Motion to overturn Tory nomination rescheduled

A Hamilton lawyer’s motion to overturn the Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas provincial Tory nomination result has been delayed again until next year.

Vikram Singh, who finished second to Ben Levitt for the riding’s Tory nomination, has asked for a judicial review into what he describes as vote tampering and ballot box stuffing during the riding’s nomination meeting last May.

This is the third time Singh’s motion has been delayed.

Now the motion is scheduled to be heard the week of Feb. 5, 2018. Singh has named Tory leader Patrick Brown, party president Rick Dykstra, Tory executive director Bob Stanley and staffer Logan Bugeja in a suit filed with the Ontario Court of Justice.

He is seeking to quash the June 3 decision by Brown to end his appeal of the nomination process. In his suit, Singh states the Tory executive contravened the party’s constitution. Singh wants the court to declare him the riding nominee for the June 7, 2018, provincial election or rule that another nomination meeting be held.

In his claim, which has not been tested in court, Singh states there was a “wrongful insertion of false ballots” during the six-hour nomination process and that there were “irregularities” at the credentials desk.

Hamilton police have confirmed the Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas nomination meeting has become a criminal probe.