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The B.C. Conservative candidate for the Surrey-Guildford riding in the 2024 provincial election, which was narrowly won by the B.C. NDP, has now abandoned a lawsuit that sought to invalidate that result.
Honveer Singh Randhawa had claimed in B.C. Supreme Court that the election of the NDP’s Garry Begg — which was confirmed via judicial recount to be a slim margin of 22 votes — saw multiple voting irregularities taking place.
Randhawa further claimed that at a care home facility in the riding called Argyll Lodge, two residents who don’t speak English and didn’t request mail-in ballots were intimidated by staff to fill out ballots for the NDP.
On Tuesday, however, Elections B.C. confirmed that Randhawa had discontinued his Supreme Court petition on the issue.
The B.C. Conservative leader has raised concerns about several votes cast in the riding of Surrey-Guildford, particularly at a care facility in the riding, suggesting residents of the home may have been influenced in their vote. The manager of the care home, as well as a staff member, who says they helped residents cast their votes when asked, have categorically denied the allegations.
“The court did not make any determinations about whether any of the alleged contraventions of the Election Act occurred,” read a statement from the non-partisan office.
“Elections [B.C.] remains confident that voting in the 2024 Provincial Election was free, fair, and secure,” the statement added.
Anton Boegman, British Columbia’s chief electoral officer, says his office is fully reviewing claims of “voting irregularities” raised by members of the B.C. Conservative Party, but adds he is “very confident” rules were properly followed.
The non-partisan office that administers elections in the province had suspended its own review of Randhawa’s allegations, pending the outcome of the court case.
Its Tuesday statement says it would now consider its next steps regarding Randhawa’s complaint.
CBC News has reached out to Randhawa for this story, but did not immediately hear back.
In a statement to The Canadian Press, Randhawa said that the process has cost more than $200,000 to date.
NDP asks for apology
In a review of the 2024 election released in May, Elections B.C. chief electoral officer Anton Boegman pushed back against “false narratives” and “disinformation” peddled by those questioning the integrity of B.C.’s voting system.
While Boegman admitted human error was present at points — including in the Prince George-Mackenzie riding, where a ballot box containing 861 votes was not counted — he said he took full accountability for the work of officials and any mistakes that were made.
“I’ll leave the political discussion to the politicians,” he said at the time. “I stand by my assertion that the election was free, fair and secure.”
In a statement, the B.C. NDP’s provincial director Tania Jarzebiak called Randhawa’s lawsuit a “futile attempt” to overturn Begg’s election.
Begg urged the Conservatives to apologize to Argyll Lodge residents and staff, and cover their legal fees for their involvement in the lawsuit.
“Mr. Randhawa and the [B.C.] Conservatives have accused care home staff of a conspiracy and needlessly dragged elderly residents through an invasive and damaging court process,” Begg said in the NDP’s statement.
Argyll Lodge’s owner had told CBC News in January that Randhawa’s complaints were absurd, and that there were policies in place to not engage in political or religious conversations with clients.
Then-Conservative leader John Rustad had publicly backed Randhawa’s complaint, even claiming that non-Canadians voted in the 2024 election.
However, he admitted he didn’t have evidence to prove it.
In the statement to The Canadian Press, Randhawa said his team has already achieved a material outcome after the chief electoral officer admitted that some violations had occurred.
The statement added that when members of his team interviewed seniors at the home, they appeared anxious and stressed about the possibility of giving evidence, and he didn’t want to put them through such a distressing experience.
