Defeated general election candidate Julie Edge has launched a legal bid to have the result of the Onchan poll declared void.

Former education minister Ms Edge, who was first elected to the Onchan constituency in 2016, failed to win a third term on September 24.

She secured 866 votes, finishing third behind sitting candidate Rob Callister on 1,103 votes and first-time candidate Rachel Glover, who topped the poll with 1,245 - and has since been appointed DEFA Minister.

But Ms Edge has now petitioned the High Court, calling for the election result to be declared void, alleging it was not conducted in accordance with the law.

She claims that 79 votes were unaccounted for and candidates were not given reasonable opportunity to request a recount.

The notice of result misstates the number of voters whose ballot papers were not rejected, giving 2,618 instead of 2,608, she alleges.

She also claims that postal ballots were opened without giving her notice and in the absence of her counting agents.

The cumulative effect, she says, is that the election was ‘not so conducted as to be substantially in accordance with the law’.

Ms Edge, of Briarfield Avenue, Birch Hill, Onchan, acknowledges that, on the face of it, 79 unaccounted ballot papers would not alter the result.

However, she claims this calls the integrity of the count into question.

She states in her petition: ‘Until the 79 ballot papers are accounted for, it cannot appear that these acts and omissions did not affect the result.’

Ms Edge calls for the court to ‘determine accordingly that the election was void and Rachel Heather Glover and Rob Edward Callister were not duly elected or returned.’

The High Court petition, dated October 22, will be heard on Thursday before Deemster Andrew Corlett.

The defendants in the case are listed as returning officer for Onchan, Jeremy Callin, and His Majesty’s Attorney General.

Ms Edge is also seeking an inquiry to be carried out ahead of a decision on her petition.

This would involve the inspection and supervised count of the counted and rejected ballot papers, an audit of ballot paper accounts and the production of count sheets and other working papers.

She also seeks an urgent order for the preservation of CCTV recordings at the count venue.

The petitioner says this will enable the conduct of the election and the figures in the declared result to be examined before the petition is determined.

She says she reserves the right to apply for further directions and orders ‘as may be necessary for the preservation of evidence and the fair trial of this petition’.

She also urges the court to consider the public interest when determining her request for an inquiry.

An international election observation mission concluded that September’s general election was conducted ‘professionally and transparently’.

The 10-member mission from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association British Islands and Mediterranean Region included parliamentarians, international election analysts and election coordinators.

They assessed the electoral process against international standards and Isle of Man law.