The B.C. Conservative Party candidate who lost in the riding of Surrey-Guildford by 22 votes in last year’s provincial election has given up his court challenge of the results.
Honveer Singh Randhawa announced in a statement on Tuesday that he is withdrawing his B.C. Supreme Court petition, saying his team has already achieved a material outcome after the chief electoral officer admitted that some violations had occurred.
Randhawa claimed in his petition that some non-residents of the riding voted, that others cast multiple ballots and that some residents of a seniors care home cast mail-in ballots, despite them not being aware there was an election.
A statement from Elections BC says there is no evidence that violations of the Election Act occurred in the last provincial election and the election result remains valid.
Elections BC says while it has previously acknowledged that “a few administrative errors” occurred in the election, no errors affected the outcome of any contest.
Randhawa statement says when members of his team interviewed seniors at the home, they appeared anxious and stressed about the possibility of giving evidence, and he didn’t want to put them through such a distressing experience.
Elections BC suspended its review of a complaint by Randhawa of potential violations pending the outcome of the court case, and now Randhawa says he would like that review to continue in order to prevent similar issues in the future.
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Elections BC says it will consider its next steps in relation to Randhawa’s complaint.
“The court did not make any determinations about whether any of the alleged contraventions of the Election Act occurred. Elections BC remains confident that voting in the 2024 Provincial Election was free, fair, and secure,” its statement says.
“Election processes, including vote-by-mail, were administered in accordance with the Election Act and ensured that eligible voters were able to exercise their constitutional right to vote.”
Randhawa says he would also like Elections BC to review and extend its 30-day deadline to make a complaint after an election, saying the rule is decades old.
“Mr. Randhawa says violations are violations, and they should not be undermined simply because of a timing dispute or a procedural technicality. He says that whether concerns are raised within 30 days or more, the nature of the violations do not change,” the statement says.
Randhawa says the process has cost more than $200,000 to date.
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