Green Party candidate Meryam Haddad fights back into leadership race

Meryam Haddad, a Green Party of Canada (GPC) candidate who got expelled from the leadership race on Tuesday afternoon, has successfully appealed the ruling days before the party’s election is scheduled to take place on Oct. 3.

Haddad, 32-year-old Montreal based lawyer is one of the eight candidates running in the leadership race.

She shared the news on her Facebook page on Thursday.

Hadded said earlier this week that this was the third attack on her campaign to force her out of the race.

She received two emails on Sept. 22., one stating she has been expelled and the other stating the appeals process would be expedited due to the short time frame.

“Prior to that [Sept. 22.], no notices or warnings had been given about a breach of this clause,” Haddad said.

Haddad has officially appealed the ruling and made it clear she will not back down from the race. She will receive the notification of the results by 12 p.m. ET today.

“We will keep fighting, and I hope to be on the ballot shortly so that all members new and old can be heard! Solidarity,” she said in a tweet.

Haddad says her campaign represents a change for the party.

“Existing leadership within the party would much rather maintain the status quo, and the changes I want to make to the internal structures and the direction of the country threaten that status quo,” Haddad said in an email to Yahoo Canada. “The official reason I was given was in regards to my perceived support of a provincial political green party that was not the centrist one preferred by party establishment.”

She also shared the GPC’s statement on Twitter.

“Leadership Contestants and all persons acting under their direction are bound by the GPC Constitution and bylaws, including the Members’ Code of conduct, according to which members must [n]ot intentionally undertake any action which would bring the GPC into disrepute,” the statement said.

The GPC media spokesperson did not comment on why Haddad was expelled.

“The Green Party has no comment on this at this time. When a leadership contestant is expelled, they are invited to present an appeal to the Leadership Contest Authority,” the GPC stated in an email.

Haddad specializes in immigration law and has been representing asylum seekers for the past seven years. She is one of the outspoken candidates who is keeping her followers updated about her stand in the election.

“Help us make it loud and clear that we will not be silenced,” Haddad ended off.

Social Media Response to #IStandWithMeryam

There has been an overwhelming response from Twitter users, which led to #IStandWithMeryam to trend this week. Here are some of the responses: