Citing “irregularities,” the head of the BC Conservative Party is putting forward a series of recommendations to avoid some of the issues which popped up in the last provincial election — which was the closest in provincial history.
John Rustad says they’re calling for an independent review of the broader voting rules and regulations.
He says there are also practical things that can be done to try to limit the amount of potential violations, including the creation of a 90-day amnesty for anyone who wants to report that they did break the rules — and not get in trouble for it.
“We actually think there are many people who have voted who may not be Canadian citizens. We have heard of hundreds of these potential cases of issues. However, like I say, no one wants to come forward because they’re worried about what may happen in terms of fine or potential jail time.”
“We’re making a recommendation that all ID, all photo ID that’s issued by the British Columbia government, should have a C on it if they are Canadian citizens. So that’s your driver’s license, your BC ID.”
“I’d like to see is us to suspend the penalties of the Election Act for a 90 day period, to allow for people to be able to come forward and tell us what has gone on, what happened, where the course to vote, what was the issues that may have happened.”
“We need an independent inquiry to get to the bottom of these election irregularities while the election is still fresh in the memories of those individuals who are said to have cast mail-in ballots, and those voters who did not actually live in Surrey-Guildford on election day,” said Rustad.
Honveer Singh Randhawa, the Conservative Party of British Columbia candidate for Surrey-Guildford in the 2024 election, also gave notice that he will file a petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia to declare that, pursuant to the Election Act, the election of Garry Begg as MLA for Surrey Guildford is invalid, and that the office of MLA for Surrey-Guildford is vacant.
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.
