Experts say N.B.-style uncertainty is avoidable: ‘You need rules written down’
A week after New Brunswickers voted in a provincial election that proved to be a surprising cliffhanger, confusion remains over who will lead the province. But it doesn’t have to be this way, according to advocates and experts.
The problem, says Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch, is that the rules that purport to govern what happens after an inconclusive election are unwritten conventions that don’t necessarily apply to New Brunswick.
“If you want to have a fair and democratic legislature and a fair election … you need these rules written down,” says Conacher, an adjunct law professor at the University of Ottawa.
On election night, Premier Brian Gallant’s incumbent Liberals won 21 seats — one fewer than the Progressive Conservatives under Blaine Higgs. With 49 seats in the legislature, and two smaller parties with three seats each, neither major party has enough seats to form a majority.