After the counting of all votes, including special votes, Orphée Mickalad has been confirmed as the successful candidate.

Voting for the Palmerston North City Council’s by-election closed at midday on Wednesday.

16,674 votes were received and counted. The voter return was 27.23%.

The final votes were:

MICKALAD Orphee elected 7,123

WOOD William excluded 5,930

BALL Darroch excluded 3,378

CANDISH James excluded 2,261

SPELLER Stefan excluded 1,920

ROZENBERG Vanessa excluded 1,493

SPILLANE Sarah excluded 1,310

ASQUITH Andy excluded 1,096

SKIPPER Nikita excluded 407

WILSON Nathan excluded 139

BARBER Ross excluded 90

“I’m delighted for Orphée and congratulate him on his success,” says Mayor Grant Smith. “He has shown commitment and passion for Palmy during his campaign and we warmly welcome those attributes to the Council Chambers. He is joining us before we consult on our 10-Year Plan and that’s a great time for him to be part of our significant decision-making.”

Mr Mickalad says. “I’m absolutely thrilled to represent the Palmy community on the Council. I want to thank everyone who voted, encouraged and supported me during my campaign. It has been an amazing time meeting so many people in my community and I remain committed to representing them in the best way possible and deliver on the ideals I expressed.

“I would like to congratulate and express my best wishes to the other candidates. There is some great talent amongst them, which adds to my confidence for the future of Palmy.”

Mr Mickalad will take his oath and be welcomed to the Council table at the next Council meeting on 3 March.

The by-election was required to fill a vacancy due to the resignation of Tangi Utikere after he was elected as Palmerston North’s MP in the October General Election.

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