Jeanie Dendys has been confirmed the winner of the Mountainview riding after an official recount of ballots cast during the Nov. 7 territorial election.
The Liberal candidate came away with 439 votes, while the NDP’s Shaunagh Stikeman won 432 ballots. Outgoing premier Darrell Pasloski came in third, with 399 votes.
Dendys was originally thought to have won by six votes. But during the recount on Friday, a judge threw out one of Stikeman’s ballots, deciding it should have been rejected.
Dave Wilkie, Yukon’s assistant chief electoral officer, said ballots are rejected if more than one candidate is selected, or if it’s not clear who the voter intended to select.
This was the second official recount after the territorial election that saw the Liberals sweep to a majority from just a single seat in the legislative assembly.
A recount of ballots cast in Vuntut Gwitchin confirmed Liberal Pauline Frost’s win in that riding last week. Frost won by seven votes over the Yukon Party’s Darius Elias.
Recounts are triggered automatically when a riding is won by fewer than 10 votes.
Wilkie confirmed there will be no more recounts. “All 19 candidates have been declared elected,” he said.
The NDP caucus will be sworn in on Nov. 25 and the Yukon Party caucus on Nov. 29. The Liberal government will be sworn in on Dec. 3.