The NDP leadership race has taken a decided turn in Swan River after accusations of possible vote tampering by former MLA Rosann Wowchuk.

The NDP Election of Leader Committee (ELC) has ruled the 220 party members will have to vote again by mail-in ballot for the 22 delegates for the leadership race.

The issue came to light when Swan River local NDP president Laura Henderson spoke with a senior about filling out the complex ballot.

"And I said, 'Did you have any problems?' And she said, 'No, because Rosann came in and helped fill it out.' And she says, 'I don't know how we voted. It was filled out and put in the envelope," Henderson said.

Henderson is a Theresa Oswald supporter. Wowchuk has come out for Premier Greg Selinger and is co-chair of his election planning committee.

Henderson said there are other instances where Wowchuk may have assisted someone in filling out their ballot.

Wowchuck could not be reached for comment. The party will not comment, but confirms new ballots will be sent out as soon as possible.

"I believe they're just going to do it, just re-do the ballots, which is going to be terribly complicated and a lot of work but I guess that's the only way that everyone gets their fair, well you know, right to vote," Henderson said.

Chris Adams, Winnipeg political analyst and author of Politics in Manitoba, said the accusations of tampering could dog the NDP into the next provincial election.

"It has an impact on the NDP's reputation and has an impact on the leadership candidates involved and it has an impact on the local constituency when it goes into the next election," he said.

While it's not unusual to see some tricks in a campaign, Adams calls this situation disappointing.

"If that's happening, it would be saddening for us political scientists to hear about this because, you know, we're a democracy. We expect people to vote for who they prefer and we don't want people to be saying, 'well, I don't know who I voted for,'" he said.

The deadline for ballots to be mailed in is Feb. 27. The leadership vote is March 8.

The following is a letter sent by the ELC to members, explaining the decision to hold the mail-in ballot again.

Over the last couple of weeks a number of incidents were reported regarding potential voter interference in the constituency of Swan River. The incidents involved members who felt intimidated, were provided incorrect and/or misleading information and who had had their ballot filled out by another person.

The Election of Leader Committee takes these allegations seriously. While I was able to follow-up with some of the members involved and confirm the details and, in some instances reissued ballots, the ELC is concerned that members may be reluctant to come forward.

An appeal was made requesting that the Swan River mail-in ballots be set aside and a delegate selection be called for the constituency.

The ELC considered the following options:

1. That the mail-in ballots stand and be counted on Friday, February 20; or

2. That a delegate selection meeting be called for in the constituency; or

3. That the mail in ballot be resent to the members.

In order to protect the integrity of the Party and members in Swan River the ECL has decided that a new ballot will be sent to all members in the Swan River constituency. The mailing will go out tomorrow and will include a memo from the ELC stating that, due to problems related to the first ballot, a second ballot is required. This will be followed up by a phone call to the membership from provincial office explaining what has happened. The deadline for returning ballots will be Friday, February 27 or postmarked. This puts us all on a very tight timeline.

The Manitoba NDP Code of Ethics, passed by the Provincial Council on June 19, 1999 contains the following (see attached):

1) Members of the Manitoba NDP are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity within the Party, the electoral process and government.

14) Party Conduct— The Manitoba NDP shall establish standards and rules of procedure to afford all members full, timely and equal opportunities to participate in decisions concerning the selection of candidates, the formulation of policy, and the conduct of other Party affairs, without prejudice on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, [within the provisions of internal electoral processes] economic status, sexual orientation, or mental or physical disability, and further, to promote fair campaign practices and the fair adjudication of disputes.

15) a. The Manitoba NDP will uphold all laws applicable to the conduct of free and fair elections within Manitoba. The Party will not tolerate members who violate these laws.

15) f. Members of the Manitoba NDP will not abuse a position of power, privilege, or influence for a political purpose, either within the Party or within an NDP government.

In addition, following a Commission of Inquiry conducted by Commissioner Alfred M. Monnin in his report of March 29, 1999, the Commissioner recommended that all parties voluntarily prepare and implement a code of ethics. The code was developed through consensus with the political parties and includes:

Purpose

The Shared Code of Ethical Conduct sets out guiding principles and specific practices that establish the framework for ethical conduct expected of participants in the electoral process. To view the complete code please visit http://www.electionsmanitoba.ca/en/Political_Participation/Ethical_Conduct.