The role of the Chief Electoral Officer isn’t one that is often in the public eye. In fact, it’s a role that is very much like a referee in a hockey game in that they are usually not looking to draw attention to themselves and are simply there to enforce the rules.

Manitoba’s Chief Electoral Officer is there to ensure that elections are run by the rules and that they are applied equally for all political parties. It is a role that requires, if not in law than in practice, that all political parties have confidence in the person who holds the position.

Most Manitobans probably didn’t take much notice of the fact that the current Chief Electoral Officer, Richard Balasko, quietly announced just before Christmas that after 20 years he would be retiring from his position in April of this year. It was an announcement that was unexpected and one that has a cloud of controversy over it.

Last year information was obtained about how the NDP conducted themselves in the 1999 election and how Elections Manitoba and the Chief Electoral Officer responded.
The insider information revealed that during the 1999 campaign the NDP  falsified their election return and that of several of their candidates to improperly claim more than $75,000 in taxpayer rebates. What’s more, the NDP admitted that they had done the same thing in many prior elections.

Instead of the Chief Electoral Officer filing charges against the NDP for claiming thousands of tax dollars they were not entitled too, Elections Manitoba worked quietly with the NDP to let them repay the funds without it being made public until after the 2003 election. Meanwhile, Elections Manitoba was vigorously pursing charges against candidates from other political parties for comparatively minor matters.

When the full nature of the NDP’s actions came to light last year as a result of an NDP insider and other leaked information, both opposition parties in Manitoba raised serious questions about how the NDP could escape any punishment for their 1999 election rebate scheme. Representatives from both the provincial Progressive Conservatives and the provincial Liberal Party called for a public inquiry to investigate the scheme and how it was handled by Elections Manitoba. Both parties, along with other politicians in Manitoba, noted that the very integrity of elections and of Elections Manitoba could be tarnished if there wasn’t a full inquiry and transparency.

Mr. Balasko’s sudden resignation puts greater pressure on Premier Greg Selinger to call an inquiry. Mr. Selinger himself recognized after the 1999 election that the rebate scheme was wrong and demanded a letter from the NDP to try and clear himself but didn’t reveal the scheme to the public. It would be unfair to a new Chief Electoral Officer to have this issue left unsettled as they take on their new role sometime in the months ahead.

The role of the Chief Electoral Officer and Elections Manitoba is to act and to be seen as an impartial referee that is rarely the center of attention. Only a public inquiry into the NDP’s illegal rebate scheme will fully protect the integrity of this important office.