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The post showed Karahalios smiling as an angry mob of people comes after him with weapons, with black people featured prominently in the centre. “This image is profoundly insulting and deeply racist,” said the complaint from the Toronto-based Urban Alliance on Race Relations, calling for Karahalios to be disqualified.

A statement from the party said Karahalios had initially been sanctioned by the party’s chief returning officer on Tuesday, though it did not specify exactly what the sanction was. Karahalios appealed that sanction to the party’s Dispute Resolution Appeals Committee (DRAC).

“Today, DRAC issued a ruling that Mr. Karahalios would be disqualified as a candidate in the Conservative Party’s Leadership Election,” the statement said. It said no further comment on the matter would be coming from any party officials.

The Karahalios campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is the second candidate during the leadership race who has been blocked from running, following Richard Décarie, who was not approved as a candidate despite claiming to have met all the entry requirements. Décarie had created controversy after going on national TV and claiming that being gay is a choice, among other inflammatory comments.

This image is profoundly insulting

Meanwhile, there will be at least four candidates on the final ballot of the Conservative leadership race, and two of them — Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan — are strongly backed by the pro-life movement and other social conservative organizations.