The leadership vote
The National Party caucus that will vote on the leadership has just started.
The caucus sets its own rules, but based on previous leadership elections the likely procedure will be:
- The Chief Whip takes the Chair and calls for nominations
- Both candidates speak (5 minutes each)
- The Whips (Barbara Kuriger, Matt Doocey and Tim Van de Molen distribute ballots papers and collect them up.
- If there are only two candidates (as seems likely) then there is only one ballot – you need 28 out of 55 votes.
- The Junior Whips (with the Party President in attendance) count the votes and then inform the Chief Whip.
- The Chief Whip informs the candidates of the result and then the caucus.
- If there is also a ballot for Deputy Leader (and there might not be) the same process is followed.
- The result will be announced to the media by the Chief Whip accompanied by the Leader, the Deputy Leader and the Party President
- The Party Board will ratify the election (if there is a change) upon which the Leader goes from being the leader of the parliamentary section to the leader of the party. This is routine, and there is never any chance of non-ratification.
I’ll of course blog the result so long as it is before 1.45 pm (I have an appointment from 1.45 to 2.45).