Elections BC suspends probe into Conservative claims of vote violations

Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman speaks at the Elections BC office in Victoria, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

VICTORIA — Elections BC says it has suspended its review of a complaint from a Conservative candidate over potential violations in the October election as the B.C. Supreme Court considers a similar claim.

Honveer Singh Randhawa and the BC Conservative Party said it had evidence of 45 suspicious votes in the Surrey-Guildford riding where the New Democrats won by just 22 votes, giving the party a slim majority government.

Randhawa filed the complaint with Elections BC, then days later he asked the B.C. Supreme Court to declare the election of New Democrat Garry Begg invalid.

Elections BC says in a statement issued Tuesday that the court filing also named chief electoral officer Anton Boegman in the case.

It says that allegations in both the complaint and the court petition are similar and in order to preserve the integrity of the court proceedings, Elections BC will suspend its review until the court makes its decision.

Once a judge decides, Elections BC says it will consider whether to resume its review of the complaint if it believes further investigation is warranted.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.

The Canadian Press