Independent candidate, Karl Tiefenbacher, remains the provisional winner of the by-election to fill the vacant seat in Wellington City Council’s Pukehīnau/Lambton General Ward – however his winning margin has reduced to 164 votes – with about 590 special votes still to be counted.
Initial progress results released on Saturday afternoon showed Mr Tiefenbacher (pictured) ahead of Green Party candidate, Geordie Rogers, by 621 votes. However a further count last evening has reduced the lead, the Council said in a statement.
A formal declaration of the final election result will be made by Wednesday 21 February.
A total of 8,107 ordinary votes were cast before polls closed at 12 noon on Saturday. Turnout is expected to be about 24% of the 33,723 enrolled voters in the ward – which centres on central Wellington, Te Aro and surrounding inner-suburbs, the Council said.
The seat, one of three in the ward, was vacated by the resignation of former Councillor, Tamatha Paul, who was elected to Parliament last year.
