The Conservative Party of Canada suddenly has a major problem on its hands. The party is facing allegations of a lack of elections integrity for the nomination of a member for the Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill riding in Ontario.
Sabrina Maddeaux, a former columnist for the National Post, has withdrawn her candidacy for the riding stating she no longer has faith in the elections integrity.
“Despite raising concerns to the Conservative Party nearly two weeks ago –– despite submitting clear evidence of a corrupted process and potential illegal actions taken by another campaign –– nothing has been done. There has been no evidence that a promised internal investigation is actually underway,” Maddeaux commented on Twitter, in both a video she published as well as a related thread she posted.
Maddeaux is claiming interference in the internal election, claiming that she has reason to believe that a copy of the list of the current members were provided to a single candidate, which as per party nomination rules are not to be received by a candidate until the party “green lights them.”
“If one campaign has this list and others don’t, the nomination is effectively rigged in their favour. They can pour all their time and resources into targeting this list while other campaigns cast broader nets. They can be the first to interact with confirmed voters, ask for their vote, and campaign against other candidates. By the time other candidates get an official list, voters have already made commitments, the opportunity for first impressions is lost, and the pool has been poisoned against them.”
It is further claimed that a fake entity was established that emailed the official membership that smeared Maddeaux and provided “deliberate misinformation.” The individual that sent it, referred to as Normal McDaniel, was later confirmed by Maddeaux’s team to be a fake identity, with the intent being to sway votes away from Maddeaux.
After continued emails and one campaign’s volunteers found to be repeating the claims made in the email, Maddeaux has indicated that it is “pretty clear” which campaign is behind the effort and holds the membership list, however that detail has not been released to the public.
With the Party seemingly refusing to respond to the matter, Maddeaux has gone public with the affair while also reporting her resignation from the campaign.
“Now, nearly two weeks after the first email went out, there have been no updates on the investigation, still no next steps or timelines given, and no communications to voters or candidates about the matter. As a result, it’s impossible to have faith in this election’s integrity, or that it will be an open and fair nomination. Without action by the Party, the democratic process has been irrevocably corrupted and rigged in one candidates’ favour.”
Her thread was then closed by calling for the Conservative Party to “secure the democratic nomination process.”
Information for this story was found via Twitter and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
