Hundreds protest Liberal refusal to act on Island electoral reform plebiscite

CHARLOTTETOWN — Hundreds of people demonstrated in Prince Edward Island on Tuesday evening calling on the provincial government to use the results of a recent plebiscite on electoral reform to change the way the next provincial election is held.

The Charlottetown Guardian reported that a boisterous and diverse crowd chanted “Honour the vote” during the demonstration outside the provincial legislature.

The Liberal government has decided not to honour this month’s provincial plebiscite on electoral reform, in which only 36 per cent of eligible voters took part.

Premier Wade MacLauchlan has said it was debatable whether the result reflected the will of Islanders, and announced another vote on reform will be held alongside the 2019 provincial election.

The mixed-member proportional representation system won more than 52 per cent of the votes in the plebiscite, while the first-past-the-post system received close to 43 per cent of votes. 

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The mixed-member system, which is used in New Zealand, is a hybrid that combines proportional representation with first-past-the-post.

There’s a mix of members elected under the old system and others chosen from party lists, with each party’s share of those seats reflecting its share of the popular vote.

(Charlottetown Guardian)

The Canadian Press