Final count begins in B.C.’s too-close-to-call election

British Columbians are awaiting the final tally of last week’s razor-thin provincial election, with several ridings that could determine the next government still hanging in the balance.

Election BC says counting of the more than 66,000 mail-in ballots gets underway today and is expected to be completed by late Sunday.

Meanwhile, the elections authority will also conduct full recounts beginning on Sunday in two tightly contested ridings — Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre — where the margin of victory in the initial tally was less than 100 votes.

23:30 Focus BC: Waiting for final provincial election results

There will also be a partial hand recount in Kelowna Centre due to a transcription error involving one tabulator used in the riding.

The final tally will then be completed on Monday with the counting of any remaining absentee ballots, with results updated on Election BC’s website hourly on that day.

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The stakes of the recounts are high: After the initial tally, the NDP is leading in 46 seats, the Conservatives in 45 and the Greens in two, with nine ridings too close to call (six led by the Conservatives and three by the NDP).

Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre are both currently led by NDP candidates, but the margin for the former in the initial tally is only 23 votes while the latter has a margin of 93 votes.

There are 681 ballots still to be counted in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and 476 in Surrey City Centre.

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The B.C. Conservatives can win the narrowest of majorities of 47 seats by flipping both seats during the final count and maintaining their leads in all the ridings they currently hold.

The NDP, meanwhile, can form a minority government with the Greens if they maintain their leads in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre while holding all their seats won in the initial tally.

The Greens can technically also form a minority government with the Conservatives but there is a significant ideological gap between the two parties.