A third and final recount request in Northland’s tightest local election has been rejected, meaning the new Kaipara District Council can finally be sworn in.
In the final count, Mark Vincent lost his seat in the Otamatea Ward by just two votes to council newcomer Denise Rogers.
Three votes separated three candidates vying for one seat, with Rogers gaining 742 votes, Vincent 740 and Fiona Kemp 739.
Vincent applied for a judicial recount, citing the narrow margin, a high number of disallowed special votes, and public sentiment around the election that was “particularly negative and distrustful”.
A recount would “go a long way to assuaging voters’ concerns”, he said.
Electoral officer Dale Ofsoske said 486 special votes were received across the Kaipara District, of which 198 were allowed and 288, or 59.3 percent, were disallowed.
Within the Otamatea Ward, 119 special votes were received, of which 59 were allowed and 60, or just over 50 percent, were rejected.
Forty-two of those were rejected by the Electoral Commission because the person was not on the roll or their details were not up to date.
Another 18 were rejected because the declaration forms that must accompany any special vote were incomplete.
In the preliminary count, Vincent was ahead of Kemp by three votes and 10 votes ahead of Rogers.
In the final count, however, they switched places, due to Rogers receiving 15 special votes to Vincent’s three.
In his recount application, Vincent said suggested some special votes for Rogers may have been incorrectly allowed, or that some special votes for him may have been incorrectly disallowed.
He also pointed to an apparent discrepancy in the number of special votes accepted.
In a court ruling released late on Wednesday, Judge Kevin Kelly agreed Rogers’ two-vote winning margin was close, and that Vincent might be elected if a recount was held.
However, Judge Kelly was not convinced Vincent’s concerns about the distribution of special votes gave him “reasonable grounds” to believe the final result was incorrect.
All it showed was Rogers had received more special votes.
An apparent discrepancy in the number of special votes could be accounted for by informal and blank votes, he said.
Judge Kelly therefore declined to order a recount.
Vincent said he was “very disappointed” but accepted the judge’s decision, and congratulated Rogers in joining Mike Schimanski as new councillors for the Otamatea Ward.
“I’ll do what I can to help make their term on the council worthwhile,” he said.
The court’s decision allows Kaipara District Council to proceed with its repeatedly postponed swearing-in ceremony.
A council spokeswoman said it would take place at 1.30pm on November 12 at Matakohe War Memorial Hall.
The public was welcome to attend.
Two other recount applications, by mayoral candidate Snow Tane and Wairoa Ward candidate Ash Nayyar, have also been rejected.
To qualify for a recount under the Local Electoral Act 2001, candidates must show they might be elected on a recount and that they have reasonable grounds to believe a result is incorrect.
The confirmed results for Kaipara District Council are Mayor, Jonathan Larsen; Kaiwaka-Mangawhai Ward, Luke Canton, Craig Jepson and Rachael Williams; Otamatea Ward, Denise Rogers and Mike Schimanski; and Wairoa Ward, Gordon Lambeth, Joesephine Nathan and Snow Tane.
rnz.co.nz
