Manitoba NDP considers mechanism for future leadership reviews

Manitoba New Democrats are eyeing new rules that could help the party avoid the type of open revolt that almost toppled former premier Greg Selinger.

The NDP provincial council, the party's governing body, is recommending changes to the current system, which has no mechanism for a leadership review.

Selinger stayed at the party helm as his popularity plummeted, and ignored pleas from many of his caucus members to step down and give the party a chance to rebuild.

Five cabinet ministers eventually went public with calls for his resignation. Selinger was forced into a divisive leadership race that he barely survived in 2015, and stepped down after the NDP lost the provincial election in April.

The NDP council is proposing that an automatic leadership review be held after every election which the party doesn't win a measure already in place in other political parties including the Manitoba Liberals.

A review could also be forced by the council itself, or a minimum of 10 constituency associations or unions affiliated with the party.

If the leader fails to get more than 50 per cent support in a review, the party would trigger a leadership contest.

"If the review said yes, it's time for a contest, we would scheduled a separate (convention) for the contest," Kevin Rebeck, a labour leader who co-chaired the committee that came up with the rule changes, said Saturday.

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Proposed changes to be debated on in spring

The proposed changes will be debated and voted on at the NDP's annual convention in the spring, months before the party is scheduled to pick a new leader.

Selinger was replaced on an interim basis by Flor Marcelino, and a more-permanent replacement is to be chosen in mid-September.

The provincial council has also recommended several changes to the way the NDP chooses its leader.

Currently, the leader is chosen by delegates from every constituency as well as from every union local affiliated with the party.

The process proved cumbersome in 2015, when many union locals across the province could not fill all their delegate slots.

The council is recommending that before every leadership race, the council would choose one of two systems. The first would allow every party member to vote, with a minimum number of votes guaranteed to smaller constituencies and unions. The second would use a delegate system that would include more flexibility and representation for unions.

Other recommended changes include:

• Requiring party members to have their membership for at least 90 days before a convention, up from 30 days.
• Allotting union delegates and votes based on the overall number of union members who are also NDP members, instead of specific allotments for each union local.
• Guaranteeing a minimum eight delegates for each constituency and union, up from the current five.
• Instituting a sliding scale in the delegate and vote-allotment formulas so that larger unions and constituency associations don't carry an overwhelming percentage of votes.