Court of Queen’s Bench Justice James Edmond is expected to deliver his ruling next week on the validity of Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative leadership race. .Edmond heard arguments Friday in Winnipeg from lawyers representing both sides of the dispute in the court battle over the outcome of the October 30 vote..Candidate Shelly Glover who refused to concede defeat asked the court to declare the result invalid and rule that a new vote be held..Premier Heather Stefanson was declared winner by 363 votes, with 51% of the total, and sworn in November 2 to replace former premier Brian Pallister who resigned..In sworn affidavits, Glover alleged her campaign was provided a faulty voter information spreadsheet with a vote count showing her the winner that differed from the final tally..Glover also alleged that ballots were not secured on election day..The PC party maintains both campaigns were given the same faulty spreadsheet that did not impair the final count. .The party denied the allegation that the ballots were not secure. .“Why would you send out a voters list if it’s full of inaccuracies?” asked Glover’s lawyer Dave Hill. “That’s the biggest irregularity in this whole case.”.Hill argued that PC party officials neither demonstrated how the ballots were protected nor explained how the vote was calculated..PC party lawyer Harvey Schachter argued that each ballot that went into the ballot box was overseen and approved by scrutineers from both campaigns and that Glover’s lawyers failed to provide evidence that the end count was inaccurate..“The election was fundamentally fair. Ms. Stefanson won and there is no basis in law or fact to challenge or upset that result.”.Edmond will determine if there was a failure to uphold the PC constitution or rules established for the leadership race. .He will not conduct a judicial recount of the race..In November, Edmond expedited the hearing date on the grounds that the case was a “matter of urgency and public interest” and the people of Manitoba “have an interest in knowing whether the election of our new premier is flawed.”.The civil case could set a Canadian legal precedent if Edmond rules in Glover’s favour..Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
