Our Election was held on 17th October and on the night in Whangarei the incumbent, National's Dr. Shane Reti had 15,637 votes and Labour's Dr. Emily Henderson 15,475.
The Special votes have now been counted - these are votes from people who were not on the Electoral Roll or were voting in another area. We are thrilled that Emily has now won by 431 votes. This is good on two counts. We think she will be a very good M.P. and good for our area but also Shane will stay as an M.P. as he will be a List M.P. ( list MP is a member of parliament (MP) who is elected from a party list rather than from a geographical constituency. Their presence in Parliament is owed to the number of votes that their party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs only in countries which have an electoral system based on party-list proportional representation).
I don't know how they can get away with being a list MP but definitely a good result for Whangarei.
ReplyDeleteI thought someone may have dropped off the list but, possibly not.
DeleteClosely contested elections seem to be the fashion these days.
ReplyDeleteYes, Matt King is calling for a recount in the Northland electorate. Willow-Jean Prime won by 163 votes.
DeleteEvery country seems to find a different way to make democracy more complicated. As long as you end up with the right people in charge I don't suppose it much matters.
ReplyDeleteOur town and province did very well out of the election.
DeleteI will have to read about her and your way of government. It seems to be doing very well.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, back in the US........
We are pleased with the result. Still following yours with fingers crossed.
DeleteIs it essential to be a Doctor to be eligible? Plenty of Doc's in the UK parliament too.
ReplyDeleteShane is a G.P. and Emily a family court lawyer
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