ST. JOHN'S, N.L. --
The debate over Newfoundland and Labrador's troubled, pandemic-delayed election moved to the courtroom Monday, where a judge was asked to order a recount in a hotly contested St. John's riding.
New Democrat Leader Allison Coffin has applied for a judicial recount in her East-Quidi Vidi district, where she lost her seat by 53 votes. Coffin has also filed a separate application to have the results in her district overturned and a byelection called. Former Progressive Conservative candidates Jim Lester and Sheila Fitzgerald have also filed applications to have the results in their respective ridings overturned.
"The hope is that this isn't something we have to worry about on a go-forward basis, because we're not going to have an election like this again," NDP president and lawyer Kyle Rees told reporters Monday outside the Supreme Court building in downtown St. John's.