Voter turnout rising as byelection gets underway in Mississauga

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Published May 27, 2024 at 4:50 pm

mississauga byelection ward 5

Next month, Mississauga will have a new mayor and Ward 5 councillor and it appears more voters are casting advanced ballots in the lead-up to the byelection. 

Today, the city announced a “significant increase” in voter turnout at City Hall–a 42 per cent increase compared to the first three days of advance polling in the 2022 municipal election. According to the city, just over 2,250 voters voted early on May 24 and 25. More advanced voting will be held on June 1 and 2, so residents can cast their ballots between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at 22 locations across the city. 

Voters in Ward 5 will elect their councillor and mayor, while voters in all other wards will only elect the mayor.

Officials are urging people to cast their ballots early to avoid long lines on election day, June 10. Prior to voting, residents should check to see if they’re eligible to do so.

To vote at one of the advance locations, residents must bring at least one piece of identification, officials said. Acceptable ID includes:

  • Ontario driver’s licence
  • Ontario photo card
  • cancelled personal cheque
  • insurance policy or statement
  • any other document included on Ontario’s acceptable documents for voter identification list

Twenty candidates are battling it out to succeed former mayor Bonnie Crombie, who stepped aside in January to lead the Ontario Liberal Party.

Another 15 are vying for the Ward 5 seat, vacated when former councillor Carolyn Parrish resigned in March to run for mayor.

Current Mississauga councillors Stephen Dasko, Dipika Damerla, and Alvin Tedjo are also running to succeed Crombie and become the seventh mayor in the city’s history.

Mississauga has never seen so many candidates run for mayor. Others who entered the mayoral race include:

  • Zulfiqar Ali
  • Diya Atassi
  • Brian Crombie
  • Jamie Dookie
  • Frank Fang
  • Xiaohua Gong
  • Winston Harding
  • Sara Iqbal
  • Syed Jaffery
  • Mohsin Khan
  • Mitchell MacEachern
  • Sinisa Mandrapa
  • Mike Matulewicz
  • David Shaw
  • George Tavares
  • Nathalie Xian Yi Yan

With election day drawing nearer, several candidates continue to participate in public debates. The latest candidates’ debate took place at Food Banks Mississauga, where Dasko, Damerla, Tedjo, and Brian Crombie squared off on the issues. Parrish did not take part, saying earlier this month that she was declining to participate in any more mayoral byelection debates.

The remaining debates include sessions at:

  • University of Toronto Mississauga Student Centre — May 27, 6-8 p.m.
  • Applewood Acres ANAF Veteran’s Club — May 28, 7-9 p.m.
  • Sheridan College Hazel McCallion Campus — May 29, 7-9 p.m.

Here’s the list of the 15 Ward 5 candidates:

  • Omer Abdalla
  • Hamid Akbar
  • Amir Ali
  • Kristin Dattoo
  • Jordan Gray
  • Natalie Hart
  • Imran Hasan
  • Ehsan Khandaker
  • Bradley MacDonald
  • Tazeen Rizvi
  • Rosemarie Sanchez Sanchez
  • Manish Sawhney
  • Shelly Scott-England
  • Danny Singh
  • Rana Zia

To learn more, click here. 

– With files from Declan Finucane

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