Progress results show Grey District mayor Tania Gibson has retained the mayoralty as expected, with 3096 votes - 78 percent of all votes counted. 

Her only opponent, Richard Osmaston, of the Money Free Party received 451 votes. 

In what’s thought to be a protest vote, 410 electors returned blank voting papers after they were urged to do so in a campaign against rate increases, by the newly-formed Grey Ratepayers group.

Mrs Gibson says the result feels like a vote of confidence after what has been a difficult campaign, marked by personal abuse of mayors and councillors. 

“We have some hard work ahead but we’ve got a good steady council and it’s heartening to know that so many people do actually have faith in those of us trying to do a good job. “

The council’s electoral officer says 85 percent of the Grey District votes have been counted, with an estimated two to three hundred still to be counted after yesterday’s rush by electors to drop off voting papers in the official orange ballot boxes. 

The last minute vote could change the interim council line-up: two sitting councillors Rex McDonald and John Canning appear to have lost their seats to newcomers Paulette Birchfield and Terry Donaldson - but only eleven votes separate McDonald and Donaldson at this point. 

The final results are expected to be announced by Thursday. 

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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