The preliminary result for the Hamilton East Ward by-election shows Tim Macindoe is leading after voting has closed.

After today's count, Macindoe has 5858 votes, 3653 ahead of Leo Liu who has received 2205 votes.

The preliminary results for the 16 candidates are:

MACINDOE, Tim 5858

LIU, Leo 2205

NAND, Jenny 1885

GONZALES, Jose 1260

BRISTER, Richard 1065

SMART, Anna 829

WEST, Michael 657

TANG, Tony 520

HENDERSON, Horiana 508

MCDONALD, John 476

NG, Jono 428

LEPINA, Marie-Claire 314

GIELEN, Jacobus 217

BECH, Aksel Danger 84

TEMONI-SYME, Tania 82

STRATFORD, Roger 27

Voting closed at midday today. The voter return stands at 22.05%, being 12,439 votes, with special votes still to be counted.

A final result will be announced early next week once all special votes have been validated.

The elected candidate will replace former Councillor Ryan Hamilton, who resigned in October.

The Councillor-elect will be sworn in at a Council meeting on Tuesday 20 February.

The final results on the Hamilton East Ward by-election 2024 will be available on Monday at hamilton.govt.nz/elections.

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