VIDEO: Candidates reportedly recruit foreign students for support in BC United nomination

It appears candidates for the BC United nomination in the riding of Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream may be taking advantage of permissive party membership rules to garner support.

The issue arose as Kelowna City Councillor Mohini Singh spoke about her decision to drop out of the race.

Singh described the contest as "unpleasant."

"It had become a bit of a vitriolic, can I say? Or a difficult campaign," she said. "I just decided it's not for me."

One issue that stirred things up was candidates recruiting foreign students to join the party and support them.

Singh became aware it was happening early in the process.

"I had heard it was," she said.

But she is quick to point out that party rules don't forbid it.

"Anyone over 14 years of age could participate in the nomination process whether you're a Canadian or here on a work permit or going to university and that's my understanding."

And provincial election rules don't forbid it either.

"Nothing in the Election Act prohibits foreign students from voting in a party’s nomination contest," said Elections BC's Andrew Watson.

"I can tell you, I wasn't doing that," Singh told KelownaNow.

Singh believes they should keep it to people eligible to vote on election day.

"All I was doing is reaching out to Canadians," she said, "former BC Liberals who were backing me and people who genuinely lived in the riding, knew the issues and the values that are important to them."

Asked about the foreign student recruitment, the BC United Party didn't acknowledge it directly, but the executive director Lindsay Cote responded with a statement that reads, in part:

"BC United remains committed to ensuring the integrity of its membership and the voters for nomination contests across the province. BC United will continue to audit and review membership applications."

Singh said the process had become a "dirty fight", and she didn't want to be a part of it.

"I play clean," she said.

Singh insists that the recruitment of foreign students isn't the reason she dropped out, but rather that it had simply become unnecessarily divisive.

She retains her seat on Kelowna City Council, and she's happy to have it.

"I love it," she said.

There are now five candidates vying for the BC United nomination in the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding.

They are Pavneet Singh, Binny Boparai, Bal Grewal, Amanda Shatzko and Adam Wilson.