Emmanuella Lambropoulos wins nomination for Liberals in Saint-Laurent byelection

Liberals in the riding of Saint-Laurent have chosen 26-year-old Emmanuella Lambropoulos to represent them during the upcoming federal byelection.

The high school teacher and student has managed to upset star candidate and former MNA and Quebec cabinet minister, Yolande James.

READ MORE: Yolande James seeks Liberal nomination in Saint-Laurent: ‘diversity matters’

Lambropoulos admitted she wasn’t expecting to win.

“I’m shocked, I’m surprised that I won because again the media has no idea that I was running and a lot of people came here not knowing who I was,” she said.

The candidate credits her success to a “hard-fought, grassroots campaign.”

“I think going door to door and showing my true self in the speech, in the email that I sent to all the members, people saw that it was someone really from Saint-Laurent who knew their concerns.”

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Lambropoulos was also running against tax lawyer and professor Mawhra Rizqy.

Rizqy ran for the Liberals in a different riding the last election but lost.

Her team claimed several of Rizqy’s supporters were turned away at the polls while being members of the party in good standing.

Rizqy says she personally signed up some of those voters.

She and her team believe there was a glitch in the Liberal party system that booted some of her supporters.

The Liberal Party denied any wrongdoing or any sort of glitch in their system.

“Either they didn’t register on time, or didn’t bring enough IDs with them, or the registration papers weren’t filled correctly or completely, so it happens,” said the party’s vice-president, Sebastien Fassier.

Rizqy said she won’t be challenging the results.

Controversy also tainted the run up to the election.

When longtime Saint-Laurent borough mayor Alan De Sousa presented his candidacy to the Liberal Party, it was denied.

He appealed the rejection but it was denied again without explanation.

READ MORE: Alan DeSousa loses appeal to run for Liberals in Saint-Laurent byelection

Lambropoulos will be representing the Liberals in the byelection on April 3.

She says if she were to win, she will focus on youth involvement and green, renewable energy.

The riding became vacant when former MP Stéphane Dion resigned his seat to accept a position as Canada’s ambassador to the European Union.