Outcome of Provincial Election to be Announced this Weekend #nlpoli

After an election plagued with problems from COVID-19 and several delays, residents of the province will know the outcome this Saturday, March 27.

On January 15 Premier Furey asked Lieutenant Governor Judy Foote to dissolve the House of Assembly for a general provincial election. The election was originally scheduled for February 13. The deadline for candidates to be nominated was January 23.

The initial deadline for mail-in ballots to be received was February 2.

Advance polling day took place as scheduled on February 6.

Up to that point, the election had been operating normally. Then an unexpected COVID-19 surge in the week leading up to the election caused voting to be delayed in the Avalon Peninsula, before all in-person voting was eventually cancelled, delaying the election for every district until March 1.

Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk announced that voting in 18 of the province's 40 electoral districts, all in the Avalon Peninsula, would be delayed indefinitely on February 11. On February 12, in-person voting was entirely cancelled province-wide after it was discovered that the new COVID-19 cases were a variant of concern.

The mail-in ballot deadline was extended to March 1, then to March 5, and eventually March 25.

There were issues with voters not receiving ballots, receiving incorrect ballots, and conflicting information from Elections NL.

This election will be the first mail-in-only election in Canada.

Newfound News will provide live coverage and updates as the results are announced. You can check out our election page here.