More than 14 months after the 2024 provincial election, a Conservative candidate has ended his lawsuit alleging voting irregularities and wrongdoing on the part of a care home in the riding of Surrey-Guildford.

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Honveer Singh Randhawa, who lost to Garry Begg by 22 votes following a recount, launched the legal challenge in January after receiving what he said were three affidavits from residents of the Argyll Lodge care facility.

In the affidavits, the residents stated they had received mail-in ballots they had not asked for and were rushed through the voting process by a care home staff member who indicated they should vote for the NDP.

Randhawa alleged that 21 members of the facility had voted by mail, even though the nearest polling station was across the street at Guildford Park Secondary School.

He also alleged that an additional 22 ballots were cast by people living outside the riding and that one voter cast two separate ballots under slightly different names.

None of these allegations were proven in court and now will not be tested as the case has now been dropped.

Baljit Kandola, the manager of Argyll Lodge, said following the announcement of Randhawa’s petition that the allegations he made against her facility were “mind-blowing,” “baffling,” and “absurd.”

In a statement Tuesday, Randhawa’s lawyer Aanchal Grewal said the legal action had already obtained a “material outcome” as Elections B.C. had admitted that violations of the elections act had occurred in the riding, including a failure by the election body to follow its mail-in ballot procedures when it came to Argyll Lodge.

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“Before the petition, Elections B.C. took the position that no violations of the Election Act had occurred in Surrey-Guildford,” she said.

“However, after Mr. Randhawa’s team gathered and provided detailed evidence, Elections B.C. later admitted that violations did occur, including serious violations regarding mail-in ballots involving a care facility in Surrey-Guildford.”

In its own statement, Elections B.C. disputed Grewal’s comments, stating that the court had not ruled on whether there had been any violations of the Elections Act in Surrey-Guildford.

A spokesperson maintained that, “Elections B.C. remains confident that voting in the 2024 provincial election was free, fair, and secure” and that, “Election processes, including vote-by-mail, were administered in accordance with the Election Act.”

They said the elections body has suspended its review into the allegations and will now consider next steps.

Begg believes the B.C. Conservatives, for supporting Randhawa’s petition, owe the residents and staff of the care home an apology after the legal counsel for lodge residents said examinations carried out by Randhawa and his legal team left several in tears.

In February, the Canadian Press reported that the NDP MLA had submitted a filing in the case alleging that an associate of Randhawa took a mentally ill man away from the facility against his family’s wishes and that he was later found in a state of “psychosis” and hospitalized.

That allegation has also not been proven in court.

“Mr. Randhawa and the B.C. Conservatives have accused care home staff of a conspiracy and needlessly dragged elderly residents through an invasive and damaging court process,” said Begg.

“The B.C. Conservatives should immediately apologize to both the residents and staff and commit to cover every cent of the legal costs that they forced upon these innocent people.”

alazenby@postmedia.com