Elections Manitoba (french: Élections Manitoba) is the

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers s ...

agency of the Government of Manitoba responsible for the conduct and regulation of provincial elections in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. Its responsibilities are to operate free of political influence; conduct Manitoba's provincial elections,

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...

, and referendums; ensure that all eligible citizens have the opportunity to vote; promote public awareness of voting and the electoral process; help political participants to comply with election rules; facilitate ''The Elections Act'' and ''The Election Financing Act''; and recommend improvements to existing legislation. It is the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Manitoba (CEO), who heads Elections Manitoba with assistance from the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer. The CEO administers provincial elections in order to ensure their fairness and freedom from political influence. The Officer reports to the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gen ...

and must be non-partisan, i.e., they cannot be a member of a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

or vote in an election. The current CEO is Shipra Verma, who was appointed in 2013. The Commissioner of Elections is appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer in consultation with all political parties, and is solely responsible for prosecuting and investigating violations of election law. The current Commissioner is Bill Bowles.

Staff and leadership

Chief Electoral Officer

Elections Manitoba is the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Manitoba (CEO), who heads Elections Manitoba with assistance from the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer. The CEO administers provincial elections in order to ensure their fairness and freedom from political influence. The CEO is appointed by the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

-in-council, and reports to the

. The Officer must be non-partisan, i.e., they cannot be a member of a

or vote in an election. The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer was established in 1980 to serve as an independent office of the Legislative Assembly and the

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

of Executive Council. Obstructing the CEO became an election offence as of 1998.

Returning officers

Elections Manitoba is headed by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), who is assisted by the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer. The two are supported by a core staff of 21 people. Returning officers (ROs), who are hired by the CEO, manage the election at the

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polit ...

level and are the main point-of-contact for information and assistance during an election. Along with assistant returning officers, ROs provide voter services—including coordination of registration, answering questions about the voting process, setting up voting places—and candidate support—including preparation and distribution of the

voters list An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...

, and distributing and receiving forms, among other things. Returning officers recruit election officials for each electoral division. Approximately 8,000 election officials are employed to administer a general election. This includes RO staff and election officials who update the voters list and run the election at voting places across the province.

Commissioner of Elections

The Commissioner of Elections is an independent officer who is responsible for ensuring compliance with and enforcement of ''The Elections Act'' and ''The Election Financing Act'', and is thus solely responsible for prosecuting and investigating violations of election law. (Non-compliance and enforcement matters relating to municipal or federal elections do not fall within the Commissioner's jurisdiction.) The Commissioner is appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer in consultation with the leaders of all the political parties represented in the Assembly. Although appointed by the CEO, the Commissioner's authority is separate from and independent of the CEO. The current Commissioner is Bill Bowles, whose appointment became effective on 14 March 2011. The first Commissioner, Michael T. Green, was appointed in December 2006. The position of Commissioner was created on 13 December 2006 when amendments to ''The Elections Act'' and ''The Election Financing Act'' came into effect, transferring investigative and prosecutorial responsibilities from the Chief Electoral Officer.

References

External links

* Manitoba government departments and agencies

{{Manitoba politics *