Updated 3.00pm, Thursday 16 October
Due to the unprecedented volume of more than 10,000 special votes received, Auckland local elections’ final results will now be announced on Saturday 18 October, after 10am.
These were previously expected to be published on Friday 17 October.
However because of the extraordinary number of special votes, the process of validating these will require more time.
Stay tuned for further updates to be released on Vote Auckland
Updated at 4.00pm, Saturday 11 October
On Saturday morning more than 68,500 votes were cast, bringing Auckland’s voter turnout to 28.8 percent.
Auckland Council’s General Manager Governance and Engagement, Lou-Ann Ballantyne is delighted that residents came out to vote in the nick of time and made their vote count.
“As you’ll see from these results, every single vote counts. And the story continues as we look forward to announcing the final results confirming elected members for Tāmaki Makaurau this Friday, once special votes have been validated and counted,” says Ms Ballantyne.
While the latest count has not affected the overall mayoral result, overnight some candidates in the local board races who were provisionally elected by a marginal difference have shifted positions.
“We are updating candidates who have been affected by these changes, with more news to come. Successful or not, I’d like to thank all candidates for putting their best foot forward and their efforts to step up for Tāmaki Makaurau,” she says.
Marginal movements
In these preliminary results, newcomer Victoria Short and incumbent John Watson remain to be provisionally elected as Albany Ward councillors, with what is still a tight race between Watson and Wayne Walker for Albany’s second seat, with 563 votes between them.
Albert-Eden Local Board
Overnight, newcomer Michelle Thorp has taken the fourth seat in Albert-Eden Local Board’s Maungawhau Subdivision, overturning incumbent Rex Smith by 102 votes.
Kaipātiki Local Board
John Gillon firmly leading the North Shore Ward Councillor position, means he will likely release his leading position on the local board to create a vacancy for Emma Ryburn-Phengsavath for the eighth seat on the local board.
Howick Local Board
Currently leading in the Howick subdivision is Bo Burns, who is likely to release this position with her provisional lead for the ward councillor seat. This means the vacancy could go to Luke Collings for the fourth seat of the board’s subdivision.
Manurewa Local Board
In Manurewa Local Board’s contest, Heather Andrew with 5,903 votes and Raewyn Bhana with 5,832 votes have provisionally taken the seventh and eighth seats, now ahead of Judy Tipping who was seventh in Saturday’s earlier progress results.
Puketāpapa Local Board
There are two likely newcomers. Rowan Cant has taken the lead for the fifth local board seat for Puketāpapa with 4,398 votes and Brendan Larmer lead with 4,316 votes for the sixth seat.
Waiheke Local Board
Waiheke Local Board’s fifth seat is down to just 10 votes between incumbents Paul Walden and Bianca Ranson. Walden leads with 1,458 votes.
Waitākere Ranges Local Board
Seven candidates are head-to-head with less than 200 votes between each of them in the contest for fourth, fifth and sixth seats on the Waitākere Ranges Local Board. With special votes pending, much could change on Friday.
For the full list of preliminary results, visit Vote Auckland.
