Court only option for recount of 4-vote victory in Amherstburg

A close result in the deputy mayor's race in Amherstburgwill require a ruling from a superior courtif the losing candidate wants a recount.

The official results show 2,579 residents voted for Leo Meloche, while 2,575 residents voted for Diane Pouget a four-point margin between the two current councillors.

That result means thatPougetwill not sit on council next term.

"It was very disappointing that I only lost by four votes," saidPouget, who went to town hall on Tuesday to request a recount.

Auto recount denied

But Pouget's request was denied because council did not have a specific bylaw in place.

"We did not pass a bylaw or policy indicatinghow the town deals with a recount before May 1, so we actually now have to go with legislation," said Amherstburgclerk Paula Parker.

That legislation, changed this year, said that council can set a specific margin that would trigger an automatic recount if they passed a bylaw.

Because no bylaw was passed, automatic recounts only happen in the event of a tie.

Take it to court

Pougetnow has 30 days to convince a superior court justiceto order a recount of the results in the deputy mayor's race.

"I have to respect that because we were nottied," said Pouget, who said she feels like her hands are tied.

It was very disappointing that I only lost by four votes,- Diane Pouget

She said that a pair of friends who are lawyers are looking into her situation to see what she can do next.

Parker said Pouget would need to convince a justicethat there were irregularities in the tabulation of the results or the tabulators themselves.

However, she said there were no issues on election day.

"Everything went very smoothly."