Sy Murseli. (Richard McGuire photo)

An unsuccessful candidate in the recent Osoyoos municipal election is once again challenging the outcome, but the Town of Osoyoos and the RCMP say there was nothing wrong.

Sy Murseli, who has run for council eight times and never been elected, finished last with 329 votes in his run to become an Osoyoos councillor.

Murseli alleges that the voting result from the Oct. 20 election was “pre-determined.”

He has made similar claims in previous elections, also suggesting impropriety by members of Town of Osoyoos administration.

Murseli this time is basing his conclusion on a printout from the voting machine of the total votes cast on general election day Oct. 20 at the Sonora Community Centre.

The time stamp on the printout is 18:28:05. This, said Murseli, indicates that the tape was printed an hour and a half before voting closed – and before he cast his own ballot just prior to 8 p.m.

Votes cast after 6:28 p.m. weren’t counted, alleges Murseli, who often brands himself as the “council watchdog.”

But Janette Van Vianen, chief election officer and director of corporate services for the Town of Osoyoos, offered a more innocent explanation.

“When I was testing the machine for accuracy, I did not change the time stamp on the machine,” she said in an emailed reply. “The results tapes were all actually printed after 8 p.m. on Oct. 20 in front of several scrutineers.”

RCMP interviewed scrutineers to verify this. On Wednesday, Sgt. Jason Bayda of the Osoyoos RCMP Detachment said he completed an investigation and found no irregularities other than the inadvertently incorrect time stamp, which he said had no impact on the election results and was not an offence.

Van Vianen said it’s unfortunate the machines weren’t set to the actual time prior to the voting, but she said this in no way affects the results.

“There are no inconsistencies,” she said.

Murseli also alleged impropriety in the 2014 election when he finished second last. He claimed the councillor elections that year, as well as a referendum on the new fire hall, did not accurately reflect votes cast.

He has not provided evidence to support that claim, but says he doesn’t trust voting machines or town administration.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times