The polls have closed across British Columbia, and now it's time to count up the votes.Early results were promising for the BC Conservatives, though the BC NDP made up the difference. According to Elections BC, as of 12:30 a.m. PST with 99.72% of the votes counted, the NDP sit at 46 seats to the Conservatives' 45. The Greens have two seats, potentially setting the scene for a 2017-esque scenario.The Conservatives dominated in the Fraser Valley and rural BC while the NDP were the party of choice in most of the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast.More to come....BC NDP agriculture minister ousted by Conservative challenger .Rustad's band of newcomers managed to defeat a number of established NDP incumbents. In the riding of Abbotsford-Mission, for example, first-time politician Reann Gasper defeated now-former agriculture minister Pam Alexis.The final results are still being tallied, and are expected to be released in the coming days. What happens after that remains to be seen."Automatic recounts will take place in electoral districts where the margin between the top two candidates is 100 votes or fewer at the conclusion of initial count," Elections BC wrote in a statement. "These recounts will take place during final count, scheduled for October 26 to 28."The agency noted that "some types of ballots must be counted at final count and were not counted tonight," such as vote-by-mail ballots received after advance voting closed or dropped off in person. "We will report the number of ballots that will be considered at final count," the statement concluded, "and will provide this information as soon as possible."
The polls have closed across British Columbia, and now it's time to count up the votes.Early results were promising for the BC Conservatives, though the BC NDP made up the difference. According to Elections BC, as of 12:30 a.m. PST with 99.72% of the votes counted, the NDP sit at 46 seats to the Conservatives' 45. The Greens have two seats, potentially setting the scene for a 2017-esque scenario.The Conservatives dominated in the Fraser Valley and rural BC while the NDP were the party of choice in most of the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast.More to come....BC NDP agriculture minister ousted by Conservative challenger .Rustad's band of newcomers managed to defeat a number of established NDP incumbents. In the riding of Abbotsford-Mission, for example, first-time politician Reann Gasper defeated now-former agriculture minister Pam Alexis.The final results are still being tallied, and are expected to be released in the coming days. What happens after that remains to be seen."Automatic recounts will take place in electoral districts where the margin between the top two candidates is 100 votes or fewer at the conclusion of initial count," Elections BC wrote in a statement. "These recounts will take place during final count, scheduled for October 26 to 28."The agency noted that "some types of ballots must be counted at final count and were not counted tonight," such as vote-by-mail ballots received after advance voting closed or dropped off in person. "We will report the number of ballots that will be considered at final count," the statement concluded, "and will provide this information as soon as possible."
