Strict rules no engagement and low turnout irk Calgarian
Calgary Co-op is holding its annual board of directors election and one Calgarian is despondent. Blogger Vincent St. Pierre of calgaryliberal.com calls the average voter turnout of one per cent in Co-op’s elections “really pathetic.”
In a website St. Pierre created for the cause ( accountablecoop.ca ) he is calling on the 440000 Co-op members to undertake a democratic uprising or at least show moderate interest in the election and cast their vote.
He also argues the campaign process is inherently undemocratic in that candidates cannot promote themselves through door-knocking direct phone calls to electors holding public or media events or distributing campaign literature.
St. Pierre is calling on Co-op to relax these campaign restrictions implement a campaign spending limit and make ballots more accessible. Ballots are currently attached to T4A tax slips mailed to members and are available by request at Co-op stores. The yearly process elects three new members to Co-op’s nine-member board. The voting period runs from February 1 to 28.
