Appeal of Ontario Liberal candidate nomination in Scarborough Southwest dismissed, Ahsanul Hafiz declared ‘true winner’

Ahsanul Hafiz (left) speaks to reporters after beating out Liberal MP Nate Erksine-Smith in the nomination race to be the Ontario Liberal Party's candidate for the Scarborough Southwest byelection. (CTV News/THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

An independent arbitration committee has dismissed the appeal of an Ontario Liberal candidate nomination in Scarborough Southwest.

On May 9, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith lost his bid to represent the riding for the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) in an upcoming byelection.

That seat was vacated after long-time (former NDP) MPP Dolly Begum stepped down to run federally for the Liberals and subsequently won a byelection in the riding on April 14 following the resignation of MP Bill Blair. A byelection will be called in the riding by the summer.

Erskine-Smith, who serves as the member of parliament for Beaches-East York and had indicated a possible run for the Ontario Liberal leadership, narrowly placed second in the provincial candidate nomination contest in Scarborough Southwest to business owner Ahsanul Hafiz.

Days later, on May 12, Erskine-Smith filed an appeal, challenging the result, saying that there were administrative errors and other irregularities, notably that “34 more ballots were counted than there were recorded voters” the committee indicated in its May 24 decision.

The appeal of the candidate nomination was heard in person on May 20.

• READ MORE: Toronto MP Erskine-Smith says provincial leadership bid ‘less likely’ now as he challenges nomination loss

‘No irregularities’

The three-member committee ultimately found that there were “no irregularities” in the conduct of the last month’s nomination meeting for the provincial Liberal candidate in Scarborough Southwest “that affected the result of the vote or that call the meeting’s integrity into question.”

“We are satisfied that the party’s rules were followed and that Ahsanul Hafiz was the true winner of the vote,” it wrote in its 17-page decision.

The committee noted that being nominated for a party is not an election to public office, but rather an internal process whereby a political party selects an individual to carry its banner in an election. If a candidate isn’t appointed, the riding’s constituency association selects them at a nomination meeting.

With that in mind, the panel indicated in their decision that when it comes to identity verification for this process, rules are “more flexible than (those) that apply to voting during elections.” The appeal revolved around this question and if this requirement was satisfied, it said.

“We have carefully considered all of the evidence. It does not substantiate Mr. Erskine-Smith’s allegations. He has not established that any individual who was not entitled to vote voted at the nomination meeting. Nor does the evidence call into question the integrity of the nomination process,” the decision read.

As for the ballot discrepancy, the committee said 1,523 were counted and 1,489 names were crossed off the voters list, amounting to difference of 34.

“In his notice of appeal, Mr. Erskine-Smith relies on this arithmetic to assert that there were 34 unaccounted-for ballots. The evidence contradicts this assertion. 34 ballots were not unaccounted-for,” it said.

“Rather, the evidence establishes that 34 names were not crossed off the voters list when eligible voters received ballots. This is the sort of technical administrative error that does not amount to an irregularity.”

Party says process was ‘open and transparent’

In a statement, the OLP thanked committee chair David Zimmer and the members of the panel for “the speed and rigour of their review.”

“From the outset, the party committed to an open and transparent nomination process — and that commitment did not waiver when a challenge was filed. It is precisely because we believe in due process that we made no public statements over the past week,” it wrote.

“With this process now complete, our full attention turns to Scarborough Southwest. As this party has done time and again over the last 160 years, we will unite behind our candidate and work together to win this seat.”

Interim leader John Fraser underlined that the party is “committed to an open and transparent process,” saying the focus would now shift to the “important decision ahead” in the riding and earning voters’ trust.

The full decision can be viewed online.

With files from The Canadian Press