Sask. Party hopeful dropped out of race after scrutiny over surfaced video

A former Saskatchewan Party candidate is facing difficult questions after an online video has renewed questions about election integrity.

Maninder Gill was running to be the Saskatchewan Party nominee for the Martensville-Blairmore riding in October's provincial election.

However, a video posted over the weekend, allegedly from a campaign visit Gill made last month, shows him sitting and speaking with a potential voter.

During the roughly five-minute video, Gill appears to reach into his jacket to grab his wallet and offer the person cash to pay for his membership so he can become a Sask. Party member and vote in the nomination race.

This practice is strictly forbidden and in violation of party rules, as it is considered a form of bribery.

The Saskatchewan NDP raised some concerns Monday, wondering why the information came from a leak online instead of from the party itself.

"It raises questions about the integrity of the process. Obviously, Saskatchewan people expect that these processes have integrity," Regina-Elphinstone MLA Meara Conway said.

The Sask. Party says it received a complaint about membership sales, and it takes these matters seriously.

Gill resigned as a candidate last month after the party started an investigation.

Once he withdrew, the party considered the matter closed.

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"This individual did remove himself. He wasn't a candidate," Premier Scott Moe said at a different announcement Tuesday.

"With respect to the rules around the membership purchases, we feel that those have been followed or have no evidence that they haven't been."

Gill still went on to publicly endorse the eventual winner of the nomination, Jamie Martens, and was seen posing next to her in a photo shared on social media.

"It's one more thing in a list of things that I think have given people a lot of concern around this government and their ethics and their honesty," Conway said.

In an email to CTV News, Gill says there is more to this story than what is in the video.

"This short clip is misinterpreted and mistranslated. I am seeking legal help on the matter," Gill said.

At a separate announcement Tuesday morning, Moe downplayed the controversy by saying these things happen from time to time, comparing Gill to the resignation of the former NDP nominee in the Canora-Pelly riding last month for personal reasons.

The NDP feels Moe is grasping at straws.

"I feel like it's one more thing in the mix that paints the picture of a government that doesn't think the rules apply to them," Conway said.

Martens ultimately won the nomination for Martensville-Blairmore on March 27, ahead of the provincial election in October.