It remains to be seen, but questions surrounding the legitimacy of the election campaign could linger well beyond polling day, the date for which is still not known.

That’s according to at least one local political scientist.

Were it not for last month’s outbreak, the provincial election would be over for more than a month, but instead, the deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots isn’t until March 25.

There’s no immediate word on when the results of the count will be known, or what overall voter turn-out will look like.

Those uncertainties, coupled with the length of time spanning the election call January 15 and the deadline for receipt of ballots, will continue to raise questions according to Memorial University political scientist Kelly Blidook.

Elections are usually held so that people can cast their ballots in relative unison and so that voters have the same facts and information says Blidook. “Any distance we get from that…plays some role in questioning the legitimacy of the election.”

Whether that will play into future court decisions, Blidook can’t say, but he does think it lends itself to the main problem surrounding this election which is how well it was run.