Amarjeet Kaur Chhabra drops legal action against her NDP Party

Amarjit Kaur Chhabra , NDP nomination has decided to drop any legal action against the party for alleged irregularities in the Scarborough-Guildwood nomination.

• Adam Giambrone, former Toronto city councillor was declared the winner of the contest- now he is the party’s candidate in the August 1 provincial by-election.

She told news media:

• My legal counsel has had a full and frank discussion with the NDP’s lawyers about the events that took place at the Scarborough-Guildwood NDP nomination meeting on July 7, 2013. I continue to have concerns about the process followed at that nomination meeting. However, in light of the circumstances, including the limited time before the by-election, I will not be pursuing legal action at this time.
• I remain disappointed in the party. On the positive side, many people have reached out to me sharing similar experiences which will lead to change. I thank all my supporters, including members of the executive of the Scarborough-Guildwood NDP Riding Association, for their continuing support and encouragement

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Defeated Indian Canadian politician abandons legal action

Toronto, July 19, 2013: An Indian Canadian member of the New Democratic Party (NDP) who lost a party nomination for a provincial by-election in Ontario due to alleged irregularities has decided against taking legal action against the party.

had lost the nomination race for the Scarborough-Guildwood provincial seat to Adam Giambrone July 7 and had threatened to take legal action against the party for what she alleged irregularities in the nomination process.

After losing 14-18 to Giambrone, Chhabra and her supporters had alleged that 12 of the 32 people who had appeared to vote in the nomination process did not appear in any of the party lists and could not produce any NDP membership identity document.

But NDP secretary Darlene Lawson personally vouched for one of the voters and dismissed all other objections raised by Chhabra.

The Indian Canadian had then threatened to take legal action against the party.

In what was a bizarre twist to a series of events, Giambrone was in the party's candidate selection committee and had a hand in Chhabra's selection.

But he later quit the selection committee and decided to run for the seat himself and informed Chhabra two days prior to the nomination race.

Local media reported Thursday that Chhabra has now decided against taking any legal action as the by-election Aug 1 is way too close.

"I was obviously angry at the party, but I haven’t shed a tear in all of this,” the Toronto Star quoted Chhabra, a union activist, as saying in an interview.

"I’m going to run for office again, absolutely.”...IANS
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• Amarjeet Kaur Chhabra, may be taking her own party to court to make a determination that the nomination contest was invalid (see: “NDP fights for its soul in Scarborough civil war”, Martin Regg Cohn, the Toronto Star, July 18 2013). Chhabra’s concerns, shared by the Executive of the Scarborough-Guildwood riding association, have to do with 12 people who showed up at the nomination contest, claiming to be eligible to vote, but not appearing on the riding association’s list. I continue to be baffled as to why these 12 people were allowed to vote if the riding association and no one else present (including Party Secretary Diane Lawson) couldn’t locate their names on any list, but clearly the riding association had second thoughts after Giambrone took the nomination by a squeaker (allegedly by just 2 votes).