ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — David Maher
The Telegram
@DavidMaherNL
A complaint, a dismissal and a warning letter came after a week of infighting between the Liberal leadership campaigns of Andrew Furey and John Abbott.
The Telegram obtained copies of three letters exchanged between the Liberal leadership election committee, the Andrew Furey campaign and the John Abbott campaign.
The first letter, sent to the leadership committee on June 21 by Furey campaign co-chairs John Hogan and Megan Reynolds, takes issue with the phrase “everyone can vote” used throughout the media campaign of the Abbott leadership bid and in comments by Paul Antle, who endorsed Abbott for Liberal leader.
“The repeated assertions in the Abbott campaign advertisements that ‘Everyone can vote,’ in conjunction with the comments by Mr. Antle, is contrary to the rules governing the leadership election which are designed such that only members and supporters of (the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador) are to select the next leader of the party,” reads the letter.
“We submit that the sponsored Abbott campaign advertisements and the comments by Mr. Antle demonstrate that the Abbott campaign has contravened the rules in making misleading statements about who can participate in the process of electing the next leader of the party.”
On June 22, the Furey campaign filed an addendum to the initial complaint, saying they had found evidence of non-supporters of the Liberal party signing up to support the party, without the intention of voting for the Liberals in the general election.
“You just have to check a box that says you agree with the ethics of the party. You can do that with your fingers crossed as far as I’m concerned in order to have a say in this privileged arena. You can always block the email address once the vote has been completed,” reads one example cited by the Furey campaign and acknowledged in the Liberal election committee’s response.
In order to sign up to vote in the leadership race, voters must be over the age of 14, agree to a statement of Liberal principles and not be a member of any other provincial party. Article 4 of the Liberal party constitution says anyone who signs up to vote must support the “aims and objectives of the party.”
Hogan contends that signing up to vote in the leadership race means all those who sign up will vote for the party in the general election.
“If you look at the constitution, it not only says you need to support the aims and objectives — and I’m sure you could argue what that means — but you can’t support other parties. If you’re not supporting the party, by definition you’re supporting other parties,” Hogan said in an interview.
“In the nuts and bolts of it, if you’re not voting for the Liberals in the next election, you’re not supporting the aims and objectives of the party. One of the aims and objectives of the party is to win the general election.”
The party dismissed the complaint from the Furey campaign, saying the advertising by the Abbott campaign “does not constitute a breach of the rules.”
“The statement by Abbot ‘Everyone can vote. Register today’ can be interpreted as suggesting … that everyone in the province is able to register as a member or supporter, provided that they meet all eligibility requirements,” reads the decision by the Liberal leadership election committee.
The party goes on to say it will vet the list of supporters brought forward by both campaigns, and will disqualify anyone from voting in the leadership election “should (the party) be made aware that any individual does not support the aims and objectives” of the Liberal party.
While the party did not reprimand Abbott in the initial decision, an accompanying letter sent by Liberal party president John Allan and Liberal leadership co-chairs John Samms and Sarah Pinsent requests that the Abbott campaign clarify the wording in their advertisements in terms of who can and cannot vote.
“Immediately cease the use of language which misrepresents the eligibility criteria contained within the rules governing the 2020 Liberal Party of N.L. leadership convention and the constitution and bylaws of (the party),” reads the letter, which was sent to the Abbott campaign on Thursday.
The letter goes on to ask the Abbott campaign to publish a correction.
In a statement, the Abbott campaign says Furey is trying to suppress the amount of voters who will be able to choose the next leader of the Liberal party and 14th premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.
“The complaint from Andrew Furey is very concerning coming from someone who wants to lead everyone in the province, but doesn’t want everyone in the province to have a say in who should be premier. I think it comes down to a fundamental question of leadership. The issue is clear — they wanted to influence the vote in their favour by limiting who can vote in this leadership election,” reads the statement.
“In our view, this was an attempt to undermine the fundamentals of our democracy for solely political gain. The exact opposite of what I believe we need right now.”
The deadline to sign up to vote in the Liberal leadership election is Sunday.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated a non-refundable payment to the Liberal Party is required to vote in the Liberal Leadership race. In fact, no such payment is required. The Telegram regrets the error.
