At least 28 judicial recounts have been requested in cases of close or impossible to decide results, shows information compiled by Press.
As the requests must be made in the judicial district to which the municipality falls, there is no centralized exhaustive list, we told the Court of Quebec.
The Court, however, reported at least 25 cases, all stations and districts combined, at the end of the day Thursday. We have identified at least three others, including one at the town hall of Outremont and another in the district of Tétreaultville.
A request for these last two cases was filed at the courthouse by Projet Montreal, party of Valérie Plante, confirmed the director of media relations of the mayoress of Montreal, Youssef Amane, to Press Thursday.
In Outremont, the mayor, Laurent Desbois, of Ensemble Montréal, won only 23 votes over Philipe Tomlinson, outgoing mayor who appears under the colors of Projet Montréal.
“Were there any anomalies? We are really studying the different corners with Elections Montreal, ”the mayoress had supported earlier Thursday, adding that“ in Tétreaultville too, it’s tight enough for us to consider it ”.
In Tétreaultville, district of the borough of Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, it is councilor Suzie Miron – who was the president of the municipal council before the election call – who lost by a little more than 40 votes, against Julien Hénault -Ratelle, from Denis Coderre’s team.
Requests were also made for two councilor positions in Mont-Royal and six other positions in the regions of Laval-Laurentides-Lanaudière-Labelle, reports the Court of Quebec.
Elsewhere in the province, new counts were requested for mayor positions in Montpellier, in the Outaouais, as well as in Havelock, Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu and Saint-Mathieu, in Montérégie.
Beaten by a voice
In Montpellier, Denis Tassé, who lost by a vote against the outgoing mayor, Stéphane Séguin, saw his request for judicial recount accepted Thursday. Some of the anomalies reported by the candidate, including two lost ballots and another surplus, justify it, the court said. The judicial recount will take place next Monday. “I do it out of respect for people […] and for democracy, ”Mr. Tassé told us, referring to his 366 voters who lost their elections by one vote.
In Saint-Gérard-Majella, near Sorel, it was the outgoing mayor, Georges-Henri Parenteau, who was beaten by a voice, by Marie Léveillée. However, he gave up asking for a recount. “The lawyer I contacted charges me $ 9,000. That’s what I earn per year at the municipality! “, He explained to us on Thursday. Mr. Parenteau, a 75-year-old retiree, was mayor for 4 years, after having sat for 12 years as councilor.
In Saint-Anselme, in Bellechasse, the candidate Roch Roy, who lost by 11 votes against the outgoing mayor, Yves Turgeon, also gave up the request he had considered because of the costs, reports The voice of the south.
In Saint-Gédéon, in Lac-Saint-Jean, Jacob Coulombe, who lost by seven votes against the outgoing mayor, Émile Hudon, withdrew his request on the advice of his lawyer on Thursday, after receiving explanations on which appeared to him to be irregularities. “It doesn’t affect my desire to get involved in politics in any way,” the 27-year-old farmer told us.
In Sainte-Julienne, in Lanaudière, where the outgoing mayor, Jean-Pierre Charron, beaten by 17 votes by Richard Desormiers, had also declared to consider a request, the municipality had still not received anything Thursday in the early evening.
Tied candidates
At least two municipalities, Saint-Onésime-d’Ixworth and Sainte-Luce, both in Bas-Saint-Laurent, found themselves with candidates who collected the same number of votes for a councilor position.
If the result is still tied after the judicial recount, the winner will be determined by drawing lots.
“It’s in the law. They put the two names in a dish, and the judge freelance, ”illustrates the president of the elections of Saint-Onésime, Nancy Lizotte.
With candidates having four days after the end of the vote count to request a recount, the limit was Thursday night in most municipalities.
A tight result is not enough. The candidate must convince the judge that there are reasonable grounds to believe the irregularities.
If the winner remains the same after a recount, the person who requested it must bear the costs. “Otherwise, it is the judge who will decide who pays,” we told Elections Quebec.