OTTAWA—About 675,000 members have signed up to vote for a new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada—a staggering number that the Tories believe sets an all−time record for any federal political party.
The party said it sent a preliminary voter list to candidates on Thursday. The final number is subject to change, as leadership hopefuls will now be able to challenge the validity of any of those sign−ups or push for names to be added to the list.
Candidates have until the end of Monday to issue these challenges, which the party stressed must be “substantiated.” They will be reviewed by the party’s chief returning officer, whose decisions can be appealed to a dispute resolution committee before the voter list is finalized later in July….