Tory Whanau has convincingly won the Wellington mayoralty according to a progress result released this afternoon.

Incumbent Mayor Andy Foster finished second with Ray Chung in third and Paul Eagle in fourth.

The result shows Tory Whanau has received 29,458 votes compared to Mr Foster who received 13,032 votes. This is a margin of 16,426 votes.

Wellington City Deputy Electoral Officer Jennifer Parker says about 85% of the votes received have been counted but a “huge” number of last-minute votes means a preliminary result won’t be available until tomorrow (Sunday 9 October).

“Today, we collected 9901 votes, including special votes. This unprecedented volume of last-minute votes means we won’t know the preliminary result until midday tomorrow.”

A final result will be available by 14 October.

Ms Parker says there has been a very large voter turnout in Wellington City – she is expecting the final voter turnout to exceed 45% – around 4% higher than in 2019.

Progress results for the Wellington City Council wards are:

Takapū/Northern ward

On the basis of the progress result, the people elected as councillors for Takapū/Northern Ward are:

· Tony Randle

· Ben McNulty

· John Apanowicz

Wharangi/Onslow-Western ward 

On the basis of the progress result, the people elected as councillors for Wharangi/Onslow-Western Ward are:

· Ray Chung

· Diane Calvert

· Rebecca Matthews

Pukehīnau/Lambton ward

On the basis of the progress result, the people elected as councillors for Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward are:

· Tamatha Paul

· Nicola Young

· Iona Pannett

Motukairangi/Eastern ward

On the basis of the progress result, the people elected as councillors for Motukairangi/Eastern Ward are:

· Tim Brown

· Teri O’Neill

· Sarah Free

Paekawakawa/Southern ward

On the basis of the progress result, the people elected as councillors for Paekawakawa/Southern Ward are:

· Laurie Foon

· Nureddin Abdurahman

Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori Ward

On the basis of the progress result, the candidate elected as councillor is:

· Matthew Reweti

Tawa Community Board

On the basis of the progress result, the people elected as councillors for Tawa Community Board are:

· Jill Day

· Tim Davin

· Rachel Allan

· Miriam Moore

· Janryll Fernandez

· Warwick Glendinning

Mākara-Ōhāriu Community Board

On the basis of the progress result, the people elected as councillors for the Mākara-Ōhāriu Community Board are:

· Mark Reed

· Christine Grace

· Darren Hoskins

· Hamish Todd

· Chris Renner

· Wayne Rudd

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