Alberta Party candidate’s run for office disqualified

EDMONTON – An Alberta Party candidate will not be allowed to run in the next provincial election after he attended an event critical of an Indian supreme court ruling which lifted a ban on women of child-bearing age at a Hindu temple.

In a statement released Monday evening, the party said its provincial board, including leader Stephen Mandel, had voted unanimously earlier in the day to disqualify Edmonton Ellerslie candidate Yash Sharma.

The statement said the vote came after the party learned Sharma had attended and supported last weekend’s event, but it did not contain any other details.

Alberta Party president Rhiannon Hoyle says the candidate’s comments and conduct don’t reflect the party’s values.