The anticipation has supporters of all ends on edge.
The results for Vernon-Lumby show Conservative Dennis Giesbrecht and NDP Harwinder Sandhu nearly tied so far, with not all of the ballot boxes counted yet.
With just two boxes left to count, Giesbrecht has 10,427 votes (40.87 per cent) and Sandhu has 11,000 (43 per cent).
This year, there were four candidates on the ballot in the Vernon-Lumby riding. They were independent candidate Kevin Acton, Dennis Geisbrecht of the B.C. Conservative Party, Robert Johnson of the B.C. Libertarian Party and Harwinder Sandhu of the NDP.
Sandhu won the Vernon-Monashee riding for the NDP in 2020 by 424 votes, upsetting Eric Foster of the BC Liberals who was seeking a fourth straight term. It was the first time the NDP had won the riding since the 1980s, bringing an end to a lengthy period of BC Liberal dominance in the North Okanagan, as the party had held the riding since 1996, when it was then called the Okanagan-Vernon riding.
Her supporters, including Vernon mayor Victor Cumming and Coun. Kelly Fehr, gathered at the Vernon Yacht Club Saturday night. An esimated 50 people gathered for the initial results, all glued to the television watching as the results rolled in.
Giesbrecht and his supports watched the results roll in at Kelly O' Bryans in Vernon, where Scott Anderson was present.
Conservative supporters in Vernon-Lumby watch as the results roll in....check back for the final outcome!
鈥� Vernon Morning Star (@VernonNews)
Acton and approximately 40 supporters gathered at Vernon's Okanagan Spirits around a television.
Should Acton win, a byelection for Village of Lumby would take place "as soon as possible" according to Tom Kadla CAO, Lumby.
But before the results were called, with just 15 per cent (less than 4,000) of the votes, Acton conceded.
"It's not what we had hoped for. It's tough to take," the current Lumby mayor told the crowd. "I look out at the friends that are here tonight supporting me and you have no idea how touched I am (choking back tears) and how much it means to me. I'm so lucky to have a great group of friends helping me tonight.
"Life goes on. I still get to spend a lot of time with you guys."
Prior to this year's election the Electoral Boundaries Commission made changes to the area, boundaries and names of B.C.'s provincial electoral districts, adding six new ridings. The new Vernon-Lumby riding differs from the previous Vernon-Monashee riding primarily in that it excludes the District of Coldstream, which is now part of the 91大黄鸭-Lake Country-Coldstream riding.
There are seven advanced voting ballot boxes and 18 final voting day boxes, which are all digital this year, resulting in quicker counts.
