Quebec Conservatives, without a seat after election, seek recount in Beauce

Left without a seat at the National Assembly followingMonday's provincial election, theConservative Party of Quebec (PCQ)isseeking a recount in the Beauce region, where one of its candidates finished second in a tight race.

PCQ candidate Olivier Dumaislost to Luc Provenal, the incumbent with the Coalition Avenir Qubec, by 202 votes in the riding of Beauce-Nord.

According to lections Quebec, 372 out of 33,963 ballots were tossed out, about one per cent of the votes cast.

Dumaissaysthe number of rejected ballots ishigh.

"We think it's a lot. I don't know if it's common or if it's normal, but those votes can make a difference," Dumais told Radio-Canada on Tuesday. "What happened? Should those have been cancelled? It's a good question."

The PCQ failed to win a single seat in the election despite receiving12.91 per cent of the popular vote. The Liberal Party of Quebec finished with 14.37 per cent of the vote and won 21 seats.

The CAQscored a landslide victory in Monday's election, winning 90 out of 125 seats the highest seat total in decades with about 41 per cent of the vote.

The Quebec Conservatives also finished second in the Beauce-Sud riding. Althoughthe margin was only 425 votes, no recount was requested.