Former Hamilton West MP, Tim Macindoe is leading in the preliminary results for the Hamilton East Ward by-election announced this evening.
After today’s count, Macindoe has 5858 votes, 3653 ahead of Leo Liu who has received 2205 votes. Voting closed at midday today and result will be available on Monday, 19 February once all special votes have been validated.
The voter return stands at 22.05%, being 12,439 votes, with special votes still to be counted.
The elected candidate will replace former Councillor Ryan Hamilton, who resigned in October after being elected as Member of parliament from Hamilton East.
The preliminary results for the 16 candidates are:
- MACINDOE, Tim 5858
- LIU, Leo 2205
- NAND, Jenny 1885
- GONZALES, Jose 1260
- BRISTER, Richard 1065
- SMART, Anna 829
- WEST, Michael 657
- TANG, Tony 520
- HENDERSON, Horiana 508
- MCDONALD, John 476
- NG, Jono 428
- LEPINA, Marie-Claire 314
- GIELEN, Jacobus 217
- BECH, Aksel Danger 84
- TEMONI-SYME, Tania 82
- STRATFORD, Roger 27
The Councillor-elect will be sworn in at a Hamilton City Council meeting on Tuesday 20 February.
Is Tim still in Hamilton? or is he missing? Shari.bowl@gmail.com
Preliminary result demonstrates a zero-sum game of one ex-National MP replacing a newly-elected National MP. This is electoral nepotism’ at its worst, will not impress community, who missed out on their chance to vote, in a system which winner Macindoe himself admits is unfair. East Ward has delivered a conservative middle-class elite to represent them but without balance of a reformer. City is in desperate need of solutions…MP Hamilton will have little influence as local body activist groups are anti-centralisation to core.Big loser is the future of STV voting system, which is returning an aberrant outcome in terms of it’s non-diversity. Two closest candidates, both from minority groups, are way behind in the vote tally.