A political analyst says B.C. has entered "unchartered ground" as a losing Conservative candidate claims alleged election "irregularities" should invalidate the NDP win in the Surrey riding that gave Premier David Eby a single-seat majority in the Oct. 19 B.C. election. 

Honveer Singh Randhawa, who lost Surrey-Guildford to New Democrat Garry Begg by 22 votes following a judicial recount, said Thursday (Jan. 9) that he will file a petition, facing a deadline of Jan. 19, that asks the Supreme Court of British Columbia to declare Begg's election invalid under Section 150 of the Election Act. 

Randhawa and Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad, speaking to media in Victoria Thursday, called for the "urgent" appointment of a senior Supreme Court of British Columbia justice to formally investigate what they called election irregularities in the riding.

Rustad added that investigation should also look into Elections BC's broader management of the last provincial election; the effects of amendments to the Election Act spearheaded by Eby in 2019 and 2021, when he was attorney-general; and what Conservatives called the "urgent need for proof of citizenship" on documents required to prove identity when voting. The party is recommending that the letter C, standing for Canadian, be placed on identity documents.

Rustad said his party's priority is "getting the truth and safeguarding our democracy," and Randhawa added that B次元官网网址�(justice) must be done and democracy must prevail."

The Conservative party itself will not join Randhawa's petition, but Randhawa said his petition and the party's call for a broader investigation go hand-in-hand. 

Rustad acknowledged that the party is not directly involved in the court challenge, following an executive decision, but "is doing work behind the scenes" in helping to collect additional information.

"We will have to see how that process goes," he said, when asked whether the party would cover Randhawa's legal bills. 

Randhawa said he would accept the verdict of the court. "Court is final and all I require is, 'let's look into this,'" he said. 

Political scientist Stewart Prest, who teaches at the University of British Columbia, said Randhawa has the right to file such a judicial request to invalidate the result, but he is not aware of such a request in recent memory. Should the courts invalidate Begg's election, the seat would become vacant, leaving the B.C. NDP with 46 seats, the Conservatives with 44 seats and B.C. Greens with two seats. 

"More broadly, we haven't seen a party willing to cast questions on the veracity of an election in Canada like this before," Prest said. "While Mr. Rustad was careful to emphasize the importance of trust in elections, he went on to give a whole bunch of unsubstantiated and somewhat vague reasons to cast doubt on the veracity of the vote." 

Conservatives say they found evidence of 45 votes cast that, in the words of Rustad, "fail even the most basic smell test in a democracy." The allegations revolve 21 mail-in ballots cast cast at Argyll Lodge, a Surrey facility described as "licensed addiction and substance abuse recovery facility," as well as 22 votes cast by ineligible voters and one voter allegedly voting twice, using two slightly different names.

The Conservatives' presentation included a copy of Randhawa's complaint detailing "potential contraventions" of Sections 256(1), S. 256(2) and Section 257(1)(e) of the Election Act, along with three witnessed statutory declarations from witnesses, a witnessed written statement from another witness and a list of Argyll Lodge residents who had cast their vote in the 2024 provincial election.

Black Press could not independently confirm the allegations before deadline. 

Speaking on CBC earlier, Prest called the presented evidence B次元官网网址渋nconclusive,B次元官网网址� saying it alleges "a variety of questions around the margins" only relevant for Surrey-Guildford because of the 22 votes that separated Randhawa and Begg at the final count following the judicial recount. 

"So every election is going to have a few challenges," he said. "It's a human endeavour. It's a significant undertaking, and so we are seeing calls to look into this more closely because of that," he said. 

Prest later added that Randhawa might also be filing his petition now because any challenges citing potential contraventions under Sections 256 and 257 of the Election Act face a three-month limit dating back to October.

Prest said that B.C.'s political system has "very specific limits on challenging electoral results because we as a democracy effectively need to move on and accept a result at some point, and that point generally is after the final count is certified," he said. That happened in November 2024. 

Prest added that Conservatives now trying to "open up that box again" and the pending court challenge "may put to rest the allegations that are apparently floating around" on social media and in Conservative circles. 

"So they are going to have their day in court, quite literally, and then we can move on from those allegations once the final determination is made," he said. 

Looming behind Randhawa's challenge, though, is a broader development more present in the United States. 

"That willingness to question results without any kind of very strong evidence in support, essentially asking questions about elections, is something we are not accustomed to," Prest said. "It did strike me as a much more American-style approach to election, where every ballot is subject to scrutiny and challenge."

What British Columbians might be witnessing here is the "early stages" of "fighting elections through the courts, using effectively every means at the party's disposal" to challenge electoral results, Prest said. 

B.C. Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman said in a statement that Elections BC received a complaint from Randhawa on Jan. 3, adding that his office "takes any potential violation of the Election Act seriously." 

Boegman added that Elections BC "are reviewing these allegations," which "have not been substantiated or proven in court."

"We are unable to provide further information on these allegations while our review is ongoing," Boegman added. 

Boegman added that his office is "aware" of Randhawa's plans to file an invalid election application for Surrey-Guildford in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. "If such an application is filed, Elections BC will be a party to the application," Boegman said. 

Speaking on CBC Television, Eby called the allegations "a little bit cringe," adding that Rustad is free to spend his time this way. 

"It does have echoes of American-style politics that he is trying to bring to our province and it's unfortunate," he added. "But there are lots of safe guards. If there is anything to the allegations, Elections BC and the courts will do that review. I note of course that he is unwilling to put his own name to the allegations in the court application. But his candidate will bring that forward and they (the allegations) will be looked at as they should be."