Projet Montréal confirmed Friday it had asked for two judicial recounts following the results of Sunday’s municipal elections.
One of the recounts is for the position of borough mayor in Outremont.
Only 23 votes separated the top two candidates, with Ensemble Montréal’s Laurent Desbois winning 4,151 votes (50.1 per cent) while the incumbent, Projet Montréal’s Philipe Tomlinson, garnered 4,128 votes (49.9 per cent).
Official results posted by Élections Montréal indicate 301 ballots were rejected out of 8,580 registered ballots.
The second recount is for the position of city councillor in the electoral district of Tétreaultville, located in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga–Maisonneuve.
In Tétreaultville, the candidate for Ensemble Montréal, Julien Hénault-Ratelle, won 5,149 votes against Projet Montréal’s Suzie Miron with 5,107 votes for a difference of 42.
Of the 11,353 ballots cast, 277 were rejected.
In asking for a recount, Mayor Valérie Plante’s Projet Montréal party cited “irregularities observed by the representatives of the party” during the ballot count, and slim margins separating the candidates.
Élections Montréal said recounts must be filed within four days of the votes being tallied, by applying for a motion addressed to a judge of of the Court of Québec.
A judge will then proclaim a winner.
Projet Montréal said it will issue no further comments until a final decision has been rendered.