Advance polls continue this week in Summerside byelection

Polls will be held Tuesday and Friday this week in advance of byelection day on Monday, Oct. 7. (Gabrielle Drumond/Radio-Canada - image credit)
Polls will be held Tuesday and Friday this week in advance of byelection day on Monday, Oct. 7. (Gabrielle Drumond/Radio-Canada - image credit)

Voting is now underway to fill a vacant city council seat in Summerside's Ward 5, Hillcrest-Platte River.

The advance poll originally scheduled for Monday has been moved to Tuesday, Oct. 1 in observance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The first advance poll took place Saturday, and 145 people — or nearly 10 per cent of the 1,453 eligible voters in Ward 5 — cast their ballots.

The third and final advance poll is Friday, Oct. 4. Byelection day is Monday, Oct. 7.

All voting takes place at Credit Union Place, located at 511 Notre Dame St., from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents are encouraged to bring their voter information card and a valid piece of identification.

Former councillor voted out

The byelection comes after Barb Gallant was voted out of council back in June on the grounds that she'd missed three consecutive council meetings after being charged with a criminal offence in April.

Six candidates are on the ballot in the byelection: Gerard Deveau, Ginny Kennedy, Patrick McMahon, Pete Peters, Basil Stewart and Ken Trenholm.

Stewart served as mayor of Summerside from 1985 to 2014, and again from 2018 to 2022.

Elections P.E.I. will publish unofficial byelection results on its website Oct. 7 after the polls close and ballots are counted.