A recount by Elections Calgary has confirmed that Jeromy Farkas will be the next mayor of Calgary.
Sonya Sharp, second runner-up in the election, had requested a recount under the Local Authorities Electoral Act. It started on Monday at 9:30 am.
On Tuesday, Elections Calgary released updated numbers, showing Farkas won the election with 91,112 votes to Sharp’s 90,496, a difference of 616 votes.
Before the recount, the results showed that Farkas had recovered 91,071 votes compared to Sharp’s 90,490, meaning they both got votes in the recount.
In explaining his desire for a recount, Sharp previously cited the “slim” margin of victory in the election and the “difficult” conditions that poll workers faced, including long lines, new procedures and manual vote counting, which lasted into the early hours of the morning.
“This request is in no way a criticism of your hard work. Rather, it suggests that errors can occur during stressful situations,” Sharp wrote at the time.
All votes cast for mayor in Calgary have been recounted, the city said.
With the recount complete, Farkas will be sworn in as Calgary’s next mayor on Wednesday at 6 p.m., along with members of the new council.
In a statement, Farkas thanked his campaign team and expressed gratitude to Elections Calgary and the volunteer returning officers “who facilitated and monitored this important feature of our democratic process.”
“Last week was full of work to build a strong city council team to get things done for Calgarians,” Farkas wrote.
He also said he reached out to Sharp to congratulate him on a strong campaign.
“I expressed my hope that Calgarians will continue to benefit from his commitment to public service,” Farkas wrote.
CBC News has contacted Sharp for comment.
