BC NDP majority confirmed after judicial recounts wrap

The BC NDP’s slim majority is confirmed Friday, as judicial recounts for two ridings have concluded, nearly three weeks after the provincial election.

Judges began hand-counting ballots in the Kelowna Centre and Surrey-Guildford ridings Thursday.

In Surrey-Guildford, initial counts showed the BC NDP candidate leading by just 21 votes. Now, it is confirmed that incumbent BC NDP MLA Garry Begg has held onto his marginal lead by a final 22 votes.

Keeping Surrey-Guildford was crucial for the NDP to maintain its 47-seat majority.

In Kelowna Centre, initial counts showed BC Conservatives candidate Kristina Loewen with a slim lead. The results of the recount show she held onto her seat, with a difference of 40 votes over NDP candidate Loyal Wooldridge.

The Election Act says the deadline to appeal the results must be filed with the court within two days after they are declared, but Elections BC spokesman Andrew Watson says that due to Remembrance Day on Monday, that period would end at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

When an appeal is filed, it must be heard no later than 10 days after the registrar receives the notice of appeal.

Another partial recount took place in Prince George-Mackenzie to tally votes from an uncounted ballot box that contained about 861 votes. The recount shows that BC Conservative candidate Kiel Giddens had a lead of over 6,000 votes.

Given that neither Surrey-Guildford nor Kelowna Centre changed hands since the previous count, the BC NDP holds 47 seats and the BC Conservatives 44, while the Greens have two seats in the 93-riding legislature.

—With files from Emma Crawford and The Canadian Press