A matter of time

21/10/2004


The Department of Internal Affairs says the successful declaration of the final results for Wellington City Council's STV voting indicate that it is only a matter of time before all remaining results can be declared.

The Wellington City Council’s Electoral Officer has thanked the Office of the Auditor-General's staff for their high level of professionalism and commitment during the audit process for Wellington's results.

Internal Affairs Communications Manager Colin Feslier says all Electoral Officers waiting for STV results wish to benefit from this same approach.

“They will be able to provide a high level of assurance about the final results, despite the problem in vote processing.

“Most of the affected Councils and DHBs, with the support of their Electoral Officers, have asked the Office of the Auditor-General to continue its work in providing this assurance over the processes and procedures used to process and count STV votes.

“The Department of Internal Affairs understands the repeated demands for a clear timetable of exactly when the remaining final results will be declared. The unique circumstances of these particular elections mean that it is the first time that Electoral Officers have found it necessary to request this kind of audit assurance. The time which will need to be taken in each case is not possible to predict.

“Expressions of hope by participants about the timing of final declarations should be taken literally, and not as predictions”.

Note to editors

• Most affected Electoral Officers took part in a conference call this morning (21 October). They fully endorsed these views.
• Requests for background information or news of progress can be made to Internal Affairs at any time.