NDP pulls ahead in Surrey-Guildford vote count, moves closer to winning majority
CBC
The B.C. NDP has now pulled ahead of the B.C. Conservatives by 14 votes in the riding of Surrey-Guildford as the final count in the provincial election continues, meaning the party is now elected or leading in 47 seats — the number required to form a majority government.
According to the latest batch of absentee ballots counted by Elections B.C., NDP incumbent Garry Begg has overtaken Conservative candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa in what could end up being the riding that determines the balance of power in the province.
As the provincial vote count currently stands, the NDP has been elected in 45 ridings and is leading in two, with the Conservatives elected in 41 and leading in three. The B.C. Greens have been elected in two ridings.
Elections B.C. is posting new results every hour as it counts about 22,000 absentee ballots. Results are being posted to CBC News B.C. Votes 2024 page as they become available.
Other close races as of noon PT Monday include:
Meanwhile, CBC News has projected that Conservative Lawrence Mok has won the riding of Maple Ridge East, flipping it from the NDP.
CBC News earlier announced the NDP was projected to win in Surrey City Centre, where the difference is currently 190 votes.
WATCH | Elections B.C. explains today's count:
Elections B.C. began counting more than 22,000 absentee ballots Monday morning, after recounts and a tally of mail-in votes on the weekend failed to settle the election's outcome.
Neither David Eby's B.C. NDP nor John Rustad's B.C. Conservatives have yet scored with the magic number of 47 seats required to form a majority in the province's 93-seat legislature.
While the makeup of the legislature could become clear, judicial recounts could still take place after that if the margin in a riding is less than 1/500th of all votes cast.
For example, in the closest race of Surrey-Guildford, where an estimated 19,306 votes were cast, the margin for a judicial recount is about 38 votes or fewer.
Judicial recounts are overseen by a B.C. Supreme Court justice and, according to the B.C. Election Act, must take place within 15 days after the declaration of the official election results.
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