Athabasca By-Election Communique for Chief Official Agents, Issue Five

Reminders and Candidate Rep Info

Final Reminder – Nomination Deadline

I expect that this will be the final time I contact you in advance of the nomination deadline of 2p.m. on Saturday, January 29. As I have said, I have no legislative mechanisms to extend this day and time and given the possibility of a COVID-19-imposed isolation period or unfavorable road conditions, I would strongly urge your potential candidates to contact the Returning Office and make a time to review the nomination materials.  

I will be in contact with you after the nomination period has closed to provide a list of candidates who will be contesting this by-election.

Final Reminder – Section 226

Section 226 of The Election Act, 1996 requires registered political parties to update (or to confirm) the information found in the register of political parties within ten days of the writs of election being issued. For the election, that deadline is Friday, January 28 at 5 p.m.

The leader or chief official agent of the party must also inform the Chief Electoral Officer as to how they wish the name of the party or its abbreviation (or both) to appear on the ballot and other election documents. This notice can be completed using the E-515 Confirmation of Party Details/Designation of Representatives for an Election Period form, which is attached and can also be found on our website.

Candidate Representatives

Candidate representatives play an important role in a democracy such as ours. Their contributions are not often recognized but they should not be overlooked, and I hope you will pass along my appreciation to everyone who serves as a candidates’ representative during this by-election.

Two items of note for candidates and candidates’ representatives:

  • First, I would ask that you remind all candidates and their candidate representatives of our COVID-19 mitigation strategies. They must wear a mask at all times in the voting location and remain physically distanced from election officials and voters. In addition, as per CEO Order 2022-005, there is a limit of one candidate representative per candidate per polling division. Other information related to the rights and responsibilities of candidate representatives can be found in our E-418 Guide for Candidates’ Representatives, which is available on our website.
  • Second, in response to a number of inquiries and questions that we received during the general election, we created a document listing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to candidates’ representatives. It is attached to this Communique. Please distribute throughout your party as I believe it will answer many questions that come up during advance and by-election day voting.

Dr. Michael Boda
Chief Electoral Officer
Province of Saskatchewan

All information related to the Athabasca by-election can be found online at www.elections.sk.ca/athabasca