyburn and Mike Strachan of Torquay are also on the ballot along with Lyndon Dayman of Windthorst.
Firby said the name of the successful candidate will be made available shortly after the final polling (in Estevan) is complete and the votes can be tabulated.
“The screening process went well, all were approved as nominees, so it’s now down to the vote and final acceptance of the official candidate,” he said.
There have been no indications from any other federal parties regarding their candidate selection process for Souris-Moose Mountain in the next election, which is expected in the fall of 2015.
