The long road to a new premier winds up Saturday at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon.
That is where the announcement is to be made of results of the leadership vote to determine a new Saskatchewan Party leader and Premier.
The announcement event in Saskatoon will include a final speech and tribute to outgoing Premier Brad Wall, as well as the counting of the ballots and the announcement of the results.
Ballots have already been sent to Sask Party voting members who had the opportunity to mail them in; there is also an opportunity for party members to vote right at the leadership event.
However, the expectation from candidates is that most of the votes that will be counted are already in from mail-in ballots sent by members.
The leadership contest is down to five candidates – Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Ken Cheveldayoff, Alanna Koch, Scott Moe, Gord Wyant. Rob Clarke’s name is also on the ballot, even though he withdrew from the race back in December.
It is still anyone’s guess who the next Premier of Saskatchewan will be, with all bets off as to who will emerge victorious.
Fundraising totals and some late polls indicate that Cheveldayoff and Koch are the frontrunners at this late stage, with Moe also still in contention. A poll by Mainstreet gave Cheveldayoff a lead with 46 per cent compared to 21 per cent for Moe and 19 for Koch; another poll by Insightrix had Koch and Cheveldayoff statistically tied among Sask Party members.
However, the polls have a high margin of error and it is expected the final outcome will ultimately come down to which campaign was best able to get out the vote of their own supporters.
It’s also widely expected there will be multiple rounds of ballot counting, with second and third-choice ballots coming into play in determining the final result.
The voting is done with a preferential ranked ballot, with party members listing preferences from one through five. The rounds of counting will continue until one candidate has over 50 per cent of the vote, at which time a winner will be declared.
The winner takes over as the new Sask Party leader immediately. It is expected the new leader will be sworn in as premier in a matter of days, along with the new cabinet.
