Conservative leader seeks independent review as Elections B.C. says box of 861 votes went uncounted [Video]

British Columbia’s election agency says it has discovered that a ballot box containing 861 votes wasn’t counted in the recent provincial election, as well as other mistakes, including 14 votes going unreported in a crucial riding narrowly won by the NDP.

The errors prompted B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad to call for an independent review on Monday.

Elections B.C. said in a statement that the omission of the ballot box did not affect the result in Prince George-Mackenzie, the electoral district where the box was found. 

It said the unreported votes in Surrey-Guildford were discovered last week during preparations for a judicial recount in the riding, where Garry Begg’s 27-vote victory propelled the New Democrats to a one-seat majority government.

Rustad called the errors “an unprecedented failure by the very institution responsible for ensuring the fairness and accuracy of our elections.”

“While I am not disputing the final outcome pending …