Article content continued

However, it was not clear the NDP had enough members in the chamber to ensure the victory of their candidate. Despite Wanner’s order, more NDP MLAs continued to enter the room during the voting process, prompting the Wildrose to call foul.

“Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, a number of members who were not in the chamber when you initially said that the doors would be locked have now entered the chamber and drastically changed the results of the election,” Wildrose house leader Nathan Cooper said. “The honourable thing would be that the members who weren’t in the chamber at least remove themselves from the chamber, and we can re-vote.”

The NDP resisted that idea, saying the late-arriving MLAs should still be allowed to vote because the legislature bells had not rung beforehand.

That assertion turned out to be incorrect. While the bells do ring for votes on motions and bills — giving members 10-minutes’ warning to enter the chamber — legislature rules are different for the election of speakers and chairs. In those cases, no bells are sounded.

Wanner expressed frustration at the situation, saying he had no way of knowing which MLAs arrived late. He eventually asked members who had come in after 9:10 a.m. to voluntarily leave.

Another vote was then held, with the NDP’s Heather Sweet defeating the Wildrose’s Prasad Panda.

The Wildrose said the government may have actually lost the first vote, but the results will never be known because the ballots were immediately destroyed. Likewise, Cooper said at least six NDP MLAs left the chamber before the second vote, but it’s unclear whether all late-arriving members departed as asked.