Majority support for PR in BC referendum (May 18, 2005)
May 18, 2005
FAIR VOTE CANADA - NEWS
May 18, 2005
LATE NIGHT TALLY SHOWS MAJORITY SUPPORT IN BC FOR PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
In Canada's first electoral reform referendum, late night results showed a strong majority of British Columbia voters calling for adoption of a new proportional representation voting system. When vote counting was suspended at 12:30am local time, approximately three-quarters of the referendum votes had been tallied in 73 of 79 ridings, according to media reports. The tally showed just over 56 percent of voters supported adoption of the single transferable vote (STV) system proposed by the BC Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
"Canadians are ready to scrap first-past-the-post voting," said Fair Vote Canada president Wayne Smith. "Voters in British Columbia and across the country are demanding a new democracy based on a fair voting system, where all voters are equal and every vote counts."
The Liberal government, which was returned to office, set a super-majority threshold for adoption of the new voting system. The government said it would require 60 percent overall voter support, plus majority support in 60 percent of the ridings, for the result of the referendum to be binding.
"While we commend the Gordon Campbell government for their groundbreaking initiative with the Citizens' Assembly, we call on his government and all governments across the country to honour the will of the electorate," said Smith. "If the final tally confirms that a majority of British Columbians want proportional representation - honour their decision."
With Prince Edward Island expected to hold an electoral reform referendum later this year and Ontario in 2007, Fair Vote Canada is also recommending that other provinces and the federal government learn from the BC experience.
"We are calling for use of a BC-style citizen-driven reform process, free of control by government and parties, in other parts of Canada," said Fair Vote Canada executive director Larry Gordon. "But improvements should be made. One lesson from British Columbia is the need for well-funded public education campaign with the referendum. Polls taken days before the BC referendum indicated a majority of voters were still unaware or poorly informed on the issue. The more people learned, the more positive they were about reform. Voters in other provinces should demand their referendum processes include an extensive public education component."
Fair Vote Canada is a multi-partisan citizens campaign for voting system reform founded in 2001.
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