Information for Parties
Elections Alberta provides registered party representatives with access to the Nomination Contest module in our Online Financial System (OFS) for reporting information on nomination contests, nomination contestants, and contest results.
Click here for detailed guidance about using OFS to report a nomination contest to Elections Alberta.
Within 15 calendar days after a nomination contest is held in an electoral division, the party is responsible for reporting the following information:
- electoral division for the nomination contest,
- official call date and selection date for the contest,
- name(s) and contact information for the contestant(s), including any who withdrew*
- name(s) and contact information for the chief financial officer(s)*
- name of the contestant selected for endorsement
*On being entered into OFS, every contestant and chief financial officer receives an email from OFS prompting them to confirm their role and contact information. Confirmation must be completed before the winning contestant can be selected and endorsed. In addition, completing the confirmation automatically sets up OFS user access for both the contestant and CFO to be able enter contributions and more. A Welcome email also goes out to both the contestant and CFO with important information on using OFS and financial compliance rules.
When the party endorses the contestant as their candidate, no later than 15 calendar days after the contest, a report is automatically sent to Elections Alberta for review. When we accept the report, the information is posted to our public disclosure website (less personal contact information).
The following information, if not previously provided by the party within the initial 15 days, is due no later than 30 days after the contest:
- effective date for the nomination contestant(s) and what the date was based upon: announcement, first contribution, first expense
- name and address of the financial institution, and name(s) of the signing officer(s) on the campaign account (required information even if no account has been established)
Once all of the contest and contestant information is complete and reported to Elections Alberta, we close the contest and an “Important Deadline” email goes out to the contestant(s) and CFO(s) with their specific filing due date and further financial compliance information.
Parties have the option to use OFS to enter their contests and contestants before or during the contest. There is no need to wait to input all of the information. Timely data entry and reporting to Elections Alberta helps us to ensure timely communications to contestants and CFOs regarding their filings.