A candlelight vigil marking World AIDS Day in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, erupted in political infighting Tuesday night with a demand that the entire board of directors of the AIDS Committee of Windsor step down and be replaced.

CBC reports:

Committee member Gregory Scratch used the vigil to circulate a petition calling for a vote of non-confidence against the board. Scratch, who served as president of the committee's board of directors from 1999 to 2002, claims the board has forced the organization into debt, and he is demanding full disclosure of the charity's finances.

Many vigil-goers left the event in protest.

Marilyn Weller (pictured), who recently stepped down as the committee's executive director, called Scratch's move "just despicable."

"I think an AIDS vigil is absolutely the wrong place to do the politicking," Weller said. "This is not the time for this kind of divisive behaviour."

But Scratch told CBC News said it was the only way members could have their voices heard. "We're asking for accountability," Scratch said. "The agency has declined all of that." READ MORE