Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson will keep her job..Court of Queen’s Bench Justice James Edmond dismissed a court challenge by Shelly Glover to toss the results of the October 30 Progressive Conservative party’s leadership vote and order a new election..Edmond cited case law that clearly shows elections can’t be lightly overturned..He said it was incumbent on Glover, Stefanson’s sole opponent, to prove there were irregularities and that they impacted the outcome of the election, which she failed to do..While Edmond accepted some of the vote tally sheets were not initialed or signed properly, he said there was no evidence proving they were inaccurate..“I’m satisfied the existence of an irregularity alone isn’t enough for a court to interfere,” Edmond concluded in a lengthy decision Friday..Stefanson was declared winner by a slim 363 vote lead. .Edmonds said he was satisfied that only valid ballots were put in ballot boxes..He agreed there were some irregularities in the vote count process, but was satisfied the election was properly conducted in accordance with the party’s rules..Three days later she was sworn in as premier to replace Brian Pallister who resigned..Glover, a former member of Parliament, refused to concede and launched a court challenge..Her lawyers argued tally sheets weren’t signed off by everyone and cited a spreadsheet with a list of voters sent to both campaigns — and both knew they were not accurate..They also alleged that the ballots weren’t protected, an allegation Edmond disputed..Lawyers for the PC party disagreed, insisting the election was “fundamentally fair” and there is no “basis in law” to upset the result. .Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
