(YELLOWKNIFE) – Members of the 18th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories have confirmed the process to be used to elect the Speaker, Premier and Executive Council during the Territorial Leadership Committee (TLC) meetings being held tomorrow in Yellowknife.

The 19 Members of Caucus have agreed that the first order of business at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 16, 2015 will be the election of the Speaker. Candidates for the Speaker’s position will have five minutes to deliver a speech to Members of the Assembly regarding their suitability for the role of Speaker. After the speeches have concluded, a secret ballot vote will be held, and the results released. Once the Speaker-elect has been chosen, he/she will assume the Chair of the Territorial Leadership Committee meeting.

The TLC will then select the Premier. The previously nominated candidates for Premier will participate in a question-and-answer session with the Members. All Members will be permitted to ask up to two questions of each candidate. Upon completion of the question-and-answer session, Members will cast secret ballots to elect the Premier of the 18th Legislative Assembly.

The Executive Council selection process, which gets underway at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, will follow past practice whereby a total of six Ministers will be chosen. The regional balance of two Ministers from the northern constituencies, two from southern constituencies, and two from Yellowknife will be maintained.

The public is invited to observe the Territorial Leadership Committee meetings, which will be held in the Chamber of the Legislative Assembly building. Formal motions to ratify the TLC selections will be brought forward when the 18th Legislative Assembly convenes on Thursday, December 17th, at 1:30 p.m.

Copies of the processes used for the selection of the Speaker, Premier and Executive Council are attached to this news release.

For more information, please contact:

Tim Mercer, Clerk
Legislative Assembly of the NWT
Phone: 867-767-9130, ext 12012 or 1-800-661-0784
Email: Tim_Mercer@gov.nt.ca