Mélanie Joly wins Liberal nomination in Ahuntsic-Cartierville

Mélanie Joly will represent the Liberals in Ahuntsic-Cartierville on Oct. 19 after all.

More than 2,000 card-carrying members of the Liberal Party voted in the hotly contested Montreal riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville on Sunday.

Joly defeated three others who were vying for the Liberal nomination: Grace Batchoun, a project manager, engineer Viken Attarian and businessman Elie Kassissia.

Some voters said the venue was disorganized. There were supposed to be speeches, but even after a delay organizers were unable to resolve the technical issues, forgoing the speeches altogether.

• Liberal nomination race heats up in Ahuntsic-Cartierville

• ​Ex-Bloc MP Maria Mourani to run for New Democrats in Montreal
• Mélanie Joly to seek federal Liberal nomination in Ahuntsic-Cartierville

Joly was the dark horse in Montreal's 2013 mayoral race, coming out of nowhere to place second behind winner Denis Coderre. After losing that election, Joly swore she wouldn't jump into federal politics — at least not for the 2015 election.

However, Joly, who is close to the family of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and has been a rumoured Liberal candidate for years, announced her candidacy in the riding in February.

Joly will face off against riding incumbent Maria Mourani, a former Bloc MP who is now running as an NDP candidate.