Judicial recount confirms Parti Québécois victory in Vachon by three votes
The result gives the governing Parti Québécois 60 seats in the National Assembly, four short of a majority.
LONGUEUIL — A judicial recount has confirmed Parti Québécois candidate Stephan Fogaing won the riding of Vachon in the Montérégie region by three votes.
The recount, which began Monday at the Longueuil courthouse, concluded on Wednesday.
Elections Quebec confirmed in a news release that Fogaing received 10,023 votes, which was 30 fewer than in the original count.
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Liberal candidate Affine Lwalalika received 10,020 votes, a reduction of 43 from the original tally of 10,063.
The original count on Oct. 5 had shown Lwalalika ahead by only 10 votes, prompting the PQ to request the judicial recount, which was granted by the Court of Quebec.
"The judicial recount proclaimed him the winner by 3 votes in Vachon," wrote outgoing MNA for Vachon, Ian Lafrenière, on the X platform.
"The expression ‘every vote counts’ takes on its full meaning."
Lafrenière, the former minister of internal security, finished third on election day with nearly 21 per cent of the vote.
Liberals say all options are on the table
The Quebec Liberal Party said it takes note of the results but is not conceding.
"At this stage, we are not conceding victory to the Parti Québécois and our lawyers are currently examining the situation and all the legal options available to us," the party said on its social media.
"All options are on the table and we will quickly make a decision on what to do next."
The Parti Québécois, for its part, celebrated the victory.
A spokesperson for the PQ government indicated Fogaing has finally won in the Longueuil riding.
The party took to social media to congratulate Fogaing and thank the electorate.
"Fogaing, the party says, will get to work as soon as he is sworn in, which should happen in the coming days, so he can defend 'the interests of the people in his riding,'" according to a CBC News report.
Recount shifts balance in National Assembly
The result gives the Parti Québécois 60 seats at the National Assembly, just four short of a majority.
The news came on the same day that Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was sworn in as Quebec's 34th premier and his smaller cabinet was unveiled.
Since 2000, there have been seven judicial recounts during provincial elections, according to Elections Quebec.
The agency notes that recounts rarely change the outcome of an election in a riding.
The last recount to overturn a result was in the Gaspé riding in 2018, a situation due to a transcription error of the results on the statement of the vote from a single polling station.
Prior to 2018, the last judicial recounts that changed the election outcome took place in the Hull and Papineau ridings during the 1976 general election.
Two judicial recounts have resulted in ties, in 2003, in the Champlain riding, and in 1994, in the Saint-Jean riding. These results led to the holding of new elections.
Second recount set to begin
The PQ also requested a judicial recount in the riding of Champlain, in Mauricie, where the PQ candidate lost by 191 votes to the Conservative Adriana Szalontai.
The Quebec Court confirmed on Tuesday that a judicial recount will be held, which is scheduled to begin Thursday morning at the Trois-Rivières courthouse.
The Quebec Liberals, who doubled their seat count in the October election, will have their MNAs sworn in Monday.
With files from CityNews and CBC News