Foster fights recount

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster has formally sought to ensure a potential election recount does not go ahead.

The request for a recount was made by ousted mayor Justin Lester, who lost a tight race to Foster by just 62 votes almost four weeks ago.

Lester argues hundreds of voting papers deemed invalid because they were not filled out correctly should be considered – giving him a likely win.

His request is being considered by a District Court judge, with a decision expected today or tomorrow.

Foster said he and his legal counsel would provide information to the judge detailing why they thought the recount should not be granted. He did not want to disclose what that information was, but would be in a position to do so once the submission was filed, he said.

Lester and Foster both had the opportunity to make submissions to the judge following the completion of an electoral office report on Monday.

The report provided an overview of how votes were counted on election day on October 12, and concluded a manual vote count – which Lester has requested – is possible.

Lester made a submission to the judge on Tuesday, providing an updated affidavit through his lawyer on why he believed a manual recount was needed.

Among thousands of votes which were excluded in the initial count were 193 which, under the single transferable vote (STV) system, would have fallen to Lester had they been filled out correctly.

In turn, 109 votes would have gone to Foster, giving Lester enough votes to overturn the 62-vote deficit.

There were also 5769 votes which were excluded from the final ‘‘iteration’’ because they did not include a ranking for Lester or Foster.