The early results of the Port Waikato by-election show that Andrew Bayly of the National Party has won with 14,023 votes. Casey Costello from the New Zealand First Party came in second, receiving 2,778 votes.
The Electoral Commission released these preliminary results for the parliamentary by-election that took place on November 25, 2023, in the Port Waikato region. Other candidates included Alf Metuakore from NewZeal who got 402 votes, Anna Joy Rippon from the Animal Justice Party with 287 votes, and Kim Turner from New Zealand Loyal who received 228 votes.
The total number of votes counted on election night was 18,318. There are still about 441 special declaration votes left to be counted, which make up about 2.4% of the total votes. These include an estimated 81 votes from overseas and 360 special votes from within the electorate.
The total estimated votes, including those counted on election night and the estimated special votes to be counted, is 18,759. The voter turnout for this by-election is estimated to be 35.8% of the 52,453 people who registered to vote before election day.
This turnout is higher than the 31.4% turnout at the Hamilton West by-election in December 2022, but lower than the 40.5% turnout at the Tauranga by-election in June 2022. It’s estimated that 67% of the votes were cast in advance, not including special votes.
The official results will be released on Wednesday, December 6. This will include a recount of all votes counted on election night and the processing and counting of special declaration votes. You can find the preliminary results at www.electionresults.govt.nz.
