A request for a petition to recall Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu has been submitted to Elections B.C.
The B.C. governments mishandling of the pandemic and more so the provinces health care issues leaves B.C. residents with no confidence in the government.
A vernon, B.C. resident, Genevieve Ring has launched a petition to recall Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu.
Ring says MPA Sandhu is part of the B.C. NDP government which has failed the people of British Columbia and she can’t wait until the next election in the fall of 2024 to get changes made to improve healthcare.
“There has to be some duty that they feel toward the people they are supposed to represent, and she has done nothing,” Ring told the Canadian Press, referring to Sandhu. “I would say the NDP has botched these whole two years and she’s part of it.”
In a press release, Elections BC states that it received a petition application that met the requirements of the Recall and Initiative Act.
“Under the Recall and Initiative Act, any registered voter in British Columbia can apply to have a recall petition issued for their electoral district. They must submit an application form, a $50 processing fee, and a statement of 200 words or less on why they feel the member should be recalled,” Elections BC says.
Elections BC states that applications must be approved if the legislated requirements are met and that it does not have the authority to evaluate applications based on any other criteria.
The petition will be released on August 12, at which point registered canvassers will be able to begin collecting signatures. However, there are currently no registered petition canvassers.
The results must be returned to Elections BC by October 11th.
According to Elections B.C. For the petition to be successful, the proponent must collect signatures from more than 40% of the voters eligible to sign the petition – that would be 21,268 signatures in Vernon-Monashee.
The filing shows the recall campaign has an expense limit of $37,046.52
Elections BC has 42 days from the petition’s submission to check the signatures. The seat of the recalled member becomes vacant in the event of a successful recall, and a byelection must be scheduled within 90 days.
Since the Act’s implementation in 1995, the chief electoral officer of British Columbia has granted approval to 26 prior recall petitions.
Six of the petitions were the only ones that were sent back to Elections BC for validation. Five of those were invalid due to a lack of sufficient valid signatures, and one was stopped during the verification process due to a resignation of the member.
