While most BC electoral races were decided Saturday night, delays in some parts of the province mean British Columbians still don't know who will form the next government.
The tight race has the BC NDP elected or leading in 46 ridings and the Conservative Party elected or leading in 45, with the Green Party elected or leading in two. A party must win 47 seats to claim a majority.
Elections BC issued a statement Sunday afternoon saying votes will be recounted by hand in two key ridings that could determine British Columbia's next government, and the result won't be known for another week.
Recounts will take place in the ridings of Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre, where the NDP and Conservative candidates are separated by fewer than 100 votes.
The New Democrat candidates are leading by very thin margins in the two ridings. The Conservatives would have to win both to secure the narrowest of majorities, and if not, David Eby's incumbent NDP is poised to form a minority government provided it secures the co-operation of two Greens elected on Saturday.
The NDP is leading in 46 ridings, while John Rustad's Conservatives are leading in 45, meaning neither have reached the 47 seats needed to form a majority government after the initial count that wrapped up Sunday.
The initial count does not reflect about 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots that will be included in the final count starting next Saturday, Elections BC said.
An estimated 57.4 per cent of registered voters cast ballots in the election, up from below 54 per cent in 2020. With nearly 2,037,900 ballots cast, the statement from Elections BC said it's the most votes ever tallied in a B.C. provincial election.
With files from The Canadian Press
