The Conservative Party of B.C. is gathering in Vancouver this evening to choose a new leader.
Events are scheduled to begin at 4:30, with vote-counting getting underway shortly after 6 p.m.
Black Press Media will be on site alongside candidates, supporters and party staff to provide coverage throughout the evening.
Events are set to begin with “something special” planned to honour interim Leader Trevor Halford before an independent auditor takes the stage to explain the process. Party executives, campaign scrutineers and the independent auditor will then enter the counting room.
Voting is by preferential ballot. If no candidate reaches 50 per cent of the vote outright, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their second-place votes redistributed. This system will continue in rounds until a candidate exceeds the 50-per-cent threshold.
The five finalists are Capilano University Chancellor Yuri Fulmer, conservative commentator Caroline Elliot, Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar, former federal Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay and former B.C. Liberal minister Iain Black. Milobar is the only candidate who currently holds a seat in the legislature.
Voting closed Friday morning, May 29. Angelo Isidorou, the party’s executive director, reported on social media that more than 25,000 votes have been cast, out of a pool of roughly 26,000 eligible members.
More to come.
READ MORE: B.C. Conservatives prepare to name a new leader as party grapples with division