Canada: Ontario elections underway, EVMs in use for first time
Toronto, Jun 7 (IBNS): With the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the first time in Canadian polling history, the Ontario elections are underway on Thursday, media reports said.
Poll will be open between 9 am and 9 pm.
Voters will cast their votes to elect 124 members of the 42nd parliament of Ontario.
The voting machine will be used to cast and count the number of votes polled.
The machine will scan voter cards and tabulate marked ballots.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has urged voters on Thursday to prevent Progressive Conservative (PC) or New Democratic Party (NDP) from forming majority government in Ontario.
In a dramatic twist to the Ontario election, Wynne on Saturday hinted that she won't be able to win the election.
Wynne said: "After Thursday, I will no longer be Ontario’s Premier. And I’m okay with that. Because, as I’ve said, it’s not about me. It’s about the people of this province. It’s about their wellbeing."
However, she urged people to vote in favour of the Liberals to prevent the establishment of PC or NDP governments in the province.
Wynne said: "The more Liberal MPPs we send to Queen’s Park on June 7th, the less likely it becomes that either Doug Ford or the NDP will be able to form a majority government. A vote for the Liberal Party is a vote to keep the next government accountable to the public."
She also said people are worried that the NDP, if comes to power, will increase taxes for small businesses.
"People worry about what will happen to our economy if the NDP form a majority government with nothing to hold them back. People worry that the NDP will raise taxes on small businesses, that they will push job creation lower."
She said: "For the next few days I will campaign hard to elect as many Liberals as possible."
In an attempt to reach out to the undecided voters on Wednesday, NDP leader Andrea Horwath had framed the differences between her plans and the ones of Progressive Conservatives.
Horwath said a vote to NDP means a way to stop Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative (PC) to win the election.
The Ontario NDP leader has been quoted by CTV News as saying, "It really is a big decision that people have to make and our plan is one that is focused on families and making life better."
"Mr Ford's plan is one that makes the rich even richer, will cut our public services and cause families to struggle even more. So the decision people have is a stark one and what I would say to folks is this: We can change our province for the better."
(Reporting by Suman Das)
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