Andrew Furey wins Liberal Leadership Race, the votes started yesterday and closed at 12 noon.
Liberal faithful are putting their future in the hands of Andrew Furey , the winner of the Liberal Leadership Race. John Abbott, the only other candidate is calling for audit of the voting process but is not contesting in the results.
About 21,000 of 34,000 registered voters actually voted. Furey had 26,443 points to Abbott’s 13,557.
Furey was the frontrunner going into campaign after garnering the support of the entire Liberal Cabinet. He says action has to be taken immediately on the financial challenges facing Newfoundland and Labrador.
Abbott plans to run in the next election. Furey who does not have a seat says he will run for the first available seat.
The Legislature will have to sit soon in order to pass a budget.
Furey will be the 14th Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador but not until he is sworn in by the Lieutenant Governor, but he said the work starts tonight and the path will not be easy. Furey says things will now be done differently.
His first step will be to meet other officials in the Department of Finance to see where we are in that regard.
Meanwhile Abbott congratulated Furey on his victory.
He says he knows Furey worked hard on his campaign. When asked whether he will work Furey’s government, Abbott says he hopes to have further conversations with Furey to see what transpires.
Courtesy VOCM news.