Thursday, May 17

Veiled women can still vote: elections chief

Muslim women wearing veils will be allowed to vote without exposing their faces in the next federal election, despite a bill proposing new requirements for photo ID at the polls, the head of elections told the Senate yesterday.

Chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand declined to speculate on whether he would use special powers to compel Muslims to raise their veils before voting - as Quebec's chief electoral officer did during the recent provincial election - but said nothing in the law requires them to show their faces.

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