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Chris Selley: Parties had better clean up nomination races before the government decides to

If a party can't run a coherent nomination race, why would anyone vote for them?

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What are voters to make of a political party that can’t properly manage a riding nomination? The Ontario Liberals are the latest to pose that question implicitly — and not for the first time — to the electorate. Nate Erskine-Smith, a departing federal Liberal MP and presumed candidate for the provincial party’s leadership, alleges all manner of skulduggery in the matter of his 19-vote loss to Ahsanul Hafiz to represent the Liberals the forthcoming Scarborough Southwest byelection.

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“There was an organized effort by Mr. Hafiz’s campaign on Saturday to direct, monitor and pressure people throughout the voting process, from the time they walked into the building to after they cast their ballots,” Erskine-Smith’s chief scrutineer Andreas Katsouris alleged on Instagram. “Multiple people took calls on speakerphone or video so they could get instructions right in the voting booth.”

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