"The voters of Etobicoke Centre deserve a democratically elected Member of Parliament as soon as possible," Borys Wrzesnewskjy said in a statement Thursday.
Speaking to reporters at Liberal Party headquarters in Ottawa, Wrzesnewskjy said Canadians need their confidence in democracy returned.
"Something broke in the last federal election. What a disturbing thought," he said.
"[Harper] can't delay...it's about something so fundamental. It's about Canadians' belief and confidence in elections," Wrzesnewskyj said.
Wrzesnewskyj was defeated by Conservative MP Ted Opitz in the May 2, 2011 federal election, but challenged the result in Ontario Superior Court citing voting irregularities at 10 polling stations.
Opitz won the riding by 26 votes, so the case required more than 26 votes be thrown out for it to be declared void. Justice Thomas Lederer set aside 79 ballots in his decision Friday in Toronto.
Opitz has until Monday to appeal to the Supreme Court or face a byelection. An appeal would proceed immediately to the Supreme Court of Canada.
"We're ready today," Wrzesnewskyj said, when asked if he'd be ready to go to the top court in June. "It's clear. We had a very lengthy process in [Ontario] Superior Court."
The former Liberal MP said people haven't gotten to the bottom of the story from the last federal election, suggesting there was widespread voter suppression in the lead-up to the May 2 ballot.
He compared a disturbance at a seniors' centre in his riding on election day to a scene in Guelph, Ont., when a campaign manager allegedly grabbed a ballot box.
Wrzesnewskyj says for his Ukranian-born grandmother, it was a big deal to vote in Canada, and said it's possible somebody interfered with the right of other seniors to vote.
Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: Laura Pyton
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