Calls grow to move municipal election date over Diwali overlap

Some South Asian Albertans are calling for a change to Alberta’s municipal election date, which falls on Monday, Oct. 20, the same day Diwali begins. They say the overlap with the widely celebrated festival could make it harder for some community members to participate in the vote.

 “I do feel like there will be a hindrance in people being able to go out readily because, you know, people like to be with their families,” said Ishita Singla, performer at Madhuban Performing Arts. “They like to be with their friends. They like to be in the community, but I really do hope people go out and vote because that’s equally important.”

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs previously told CityNews the municipal election “has taken place on the third Monday of Oct. for more than 40 years and this continues to be the case,” and that accommodation, such as advanced voting, is up to each city.

The opposition NDP would like to see a change to provincial laws to avoid election dates falling on any major religious or cultural celebration.

“I’m always disappointed when I see that there are any additional barriers to people getting out and voting,” said Raki Pancholi, MLA for Edmonton-Whitemud. “We encourage everybody to get out.”

Both Edmonton and Calgary have had multiple days of advance voting.

Ramavat hopes voters will find time to head to the polls and be able to celebrate Diwali.

“If I were in a situation, I’m sure that many of my Indian brothers and sisters will still go and vote,” said Ramavat. “I think we are a great mixture of following the Canadian culture as well as the Indian culture, so I think we celebrate Diwali mainly in the evening. So, in the morning, definitely everybody can go and do their part.”