Veils allowed at Canadian voting booths

OTTAWA, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Canada’s chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand said veiled woman won't be required to show their faces to vote in upcoming elections.

He said that woman wearing veils and burkas won't have to remove them to vote but will have to show two forms of identification, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday.

Mayrand also challenged politicians criticizing the policy to change the Elections Act if they want harsher identification requirements.

"I invite Parliament to change the act," said Mayrand. "It's not for the administrator to settle the current societal debate. If I were to do so, I would assume the role that does not belong to me, and above all, usurp the role of Canada's elected politicians."

Mayrand made the retort just one day after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused Elections Canada of “subverting the will of Parliament” because it is allowing Muslim women to wear veils and burkas while voting.