Rakhi Pancholi
Canadian politician (born 1977)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rakhi Pancholi (born 16 August 1977) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-Whitemud. Born to Tanzanian and Indian parents,[1] she is a lawyer in Edmonton with a focus on education law.[2]
Rakhi Pancholi | |
|---|---|
Pancholi in July 2023 | |
| Deputy Leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party | |
| Assumed office June 24, 2024 | |
| Leader | Naheed Nenshi |
| Preceded by | Christina Gray |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-Whitemud | |
| Assumed office April 16, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Turner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 August 1977 London, Ontario, Canada |
| Party | Alberta NDP |
| University of Alberta University of Toronto | |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Website | https://www.voterakhi.ca/ |
On 8 February 2024, Pancholi announced that she was running for Leader of the Alberta NDP.[citation needed][3] On June 24, 2024, the new leader of the New Democratic Party, Naheed Nenshi, appointed Pancholi as the Deputy Leader of the New Democratic Party.[4]
Education
Pancholi completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta, majoring in history and political science. She studied law at the University of Toronto, with a focus on Constitutional Law.
Career
Pancholi was a practising lawyer in Edmonton with a focus on labour/employment and education law. She has experience working with the Alberta School Boards Association and was a senior legislative consultant for Alberta Education.[5]
Pancholi helped to establish LEAF's "No Means No" (NMN) program in 2007 which focused on youth and sexual assault issues.[6] Between 2008 and 2013, she worked for the Alberta government in the Alberta Education Department. During that time she led the drafting the Education Act.[7] Pancholi also worked for Alberta school boards.[7]
In 2019, Pancholi entered politics and was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Edmonton-Whitemud, and was re-elected in 2023. She was appointed Deputy Leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party in 2024 under party leader Naheed Nenshi.
Personal life
Pancholi has two young children with her husband Owen. They have two rescue dogs, and they are both advocates for animal rescue and adoption.[5]
Electoral history
2023 general election
| 2023 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Whitemud | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Rakhi Pancholi | 12,797 | 60.40 | +11.22 | ||||
| United Conservative | Raj Sherman | 7,799 | 36.81 | -2.63 | ||||
| Liberal | Donna Wilson | 370 | 1.75 | – | ||||
| Green | Cheri Hawley | 221 | 1.04 | – | ||||
| Total | 21,187 | 99.29 | – | |||||
| Rejected and declined | 152 | 0.71 | ||||||
| Turnout | 21,339 | 64.65 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 33,005 | |||||||
| New Democratic hold | Swing | +6.92 | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: Elections Alberta[8] | ||||||||
2019 general election
| 2019 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Whitemud | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Rakhi Pancholi | 11,373 | 49.18% | -8.27% | ||||
| United Conservative | Elisabeth Hughes | 9,120 | 39.44% | 0.86% | ||||
| Alberta Party | Jonathan Dai | 2,335 | 10.10% | – | ||||
| Freedom Conservative | Jason Norris | 297 | 1.28% | – | ||||
| Total | 23,125 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 63 | 76 | 18 | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 32,810 | 70.73% | 10.33% | |||||
| New Democratic hold | Swing | -7.75% | ||||||
Source(s)
Source: "46 - Edmonton-Whitemud, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). 2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume II (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 180–183. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021. | ||||||||
