Elections BC says it has concluded an investigation into the results of a tight race in the 2024 provincial election.
On Friday, the agency announced that the investigation found no evidence of any deliberate attempt to violate the Election Act in the Surrey-Guildford electoral district.
After the Oct. 19, 2024, election, the final count was close enough to trigger a judicial recount.
A BC Supreme Court Justice declared BC NDP MLA Garry Begg the winner. But in January 2025, runnerup Honveer Singh Randhawa filed a complaint, alleging violations of the Election Act.
Randhawa also petitioned the BC Supreme Court.
He alleged some voters voted more than once, some non-resident voters had voted, and interference with mail-in votes at a residential care home for adults with chronic mental illness and substance use disorders.
Elections BC suspended its investigation to “preserve the integrity” of the Supreme Court’s, given the allegations submitted to both were “substantially the same” and the court has legal authority that Elections BC does not.
Elections BC resumed its investigation when Randhawa pulled his court petition in December.
A summary Friday says the investigation reviewed substantial records, including original and amended complaint and petition materials, witness statements, affidavits, pre-hearing examination transcripts, Elections BC records and databases, investigation files, interviews with witnesses, and open-source information.
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In some cases, it says the evidence did not support the allegations, and no further action was taken.
“In other cases, the evidence suggested there may have been incidents of non-compliance, but the evidence did not meet the standard to refer to prosecution or the non-compliance was procedural in nature. In these cases, Elections BC determined it was within our authority and a proportionate response to the evidence to issue a letter to 12 individuals to explain the legislative requirements for eligible voters to execute their constitutional right to vote.”
Elections BC says it remains confident that voting in the 2024 Provincial Election was “free, fair, and secure.”
“Election processes, including vote-by-mail, were administered in accordance with the Election Act and ensured eligible voters were able to exercise their constitutional right to vote.”
In March 2026, Randhawa announced he would be running for Surrey mayor in the municipal election set for Oct. 17.