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Two Green candidates have withdrawn their candidacy for the April 23 election.

Josh Weale, the Green nominee in Stratford-Keppoch, and Matthew Keeping, the Green nominee in Belfast-Murray River, have both announced via Facebook they will not be running in the coming election.

Keeping announced he would be dropping out on Wednesday.

“Some members had expressed concerns after the nomination regarding some information that the party was aware of about things in my past, and I opted to drop out rather than let that become a distraction,” Keeping told The Guardian in a Facebook message.

Josh Weale, left, and Matthew Keeping have both announced via Facebook that they will not be running for the Green party in the coming election.

In 2012, Keeping was found guilty of assault causing bodily harm in relation to an attack on another man. The attack resulted in a seven-week surgery for the victim, whose jaw was broken in the altercation.

In August of 2012, The Guardian reported that a judge had the case adjourned in order to allow Keeping to complete a program of study.

Green party representative Jordan Bober said Keeping had disclosed to the party’s provincial council that he had been convicted in the assault. He was nonetheless approved as a nominee and won the nomination in Belfast-Murray River.

“We don't want to write somebody off because they've had a run-in with the law at some point. We want to see what they've done since then," Bober said.

Bober said another nominee, Jim Sanders, who ran against Keeping for the nomination, will be the party’s candidate in Belfast-Murray River as per party rules.

Weale announced he would be stepping down in a post on March 15 but, in an interview with The Guardian, said he had made the decision two months ago. Weale said he has recently been hired in a new position with Natural Health Products Canada.

"It felt like it would be a good career move to maybe focus on my job for the time being," he said, referring to his new position.

Weale said his new position did not allow him to take time off in order to campaign full-time this month.

Although he had announced his candidacy in the spring, Weale said the lack of certainty around the timing of the election made it difficult for him to plan his personal and professional life.

“It’s just a really tough thing to be prepared over a long period of time for the writ to drop,” Weale said.

The Green party has yet to confirm its nominee in Stratford-Keppoch. In all, the party has nominated 20 candidates across P.E.I., including Sanders.

According to Elections P.E.I. manager Paul Alan, neither Weale nor Keeping had officially submitted their nomination papers and so were not officially recognized as candidates.



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