Two QLDC seats hang in balance ahead of final vote count

The final seats representing the Queenstown-Whakatipu and Wānaka-Upper Clutha Wards are almost too close to call still as candidates and the public await finalised election results.

Preliminary election results for the Queenstown Lakes District Council show Yeverly McCarthy currently holds the last available seat representing the Wānaka-Upper Clutha Ward with 1953 votes. But she has just an 18-vote lead on Cody Tucker who was a councillor last term.

In the Queenstown-Whakatipu Ward Jon Mitchell is currently elected with 1622 votes, 34 more than Craig 'Ferg' Ferguson’s 1588.

Special votes are still to be counted with the final vote tally due on Thursday.

McCarthy (top right) said she had been disappointed in the process. She said on Saturday afternoon she had secured the seat with an “unassailable lead”. She even asked if the electoral officer was confident the margin was large enough.

"Then I got a phone call yesterday after I had been to a meeting with councillors and the mayor to tell me that I was in this position.”

McCarthy would have rather been told the seat was too close to call.

"I just do not get how somebody could could make me a councillor on Saturday and by Tuesday put me in doubt.

"I feel very sorry the way it has turned out because it's put both Cody and I in a position where we shouldn't have been put really.

"I'm as gobsmacked as anybody."

But McCarthy believes "if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be".

Tucker (top left) said he was "caught off guard” by the preliminary results. Saturday’s progress results, based on 85 per cent of the vote showed McCarthy with a larger, safer lead.

"On Saturday when it was announced, we were both told that it was by a margin that wouldn't make a difference from the remaining votes. We were told quite assuredly that I was out and she was in."

Since then, Tucker had moved on, talking about and making plans for the future. But when preliminary votes were revealed, a spanner was thrown in the works.

"It's been a lot to process."

Ultimately, Tucker says the decision is out of his hands.

"I'm happy with whatever the community decides essentially and I'll go with it," he says.

"I've realised that nothing I think or feel is going to change anything, and I've got to wait until Thursday to figure out what it really means."

Tucker said he had been flooded with positive messages, support and kind words since the results came in.

Mitchell, (bottom right) who narrowly holds a Queenstown-Whakatipu Ward seat said the close count reflected what the community was thinking.

"I think that there's a clear call for change, so hopefully the numbers will hold up and I'll continue with the induction process and the excellent meetings we've been having already as the new council."

He said if the final votes didn’t swing his way, he would go back to business as usual which included being involved in the community and shaping the future in other ways.

Ferguson (bottom left) didn’t feel there would be enough special votes to get him across the line.

"I'm happy with what I've done. I've done my bit and it's time to move on. So I'd be very surprised if it brought a turnaround."

He said he was naturally disappointed but had been realistic that another term would be a challenge given the community was in the mood for change.

"I was always going to be at risk and I think that's played out."

To date, the QLDC voter return is 39.85 per cent, being 12,399 votes, excluding special votes.

Special votes include people who didn’t enrol or update their enrolment details in time, didn’t receive voting papers, or are on the unpublished roll.

Elsewhere, Mark Harris has just six more votes than Rob Hazlett as they both vie for a spot on the Central Otago District Council’s Maniototo Community Board.