Final Auckland Council election results released, local board winner switches after special votes

By RNZ

The final results for Auckland Council races confirm Wayne Brown won the mayoral race by a decisive margin, while one local board has seen a shift in its winners.

With special votes now validated and counted, it is confirmed Wayne Brown won the mayoral race with a total of 181,810 votes ahead of Efeso Collins by 57,008.

"I hereby declare the results of the elections held on 8 October 2022," Dale Ofsoske, Electoral Officer - Independent Election Services, said in a statement.

"This declaration comes into effect as of tomorrow, 16 October 2022. All members take on their position for the Auckland Council's governing body and local boards on the day after they are declared to be elected."

In the final count, a total of 405,149 votes were returned - just 35.5 per cent of enrolled voters.

In 2019's election, the voter turnout was 35.3 per cent.

A total of seven new councillors out of 20 are joining Auckland Council and 36 percent of local board members elected are new to the council.

For Waitākere Ranges Local Board there is a change between the final count and the official results declared.

Ken Turner was leading in both the Waitākere Ward Councillor position and Waitākere Ranges Local Board. Turner has been declared as Waitākere Ward Councillor, alongside Shane Henderson, and withdrawn from the local board seat.

This makes Mark Allen, the next highest polling local board candidate, elected to the sixth seat on the board. Allen received 5216 votes, polling in front of Angus Cathcart by 11 votes, who was leading in the preliminary round.

The full results can be found on the Auckland Council website.