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Laura Kennedy, returning officer for the City of Calgary and its school boards, said candidates must swear they are eligible to run in the election when filing to be a candidate.

One of the rules of eligibility is the ability to vote in an election.

“You have to be at least 18, you have to be a Canadian citizen, you have to live in Alberta for six months before the nomination date,” she said. “You have to be eligible to vote.”

Under the Local Authorities Election Act, Kennedy said returning officers are required to make sure candidates have sworn they are eligible but it is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that what they have sworn is true.

“I cannot require someone to provide a Canadian passport or anything else like that,” she said. “They have sworn a statement that they are eligible, and because of that we hold them to that statement.”

Amjad was running as a Calgary School Board trustee candidate for Wards 3 and 4 in Calgary’s 2017 municipal election.

Election results published by the City of Calgary show Amjad received 5,707 votes, the lowest of all candidates who ran for the trusteeship in Wards 3 and 4.

Because the results became final six weeks after the election, Kennedy says she does not expect a byelection for the trusteeship in Wards 3 and 4, adding the province will be reviewing the Local Authorities Election Act later this year.

Police say these charges are unrelated to a closed hate-crimes investigation that began when Amjad claimed to be the target of violent, racist messages sent to her online. The investigation was closed after Amjad withdrew the complaint.

Police said Amjad was not co-operative with the hate-crimes unit, but MacQueen says Amjad has been “generally” co-operative in this investigation.

Amjad is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 13.

rrumbolt@postmedia.com

twitter: @RCRumbolt