The New Democratic Party has been granted a recount in the riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam only a few days after final tallies cemented the riding’s place as the closest race in the country in the Oct. 21 federal election.
“This is really just about people and respecting the will of the people. People were reaching out to me and they were alarmed at the difference between the unofficial and official results and people are asking me for due diligence,” NDP candidate Bonita Zarrillo told The Tri-City News.
On election night Conservative candidate Nelly Shin won the riding by by 353 votes over Zarrillo, a slim margin made decidedly skinny after an electoral officer officially validated the results, cutting her lead to 153 votes Oct. 25.
“It’s a dramatic margin. It changed by more than half,” said Zarrillo, who said she was the only candidate to attend a validation meeting last Thursday at the riding’s Elections Canada office off Austin Avenue in Coquitlam.
“They rejected a significant amount of ballots. I think the community deserves another look at that,” added the Coquitlam city councillor after the request for a recount was granted by a judge Tuesday afternoon.
Port Moody-Coquitlam is one of three ridings in Canada where tight races have led runner-up candidates and their parties to request recounts from Elections Canada. Results from the other two ridings, both in Quebec, are being challenged by the Bloc Quebecois after they were narrowly defeated by Liberal candidates, according to reporting by Radio Canada.
