Port Waikato by-election: Andrew Bayly wins seat as Electoral Commission returns official results

Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Electoral Commission has released the official results for the Port Waikato byelection.

It was already clear in November that National’s Andrew Bayly won the by-election, the final results now have him 11,432 votes ahead of second-placed Casey Costello of NZ First.

After the written notice is returned confirming the results, Bayly, who already received a seat in Parliament through the National Party list, will take up the electorate seat.

This means he will resign from his list seat and the next candidate on the list, Auckland-based accountant Nancy Lu, has been asked to fill the vacant list position which increases the total number of seats in Parliament to 123.

A total of 18,815 people voted in the byelection which is a voter turnout of 35.9 per cent of the 52,470 people enrolled.

Bayly received 14,296 votes, well ahead of Costello who received 2864 votes.

Although Costello didn’t receive the electoral seat, she will still be in Parliament as she won a seat through the party list.

Bayly and Costello have both been made ministers in the new Government.

Costello is Minister of Customs, Minister for Seniors, Associate Minister of Health, Associate Minister of Immigration, as well as Associate Minister of Police.

Bayly is a Minister Outside Cabinet receiving the portfolios Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Small Business and Manufacturing, as well as Statistics.

He said becoming a minister was “a proud moment” for him and his family.

“Now the hard work begins.”

Bayly was first elected to Parliament in 2014. He was born in Whanganui into a farming family and qualified as a chartered accountant.

Formerly an Officer in the New Zealand Territorial Army and British Parachute (TA) Regiment, Bayly has a long-standing love for sports and competed in three Coast-to-Coast events, marathons and Ironman events.

He is also a keen mountaineer having scaled four mountains in Antarctica, amongst others.

The by-election was sparked by the sudden death of Act candidate Neil Christensen and was held on November 25.

The 18,815 cast votes included 87 disallowed votes, 495 special votes, including 66 overseas votes, and 66.7 per cent of all votes were cast in advance.

All votes cast on and prior to the election day have been recounted. Special votes have been checked for eligibility before being counted.

The Port Waikato by-election had a higher voter turnout than the Hamilton West by-election in 2022, which was sparked by the resignation of Dr Gaurav Sharma and had a turnout of 31.4 per cent.

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