B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad holds a media availability following election results at the legislature in Victoria, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
VICTORIA – Elections BC is looking into a complaint of voting irregularities in a riding where a narrow NDP win gave it a one-seat majority in October’s election, with B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad highlighting allegations about improper voting at an addiction recovery facility.
Rustad says other alleged irregularities include voting by non-citizens and non-residents of specific ridings, and he wants assurances for B.C. voters that “it’s only Canadian citizens who are voting.”
The Conservative leader says his party wants an independent review of the election process, while Surrey-Guildford candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa says he plans to follow his complaint to Elections BC by petitioning the B.C. Supreme Court to invalidate the result in the riding.
Elections BC says Randhawa’s complaint filed last Friday is “under review.”
The NDP’s Garry Begg was declared the winner in Surrey-Guildford by 22 votes after a judicial recount conducted by hand, giving Premier David Eby’s government a bare majority.
Confirmation of Begg’s victory came nearly three weeks after election when no majority could be declared.
The result gave the NDP 47 seats in the 93-seat legislature, while the B.C. Conservatives won 44 seats, and the Greens two.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2025.
