Harrison gives up fight to overturn election

Readers might want an update on the final outcome of the Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River. On the morning after the election, the Conservative incumbant made allegations of ballot-box stuffing that I discussed here, here, here, here, and here.

From the CBC:

Harrison gives up fight to overturn election
Jeremy Harrison said Monday he will not pursue any more legal challenges of the vote in the northern riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River.

"I, and many of my former constituents, remain concerned about the very serious irregularities in the voting process in the riding," he said in a news release. "However, the people of the riding now need to know that they have an MP in place."

The announcement means Liberal MP Gary Merasty's job is safe for the time being.

Shortly after the Jan. 23 election, Harrison, the Conservative incumbent, made allegations of voter intimidation and ballot-box stuffing.

While he did not produce any evidence publicly to back up his claim, he later applied for a judicial recount.

The ballots were counted by a Queen's Bench judge who ruled Merasty won the riding with 10,191 votes to Harrison's 10,124.
"With a minority government situation, an election could happen at any time," Harrison said. "The citizens of northern Saskatchewan will have an opportunity to pass their judgment at that time."

Apparently Harrison's allegations were insufficient for him to bring the specifics forward.

Update. See now the story in the Star Phoenix, which covers most of the same material but adds:

As well, some of Harrison's supporters declared in sworn affidavits that, in addition to the raffle, partisan election literature was found in polling booths, in contravention of the Elections Act, and that voters from outside the riding voted in the election.

Update For the final ruling about the allegations of ballot-box stuffing, etc., see the official report here. Apparently all the allegations were without foundation.