The very tight results and the high number of rejected ballots in certain boroughs could lead to judicial recounts in the metropolis, but also elsewhere on the island, where a request in this direction was made for the linked city of Pointe- Claire following the victory of trader Tim Thomas at the head of the linked city last Sunday.
The Ensemble Montréal party did not indicate to the To have to Friday if he intends to ask for a legal recount in the most populous district of Montreal, Côte-des-Neiges – Notre-Dame-des-Grâce. Last Sunday evening, the voting intentions granted an advance to mayoral candidate Lionel Perez, from the formation of Denis Coderre. The one who was acting chief of Ensemble Montreal for four years was however subsequently defeated by Project Montreal candidate Gracia Kasoki Kathawa, who became mayor of the borough on Monday with a lead of 212 votes over his principal. opponent.
Projet Montréal, the formation of Valérie Plante, for its part announced Thursday that it had filed two introductory applications to try to obtain a legal recount for the town hall of Outremont as well as for the position of councilor of the district of Tétreaultville, in Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. The party intends to wait for a “final decision” to be rendered before commenting.
In Outremont, the borough hall had been occupied since 2017 by Philipe Tomlinson, from Projet Montréal. However, he was defeated by economist and Ensemble Montréal candidate Laurent Desbois, who collected 4,151 votes, 23 votes more than his main opponent.
The race was also very close in the district of Tétreaultville, where the candidate of Ensemble Montreal Julien Hénault-Ratelle dethroned the former president of the municipal council Suzie Miron with 42 votes in advance.
Some boroughs have also counted a high number of rejected ballots. This is particularly the case in Côte-des-Neiges – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, where 599 ballots were rejected concerning the town hall of the borough, for example because voters had filled them incorrectly. For the town hall of Outremont, 301 ballots were rejected, a number which reached 1098 for the town hall of Rivière-des-Prairies – Pointe-aux-Trembles, where Caroline Bourgeois was re-elected at the head of the borough with 303 votes ahead of candidate Lyne Laperrière, from Ensemble Montréal.
According to the electoral law of Quebec, “any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that a deputy returning officer or that the returning officer illegally counted or rejected ballots or drew up an inaccurate statement of the count may request a judicial recount of the votes. “.
Tight race in Pointe-Claire
The suspense persists on the other hand in Pointe-Claire, where the trader Tim Thomas won a snatch victory over the outgoing mayor John Belvedere last Sunday, overtaking him by 61 votes at the head of this city of more than 31 000 inhabitants. A judge is due to decide on Tuesday whether a recount will take place, Thomas told the To have to Friday.
“I was surprised not to be elected with a stronger vote,” said Thomas in an interview. The 62-year-old man does not say, however, “not worried” by the possibility of a new count in the linked city. “I think I have at least 61 more votes and maybe more. I hope that the final number will be higher and that we can continue, ”he says.
The new mayor of Pointe-Claire, however, says he fears that the multiplication of requests for judicial recounts – which have also been made in several other cities in the province – is contributing to voters’ cynicism with regard to municipal democracy. “If there are always recounts, it makes the voting process less solid,” he says.
Tim Thomas ran for mayor in 2017, but finished third behind John Belvedere, then elected mayor, and Aldo Iermieri, in second.
During the election campaign, Tim Thomas notably made protection of the Fairview forest one of his hobbyhorses, which is threatened by a major real estate project planned in the linked city. A file which he now promises to tackle as a priority.