It took 2,073 ballots cast and almost nine hours, but by approximately 10 p.m. Saturday, the Yukon Liberal Party had elected itself a new leader Arthur Mitchell.

It was a day and evening of surprises, disappointments, back room negotiations and button trading. It seemed more like the May 2004 nationally-televised federal Progressive Conservative leadership convention, with the now infamous deal between former leader Peter MacKay and David Orchard, than a typical provincial or territorial leadership convention.

The territorial Liberals' four-candidate leadership race took three ballots to come to a conclusion. The names appeared on the ballot in a randomly selected order of Elvis A. Presley, Ed Schultz, Arthur Mitchell and Pat Duncan.

The day started at 1 p.m. with a flurry of signs, posters and T-shirts.

Duncan had professional-looking placards while Mitchell favoured coloured posters. Schultz's energetic and vocal supporters sported handmade signs bearing his name.

Presley's camp went with bright red T-shirts stating 'Elvis for Leader'. The shirts appeared to be collectibles, and even Yukon MP Larry Bagnell couldn't help getting in on it, though he quickly stuffed his purchase into a bag and refused to model it at the convention.

The room was packed with approximately 250 people, many carrying proxy votes which would permit them to vote up to three times.

Duncan needed to win on the first ballot if she was going to take the leadership, a Liberal insider theorized.

However, Duncan narrowly missed the 50-per-cent-plus-one tally needed to win, taking in 308 of the 732 ballots submitted on the first round of voting.

It caused what became dubbed as the 'Elvis Factor' at the convention to take effect. Presley's name was removed from the second ballot after he only took in five votes in the first round.

But, the dropping of Presley's name left the other candidates with a very clear picture of how the rest of the afternoon would play out with Mitchell having taken 245 of the votes and Schultz 174.

It was clear that either Schultz's team had to really get out the vote for the next round or the candidate who could earn his support would take the leadership.

The surprisingly weak showing for Schultz caused the noticeably sullen candidate to silently refuse interviews between the first and second ballots.

'I suspect the people who are managing those campaigns are all talking to each other right now and I imagine it's probably a pretty interesting conversation,' said former Liberal leader Ken Taylor.

Schultz, however, said at the start of the day that he would not be voluntarily taking his name off any ballot. He stood by that decision, going into the second round of voting in third place.

'I think Ed's numbers are strong enough to keep him in the race,' said Taylor. 'We'll see if they're able to convince people to move to the third-place candidate, and that will be interesting to see.'

There were rumours at the convention that several people would be making 'loyalty'' votes on the first round of voting and casting their ballots in Duncan's favour.

Taylor said he'd heard that Schultz's campaign team was hopeful that votes would be moving to their side on the second ballot.

However, Jason Cunning, a Liberal spokesperson, said people stick with who they're voting for throughout a convention, adding that it didn't make sense to him for Schultz to keep his name on the ballot.

But, Schultz's team clearly wasn't ready to give up, and sat for the approximately two hours the polling stations were open with a list of Liberal supporters making phone calls and trying to get out the vote.

As the clock ticked down for the voting, it was still unclear if votes were shifting. The Star didn't speak to anyone among the membership who would commit to saying they had switched their vote on the second ballot.

'In talking to a lot of people who have been involved with the party for a long time, I haven't heard a single person say, I know what's going to happen,' ' said Taylor. 'That tells me that it's pretty volatile and that no one can tell you what's going to happen on this second ballot.'

But, it was Mitchell's campaign team that showed the most organization between the ballots.

Presley said he was putting his support behind Mitchell because he was the only candidate to take the time to write him a letter addressing his campaign and asking for his support.

Also, while Duncan and her team were busy 'working the room' between the voting rounds, Mitchell's team was seen busily negotiating with Schultz's.

Mitchell and Schultz also quietly slipped out of the convention and went for a walk in the streets together.

But in the end, the only movement of the votes was down for all candidates as several voting delegates retreated from the convention as it wore past supper time and on into the evening.

Duncan garnered 292 votes and Mitchell 232.

Schultz was eliminated after the second ballot after taking 156 votes. He quickly threw his support behind Mitchell and put an 'Arthur' button on his lapel.

Buttons exchanged hands throughout the room at the Gold Rush Inn and many Schultz supporters bore two buttons reading 'Ed' and 'Arthur' going into the third ballot.

Mitchell was on hand to shake Schultz's hand, but Duncan was still 'working the room.' Even as Schultz worked through his supporters to talk to the media, Duncan had yet to come over and give him a congratulatory handshake.

Schultz blamed his defeat on entering the race late and having many of the experienced campaigners already picked up by other candidates. He also said having a leadership convention in June wasn't the best idea.

'I was late in the race, there's also a lot of activity happening throughout the territory,' he said. 'It's June 4. It's just a terrible time for a leadership convention, to be quite frank, because many people just aren't gong to be here.'

Schultz said he will run in the next territorial election, but he wouldn't discuss what he had talked to Mitchell about between ballots.

'Not interested in making deals,' he said. 'I'm only interested in making sure this party can be successful in the next election.'

However, Mitchell said it was important to keep Schultz involved in the party for the next election. Though he also wouldn't say if any deals had been made, he did state that he and Schultz hae a common outlook.

'Ed and I both represented change,' he said. 'We're different but we have a lot in common in terms of believing in consultation and listening to as many people as possible, and I guess saw in me someone who he thought he had some things in common.'

With the third-ballot polls opening at around 8 p.m., Duncan's team needed to win the vote of some of Schultz's supporters or grab some of the proxy votes.

Proxy votes permit each voting delegate to vote up to three times; their own vote, plus the vote of two members who are not able to attend the convention.

Patrick Singh, who managed Presley's campaign, stood holding two proxies waiting to go into the third ballot. He said proxies were worth their weight in gold going into the vote.

Just before 10 p.m., the pollsters came out with the final results. The winning candidate needed 331 votes. Mitchell who used to speak for a Yukon Party cabinet in the 1990s took 357 and Duncan 303.

In an ironic twist of events after almost nine hours of voting, Mitchell wasn't even in the room to hear the results. Members had to go out looking for him before he was able to walk the floor and make his winner's speech.

Mitchell congratulated Schultz in his victory speech, saying his continued advice would be invaluable to all Yukoners.

'I want to thank Pat (Duncan) for having the courage to call this leadership convention,' said Mitchell. 'As always, you have put your party first.

'The Yukon Party should be very nervous today,' Mitchell added. 'They should be nervous because they see the same things I see, and that's a strong Liberal party that's preparing to form government.'

Following his speech, a teary-eyed Duncan maintained that she was happy she called the convention because she felt it had reinvigorated the Liberal party.

'It's a great day to be a Liberal,' she said, but steered away from any other questions, saying that it was 'Arthur's day.'

Despite the long day, Mitchell said he was happy with the convention.

'I think that's great. There were so many other things going on. Concerts and Run for Life starting tonight and people wanting to get camping,' said Mitchell. 'I think it shows how much people care and want to build a better Yukon.'