The empty seat on Flin Flon city council will remain empty for the foreseeable future.
A byelection for the seat on council formerly occupied by Guy Rideout, previously scheduled for May 13, has been postponed by the City due to COVID-19 concerns.
"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty, the byelection for the vacant councillor position for the City of Flin Flon has been postponed indefinitely," reads a short statement from the City of Flin Flon released March 17.
All dates and times related to the byelection, including deadlines for registration, polling dates and voter roll updates, have been postponed.
"It's my decision to make and I made it this morning," said Katy Anderson, senior election officer as appointed by the City March 17. Anderson said she had made the decision in consultation with Elections Manitoba.
"I called and asked them questions about conditions according to the Manitoba Elections Act. They can be postponed for different reasons. That's what I wanted to clarify yesterday. Once I had that information, I made the decision."
Some Manitoba byelections have been delayed by up to a year due to a myriad of reasons, Anderson said. There is no ballpark date for when an election may be held or when efforts to reorganize could begin.
"It's done out of an abundance of caution," Anderson said.
"We don't know what is going to occur and I thought taking a chance was not a wise decision. With people coming in and out and touching pencils and tables, even under the best chances of keeping everything clean, I think we'd be putting our citizens at risk."
Anderson said one person had registered as a candidate in the election. The person will now need to return their registration form and package and resubmit paperwork, along with any other candidates, to run.
