No judicial recount in Beauce-Nord, judge rules

Quebec Superiorcourt has rejected a request by the Conservative Party of Quebec (CPQ) for a judicial recount in the riding of Beauce-Nord.

The Coalition Avenir Qubec's Luc Provenal squeaked out a win on Oct. 3 by a mere 202 votes over the CPQ's candidate, Olivier Dumais.

In her ruling, Judge Nathalie Vaillantsaid the request made by the Conservatives on Oct. 7 was missing a key document,a sworn statement by the party's official representative outlining the voting irregularities believed to have occurred.

Vaillant said the document is essential since the party requesting a recount has the burden of proof and must explain valid reasons to question the result.

A lawyer for the CPQtried to add the sworn statement to the file on Oct. 11 but missed the deadline, according to the judge.

The result does not change the party's standings in the National Assembly, since the CAQ already held the seat officially.

Franois Legault's CAQ won the provincial election handily, taking 90 of the 125 seats. The Liberals form the Official Opposition with 21 seats.