Update: NDP wins key riding to form what appears to be majority government

Updated 5:00 pm, Monday, October 28th:

The NDP has won its 47th riding, giving them enough seats  to form a slim majority government in BC.

It appears the party won the hotly contested Surrey-Guildford riding today.

As of 5:00 pm, the final results are yet to be tallied, but the NDP lead the riding by 16 votes, with 11 left to be counted.

They flipped the riding this afternoon, which gave them the 47th seat needed for a majority government.

The Conservatives hold 44 seats and the Greens hold two.

Updated 4:00 pm, Monday, October 28th:

It’s highly likely the NDP will form a majority government in BC.

The NDP hold an 18 vote lead in Surrey-Guildford, with just 21 votes left to be counted. (NDP 8,922, Conservatives 8,904)

If they hold the riding would give them the 47th seat needed to form the majority government.

The riding has been hotly contested since election night, when the BC Conservatives held a 102 vote lead.

Yesterday, their lead was at 12, before it flipped to the NDP at noon today.

The other riding to watch was Kelowna Centre, where the Conservatives hold a 43 vote lead. (Conservatives 11,027, NDP 10,984)

The Conservatives are leading or elected in 44 ridings, while the Greens have two.

Updated 3:00 pm, Monday, October 28th:

There hasn’t been much change in the past hour, but we are closer to a final result.

The NDP are on the verge of forming a majority government, as they hold a 17 vote lead in Surrey-Guildford, with less than 30 votes left to be counted. (NDP 8,918, Conservatives 8,901)

If they’re able to hold onto the riding, it would be the NDP’s 47th seat, giving them the majority.

The Conservatives have 44 seats and the Greens have two.

Kelowna Centre was the other riding to watch today (Monday), where the BC Conservatives have a 44 vote lead. (Conservatives 11,027, NDP 10,983)

Updated: 2:00 pm, Monday, October 28th:

The NDP’s lead in Surrey-Guildford has grown to 18 votes. (NDP 8,911, Conservatives 8,893)

The NDP are leading or elected in 47 ridings, the number needed for a majority government.

The Conservatives have 44 seats and the Greens have just two.

The Conservatives still hold Kelowna Centre, but their lead has shrunk to 46. (Conservatives 11,026, NDP 10,980)

Updated: 1:00 pm, Monday, October 28th:

The NDP’s lead in Surrey-Guildford has been cut to just nine votes as of 1:00 pm, at noon they held a 14 vote lead. (NDP 8,893, Conservatives 8,884)

The NDP are leading or elected in 47 ridings, the number needed for a majority government.

The Conservatives have 44 seats and the Greens have just two.

The Conservatives still hold Kelowna Centre with a 64 vote lead in the riding. (Conservatives 10,972, NDP 10,908)

Updated: 12:00 pm, Monday, October 28th:

As of the latest update from Elections BC, Surrey-Guildford has flipped to the NDP.

The NDP now have a 14 vote lead in the riding, which would be the 47th seat to give them a majority. (NDP 8,843, Conservatives 8,829)

The Conservatives now have 44 seats, and the Greens still have two.

The Conservatives extended their lead in Kelowna Centre, and are now leading by 62 votes. (Conservatives 10,967, NDP 10,905)

Updated 11:00 am, Monday, October 28th:

The Conservative’s lead in Surrey-Guildford has been cut to just four votes with approximately 200 more to be counted. (Conservatives 8,826, NDP 8,822)

According to Elections BC, the ballots being cast today are absentee ballots.

The next closest riding is Kelowna Centre, where the Conservative candidate leads the NDP by 60 votes. (Conservatives 10,961, NDP 10,901)

The NDP is still sitting with 46 seats, the Conservatives have 45 and the Greens have two.

47 seats are needed for a majority government.

Final count continues today. We have updated results on our website and will update results hourly until final count is complete. Find the updates here: https://t.co/m9nVXkpnMa

— Elections BC (@ElectionsBC) October 28, 2024

Original Story from 4:00 pm, Sunday:

As of the latest update from Elections BC, which came just after 4:00 this afternoon (Sunday), the NDP is still set to form a minority government with 46 seats, while the Conservatives have 45 and the Greens have two.

The riding to watch will be Surrey-Guildford, which currently has the BC Conservatives in a 12 vote lead over the NDP.

The Conservatives were leading the riding by 102 votes on Election night.

If the riding were to flip to the NDP, it would grant them the 47th seat needed to form a majority government.

Any remaining absentee ballots will be counted tomorrow, starting at 9:00 am.

The count of assisted telephone and mail-in ballots in Victoria is complete. The count of absentee ballots will begin tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Results will be updated hourly as counting progresses. #bcpoli

— Elections BC (@ElectionsBC) October 27, 2024

Recounts started at 1:00 this afternoon as well in Juan de Fuca-Malahat, and Surrey City Centre, and a partial recount Kelowna Centre.

In Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre, the recounts were automatically required because the difference between the top two candidates were 100 or fewer.

On election night, the NDP led in Juan de Fuca-Malahat by 23 votes, a lead which has since grown to 106 votes.

They also led Surrey-City Centre by 93 votes on election night, and that lead has grown to 178 votes.

According to Elections BC, a transcription error of one vote was identified between a ballot account and a tabulator results tape in Kelowna Centre. They say this was likely due to election official error.

“A ballot account is a form completed by election officials showing the number of ballots issued and the votes for each candidate, based on the tabulator results tape,” Elections BC’s website reads.

“While the tabulator in question passed all testing and produced results accurately, a recount of the ballots counted by that tabulator will be conducted as a result of the ballot account error. This recount will be conducted by hand.”

As of this afternoon, the Conservatives are leading the NDP by 72 votes in the riding.

Elections BC estimates the recount in Surrey City Centre and the partial recount in Kelowna Centre will be completed by the end of today, but the recount in Juan de Fuca-Malahat will not be complete until tomorrow. (Monday)