A Canadian official appointed to investigate allegations of election interference has quit, citing criticism from opposition parties.
David Johnston, 81, was appointed in March to investigate allegations of Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections.
But in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday, Mr. Johnston said he would leave office by the end of this month.
He has been accused of bias because of his personal ties to Mr. Trudeau.
Mr Johnston said his aim as independent special rapporteur was to “help build trust in our democratic institutions”.
However, the “very partisan atmosphere” surrounding his appointment “had the opposite effect,” he said.
Last month, Mr Johnston, a former governor-general, said the government had not ignored evidence of Chinese interference and recommended an official public inquiry. Instead, he recommended a series of hearings on the claims.
Scrutiny of his appointment intensified and opposition parties accused him of bias.
Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Johnston have vacation homes near each other and their families have been known to ski together. Mr. Johnston also worked with a charitable foundation named after former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the late father of Justin Trudeau.
In April, the foundation’s leadership resigned over a Beijing-related donation.
The allegations of foreign interference follow reports in Canadian media, based largely on leaked intelligence, detailing allegations of Chinese interference in the country’s last two federal elections.
The outcome of any of the general elections is not believed to have changed.
China has repeatedly denied interference and accused Canada of “slander and slander” after it expelled a Chinese diplomat earlier this month.
Parliament passed a non-binding motion for Mr Johnston to “step down from his role” by a vote of 174 to 150.
The motion was introduced by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan, who previously said Canada’s top spy agency had told her she was being targeted by the Chinese government.
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