It was an election night that New Brunswickers–and Canadians–will be discussing for months and years to come.
The Liberals have won a majority government in the province after serious technological glitches caused hours of delays in tabulating the results. Polls across the province closed at 8p.m.; however, things ground to a halt just before 11p.m. after Elections NB staff noticed “irregularities” in the numbers being uploaded from the memory cards of the vote tabulating machines.
In his truncated 1:30a.m. acceptance speech, premier elect Brian Gallant expressed thanks for having won a “clear majority of the seats.”
Saint John Harbour Liberal MLA Ed Doherty felt the same way about his 71-vote victory over PC incumbent Carl Killen, saying he’s looking forward to celebrating his win and moving on with the mandate.
But Killen’s campaign manager, Leslie Kierstead, tells CHSJ News she clearly remembers similar problems with the tabulation machines in the notoriously tight race between Doherty and Killen in the previous election.
The Tories and People’s Allliance have demanded a hand re-count of the votes; however, Elections NB has questioned the necessity of that step.
