Quebec Liberals will field full slate of candidates on election day following court ruling
Harley Lounsbury allowed on ballot in Matane-Matapédia riding in Bas-Saint-Laurent
The Quebec Superior Court has overturned a decision by the chief electoral officer, allowing Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) candidate Harley Lounsbury to be on the ballot on election day in the riding of Matane-Matapédia in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region.
Justice Clément Samson handed down the decision Wednesday evening. The ruling states that the court "orders the returning officer of the electoral district of Matane-Matapédia to issue a notice of compliance of Mr. Lounsbury's candidacy."
Following the ruling, Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade quickly took to Twitter to say she was "happy with the decision."
"We have indeed submitted 125 compliant applications. This is a great victory for democracy," she said.
Je suis heureuse de la décision de la cour qui vient confirmer que nous avons bel et bien déposé 125 candidatures conformes. C'est une belle victoire pour la démocratie. Les électeurs libéraux de Matane-Matapédia vont pouvoir exercer leur droit de vote le 3 octobre prochain.
—@DomAngladeSamson's 14-page decision revealed that returning officer Jeannot Michaud's reason for rejecting the Liberal candidacy in the riding was based on the absence of signatures and initials in two very specific boxes in the official documents.
Faced with this justification for refusal, the PLQ and its candidate argued that "the need for a representative who recruits voters [...] to affix his signature twice and, in addition, his initials, is not provided for in the law." They added that rejecting a nomination on this basis alone was "unreasonable" in relation to Lounsbury's constitutional rights.
Samson sided with the plaintiffs and determined that the rejection of Lounsbury's candidacy "on the basis that his three agents had failed to sign the declaration of candidacy" is unreasonable.