Parti Québécois wins Gaspé in recount as investigation launched into vote

The Parti Québécois has gained a seat in the National Assembly after a recount reversed the election results in Gaspé. 

PQ candidate Méganne Perry-Mélançon will now take the eastern Quebec seat in the provincial legislature.

"It was quite a long run, but the ending is quite satisfying," she told CBC's Quebec AM Thursday. "I am very happy today."

Élections Québec announced it will be investigating the ballot count.

The original vote count had Liberal candidate Alexandre Boulay up by 132 votes. The PQ requested a recount after the party said every vote counted at polling station 61 was marked for the Liberal candidate.

Not a single vote in that ballot box went to the PQ, Coalition Avenir Québec or Québec Solidaire. Four ballots were rejected.

Perry-Mélançon said her team noticed the irregularity the next morning and immediately filed a recount request. 

She believed it wasn't possible that all votes went to the Liberal Party considering the breakdown in other ballot boxes.

In authorizing the recount, Judge Denis Paradis had identified "numerous anomalies" that have raised doubts about the integrity of the process.

In a statement, the province's chief electoral officer Pierre Reid said he intends to "get answers" the the questions have been raised about the irregularities.

"The integrity of the electoral process is the foundation of our electoral system and demands that we act with rigour and speed," said Reid.

"Each of the stages of the counting of the riding of Gaspé will be reviewed in order to obtain clarifications and make the appropriate corrections."

A report of the findings will be made public but, until then, Reid will not comment further, the statement says.

"I have to shed some light on what happened, especially on box 61," Perry-Mélançon told reporters Wednesday night while calling for "reflection" on the polling process across the province.

There's 'work to be done,' new PQ MNA says

After the recount results were revealed, Perry-Mélançon, the first woman to be elected in the riding, said she is aware that she will have to work to convince voters they made the right choice.

There is "work to be done, both for the party and for [me]," she said.

Winning in Gaspé puts the PQ at 10 seats in the provincial legislature — matching Québec Solidaire's seat count.

Parties must have no fewer than 12 members to be recognized as a parliamentary group, commonly known as official party status. Otherwise, the MNAs sit as independent members.

Therefore, even at 10 members, the QS's elected MNAs are currently listed on the National Assembly's website as independent members of the national assembly.

How much floor time the QS and PQ will have to ask questions is still to be negotiated, but Perry-Mélançon remains confident.

"I think our voice will be stronger at the National Assembly," she said.

Looking ahead, Perry-Mélançon said public transportation and public health will be her focus once she is sworn in as MNA. She said she will also work to keep youth in her region.

Boulay congratulates Perry-Mélançon

Late Wednesday night, Boulay thanked his supporters and congratulated Perry-Mélançon on her victory on Twitter, while sharing a link to a statement he published on Facebook. 

He wrote that he accepted the judicial recount with "great humility." He described the recount process as "rigorous and transparent."

"As far as I'm concerned, I come out of this experience with my head up and the feeling of having lost nothing," he says. "On the contrary, I thank the 6,000 people who trusted me. It means a lot to me."

The loss means the Liberals will have 29 seats, after Guy Ouellette was expelled from caucus last week and Philippe Couillard resigned. 

The riding of Gaspé is the second recount that the PQ has won this week, with candidate Joël Arseneau's win upheld in Îles-de-la-Madeleine on Wednesday.

Another recount, in the northern riding of Ungava, is expected to be completed next week where preliminary results put the CAQ ahead of the PQ. 

With files from Radio-Canada