Incumbent Surrey, B.C., Mayor Doug McCallum is not conceding Saturday’s election after all.
McCallum’s Safe Surrey Coalition issued a statement late Monday saying it was reviewing whether it could seek a recount, after his apparent defeat by 973 votes to Surrey Connect’s Brenda Locke.
“With less than a 1000 vote difference Mayor Doug McCallum is not conceding at this point in time,” the statement reads.
“Our legal advisors are currently reviewing The Local Elections Act section 148 for a judicial recount. The Act outlines rules for requesting a judicial recount through the B.C. Supreme Court.”
According to the Local Elections Act, a candidate can apply for a recount on the three bases:
- That votes were not correctly accepted or ballots were not correctly rejected as required by the rules (of the act)
- That a ballot account does not accurately record the number of valid votes for a candidate;
- That the final determination (of results under the act) did not correctly calculate the total number of valid votes for a candidate.
The latest development follows something of a concession rollercoaster on election night itself.
McCallum initially appeared to concede the race around 9:30 p.m., taking the stage to make a brief speech where he told supporters “maybe it’s time for me to finally put my feet up and enjoy life.”
But late in the evening, with just one polling station left to report and McCallum only trailing Locke by about 500 votes, his campaign manager made an announcement that he was no longer conceding.
When the last votes came in and Locke’s lead nearly doubled, his team made a second announcement saying the Safe Surrey Coalition had elected two councillors, and would be “back four years later to fight the battle on.”
It was not immediately clear whether McCallum’s potential recount application would be accepted, and if it were, when such a recount would take place.
Under the Local Election Act, a judicial recount must be completed within 13 days of election day.