NDP's Amanda Lathlin wins The Pas byelection
Voters in The Pas have elected to keep their constituency coloured in NDP orange.
Amanda Lathlin won the byelection Tuesday evening for the NDP with almost twice the number of votes of her nearest opponent, Progressive Conservative candidate Jacob Nasekapow.
Liberal candidate Inez Vystrcil-Spence placed third.
Voter turnout was only 22.1 per cent, which is the lowest ever turnout for a byelection in the province, according to Election Manitoba.
Lathlin, who won the NDP nomination in a controversial coin-toss, is the daughter of longtime NDP MLA and cabinet minister Oscar Lathlin, who died in 2008. He had served as MLA for The Pas for nearly 18 years.
The constituency was most recently represented by NDP MLA Frank Whitehead, who stepped down in May 2014, citing health and family reasons.
The New Democratic Party has held the MLA seat for The Pas since 1969.
Despite the loss, Manitoba's Liberal Party is celebrating a bigger gain of the voting pie in the constituency, calling their 13 per cent share "a clear improvement over the 2.8 per cent result in 2011."
"We congratulate NDP candidate Amanda Lathlin on her success, and Conservative candidate Jacob Nasekapow on a well-run race, and of course we are very grateful to have such a great Liberal candidate in Inez Vystrcil-Spence," Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari said in a press release issued after the results came in on Tuesday.
"Everyone who puts their name on a ballot deserves credit for taking part in our democratic system. I'm so proud of all the hard-work Inez has done to help us build a better Manitoba and a stronger Manitoba Liberal Party."
