VANCOUVER — The judicial recount of British Columbia’s provincial election is set to conclude today, confirming whether Premier David Eby’s New Democrats retain their one-seat majority nearly three weeks after the vote.

Much of the focus will be on the tightest Surrey-Guildford race, where the NDP was ahead by just 27 votes, a margin narrow enough to trigger a hand recount of more than 19,000 ballots overseen by a judge. the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Elections BC spokesperson Andrew Watson said the recount is expected to finish today, but certification won’t happen until next week, after an appeal period.

Electoral law states that the deadline for appealing the results must be filed with the court within two days of them being declared, but Watson says that because of Remembrance Day on Monday, that deadline would end at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

When an appeal is filed, it must be heard no later than 10 days after the Registrar receives the notice of appeal.

Another full recount will also take place in Kelowna Centre, narrowly won by the BC Conservatives, while a partial recount will take place in Prince George-Mackenzie to count votes from an uncounted box that contained approximately 861 votes.

The Prince George-Mackenzie recount will not change the result since the Conservative candidate from British Columbia won by more than 5,000 votes.

If neither Surrey-Guildford nor Kelowna Center change hands, the NDP will get 47 seats and the Conservatives 44, while the Greens will have two seats out of the 93 legislative ridings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 8, 2024.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press