This is another blow for Dominique Anglade. The Liberals will not have 125 candidates in the running. The Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ) rejected the candidacy of the Liberal Party of Quebec in Matane-Matapédia. The chef is considering a dispute.
Posted at 3:53 p.m.
Updated at 4:27 p.m.
“I don’t have the details, but there will be a serious internal discussion,” said the visibly shaken Liberal leader. The chief’s entourage obtained confirmation that Harley Lounsbury’s candidacy in Matane-Matapédia was rejected in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday.
” I just learned it […] we put it in the hands of our legal team to see what happened, ”added the chef during a short press scrum in Anjou. She then explained that the Liberal Party of Quebec could, for example, challenge the decision of the DGEQ.
Dominique Anglade did not deny that the situation is “unacceptable” for his organization. This is the first time since its recent history that the PLQ does not have candidates in the ranks in all the ridings. “The goal was to have 125 applications,” she breathed. The Liberals have lagged in recruiting all summer against their opponents.
At the start of the campaign, there were a lack of Liberal candidates in Quebec, Montérégie, Lanaudière and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, while the other parties had complete teams. A Liberal strategist, Julie White, even had to replace at short notice a candidate who withdrew in Vanier-Les Rivières, at the very start of the campaign.
Saturday morning, there were still six applications to be made official on the DGEQ website.
The DGEQ which, since 2 p.m., no longer authorizes parties to present candidates in any constituency, confirmed that the Liberal team would be incomplete. The deadline set in the Election law has now been reached.
The DGEQ has confirmed that the Liberals of Dominique Anglade have not managed to file a valid declaration of candidacy before the end of the candidacy period in Matane-Matapédia. Thus, Harley Lounsbury, who was to be the Liberal candidate, will not appear on the ballot of voters in the constituency.
Another constituency is currently being “analyzed” by the Liberals, so that they can present a candidate in good and due form. The Liberals could therefore present 123 or, in the best case scenario for the party, 124 candidates.
The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), the Parti Québécois (PQ), Québec solidaire (QS) and the Conservative Party of Québec (PCQ) all managed to recruit their 125 candidates.
Duhaime supports all his candidates
Among the Conservatives, leader Éric Duhaime continued on Saturday to support his candidates who made controversial comments on social networks. The Press had reported Thursday that the candidate in the riding of Laval-des-Rapides, Nicolas Lussier-Clément, had already questioned the theory of evolution which nevertheless represents a broad scientific consensus.
“Me, I do not embark on this kind of discussion there, reacted the conservative leader on Saturday at a press conference. I believe in the theory of evolution. »
“I am able to forgive and move on,” he said a little later during a virtual question-and-answer session at the Force jeunesse symposium. TVA had reported the day before that the Conservative candidate in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Yves Beaulieu, had made vulgar remarks about Prime Minister François Legault about a year and a half ago. Éric Duhaime acknowledged that these were unacceptable remarks and indicated that his candidate apologized.
Isn’t he afraid that this kind of candidacy will drive away more moderate voters who might have been tempted to vote for the PCQ? “I have confidence in the intelligence of voters,” he said. I think they see through that. »