John Rustad, the leader of the B.C. Conservative Party, says his party has uncovered what he calls voting irregularities in the critical Surrey-Guildford riding – where the margin of victory was just 22, and which gave the provincial New Democratic Party its majority.
Rustad claims that there is evidence of 45 votes cast in the riding of Surrey-Guildford in the 2024 election “that fail even the most basic smell test in a democracy.”
Rustad is demanding the appointment of a senior justice of the Supreme Court to lead a formal investigation by an independent Commission of Inquiry, pursuant to the Public Inquiry Act.
He said that 21 mail-in ballot votes were cast by residents of Argyll Lodge, a licensed addiction and substance abuse recovery facility. The licensed capacity of Argyll Lodge is 25 beds. Argyll Lodge is across the street from Guildford Park Secondary School, the nearest polling station, located just 80 metres away. According to Rsutad, “Some residents of Argyll Lodge deny requesting a mail-in ballot or being aware that a provincial election was even taking place.”
The party alleges one resident was told how to fill out their mail-in package by a third party, and that others received mail-in ballot packages they did not ask for.
“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.
“Justice must be done, and democracy must prevail,” said Randhawa.
Rustad says the Commission of Inquiry must address serious systemic concerns with the election process arising from the 2024 provincial election. He said the Official Opposition will bring forward legislation in the spring session of the legislature to correct some of the glaring shortcomings identified in the election.
“We identify four areas that the Commission of Inquiry should address, and that we will address as the Official Opposition,” said Rustad.
In a statement on Wednesday, an Elections B.C. spokesperson confirmed it had received a complaint from Randhawa on Jan. 3. “The complaint is under review,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are unable to provide further information at this time.”
