Election 2023 special votes result Whanganui: National’s Carl Bates increases margin

Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon with Whanganui's MP-elect Carl Bates. Photo/ Bevan Conley

Whanganui’s MP-elect Carl Bates has increased his winning margin after the special vote count for the 2023 general election.

Special votes are cast by voters outside their normal electorate or overseas.

In the final count released on Friday, National’s Bates leapt from a margin of 5070 on election night to a 5417 vote lead over Labour candidate and former Whanganui MP Steph Lewis.

Bates said it was great the margin achieved on election night had grown.

“We ran a really strong campaign, engaged widely across the electorate, and there was very clearly a desire for change and a desire for strong representation in Wellington.”

He said the special votes had reinforced that message.

“It’s obviously gutting for our colleagues that have not held their seats today.”

In Whanganui, the National Party claimed 36.80 per cent of the electorate vote with the Labour Party on 27.79 per cent.

New Zealand First candidate William Arnold gained 540 votes, and Green Party candidate Marion Sanson 502 votes.

Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon has expressed criticism over the three-week delay between election night and the release of the special vote count, and Bates said he supported this opinion.

By law, special votes have to be transported back to the correct electorate before they are counted.

In the 2023 general election, there were more than 567,000 special voters.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.