About 9,400 people have registered to vote, according to a Liberal Party document obtained by The Canadian News.
By comparison, around 19,000 people registered to vote in the 2012 race that elected Brian Gallant as leader.
” We’ve seen a trend where it’s increasingly difficult to engage people in politics in general and I think we’ve suffered from that in the province. »
But he said the Liberals’ data compares favorably to the 5,490 people who voted in the first round of the 2016 Progressive Conservative Party leadership race that chose Blaine Higgs.
For me, as a candidate, it’s all about perspective
justifies TJ Harvey, emphasizing the fact that obtaining 9,400 registrations for a leadership vote which takes place in August rather demonstrates the good health of the party.
The effect of the Greens and Alliance breakthrough
Candidate Susan Holt said the 2012 leadership race already seems so far away.
” Honestly, a lot has happened in politics in New Brunswick over the past 10 years, including the breakthroughs of the Green Party and the People’s Alliance that cut into traditional voting systems. »
The low voter turnout came around the same time the party lost two by-elections to the Progressive Conservatives, including Baie-de-Miramichi-Néguac, a seat the Liberals won in the last election. .
An effect of the COVID-19 pandemic
TJ Harvey attributed the low turnout compared to 2012 to the COVID-19 pandemic and people’s desire to focus on their families, especially children who have been impacted by public health measures.
He thinks that people are disconnected on many fronts and people feel like this political cycle is spinning really fast lately
with two federal elections, two provincial elections and municipal elections over the past four years in New Brunswick.
Candidate Robert Gauvin raised similar points.
” It’s not unique to our party, but of course we still have to work and try to re-engage people. »
The Liberal Party has indicated that the number of registered voters may fluctuate because some people who have registered still need to have their documents verified.
Each constituency has the same weight
The number of registrations on Thursday’s document, 9,390, comes to an average of 192 voters per constituency.
But the actual numbers vary widely in each constituency. Caraquet, a Liberal stronghold, has the most registered members at 446, while Riverview and Gagetown-Petitcodiac are tied for the fewest at 75 each.
However, under the Liberal electoral system, each riding has equal weight in the leadership contest.
The system awards 100 points per constituency based on the percentage of votes obtained by each candidate in the constituency.
The voting period will begin at 2:00 p.m. on July 30 and end at 2:00 p.m. on the day of the convention, August 6. The conference will be held in Fredericton.
Leadership candidate Donald Arseneault declined an interview request, and party chairman Brian Murphy did not respond to a request for comment.
Based on a report by CBC journalist Jacques Poitras
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca