[Dion]

Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel ineligible to run, plans to take issue to court

Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel is ineligible to run for election until 2023, but he says he will take the matter to court.

Mandel, who plans to run in Edmonton-McClung, is listed on the Elections Alberta website as being ineligible to run in an election for five years.

The list generally includes candidates who have failed to file their financial statements on time, said Elections Alberta spokesman Drew Westwater.

Mandel and five other Alberta Party candidates who are listed as ineligible can go to court and ask for a waiver, he added.

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/pol...issue-to-court

Update on Mandel

Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel says he only recently learned that his paperwork hadn’t been filed on time with Elections Alberta after missing a September deadline that resulted in a five-year ban from running. He plans to take the issue to court.

“My CFO was sick,” Mandel said at a Saturday news conference, adding he learned of the problem on Jan. 30. “He missed some of the dates. That’s part of the reason we’re here today.”

In a July letter sent to Mandel, Elections Alberta spelled out a Sept. 12 deadline for him to file his campaign expenses for his nomination contest in Edmonton-McClung. The paperwork was filed on Sept. 27.

The party has taken issue with the deadlines outlined in legislation, arguing that Mandel’s paperwork was filed within four months of the end of his nomination contest.

“Mr. Mandel’s contest closed two months after he was selected,” said a letter sent from Mandel’s lawyer to Elections Alberta, arguing that it would mean the campaign statement was due in November.

Elections Alberta said the nomination contest was held May 12, 2018, which set out the September deadline.

When reporters asked Mandel what he’ll do if he can’t resolve the issue in court, Mandel said other options will then be considered.

“We will deal with a Plan B at that point in time,” he said. “Right now our plan is to go to court.”

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/pol...r-election-ban