judge to rule on BC Liberal leadership vote on Saturday | The Canadian News

A judge was expected to rule on Saturday on a petition asking the British Columbia Supreme Court to delay the publication of the results of the British Columbia Liberal Party leadership vote.

Judge Heather MacNaughton heard arguments on Friday from lawyers for the Liberals and long-time party member Vikram Bajwa, who asked the court for an order to delay the release of the results for 15 days due to concerns about the party’s recent audit. of the new members you signed up during the leadership race. .

Voting began Thursday and the results were scheduled to be released today, hours after MacNaughton’s decision.

Bajwa’s lawyer, Greg Allen, told the court that the party has an obligation to his client to ensure that no invalid member is allowed to vote, which could effectively disenfranchise members in good standing.

29:232022 BC Liberal Leadership Debate

Andrew Nathanson, a lawyer for the party, said Bajwa had not provided substantial evidence to support his concerns about voter improprieties, and the party’s own evidence showed that reasonable steps were taken to ensure voter eligibility.

Bajwa’s petition also asked the court for an order that would force the party to provide details of its audit of new members and reveal its findings on whether any coordinated electoral fraud took place in the leadership race.

Nathanson said party rules give the leadership election organizing committee discretion over whether to release details of the audit.

The party gained more than 20,000 members during the leadership process for a total of around 43,000, who can vote online or by phone for a new leader to replace Andrew Wilkinson after he stepped down following the party’s 2020 electoral defeat.

The seven leadership candidates are members of the legislature Michael Lee, Ellis Ross and Renee Merrifield; business leaders Gavin Dew, Val Litwin and Stan Sipos; and Kevin Falcon, former BC cabinet minister.