BC Liberal Ben Stewart is returning to the B.C. Legislature as he has regained his seat, winning a byelection in Kelowna West, the seat held by former B.C. Premier Christy Clark.

Shortly after the ballots started reporting, it was clear Stewart had the support of those who had voted. He built an early lead and ended the night with 56.46 per cent of the vote.

When all votes were counted, Stewart had 7,692 to second place finisher Shelley Cook of the NDP, who garnered 3,197 votes, 23.47 per cent of the vote.

Voter turnout came in at under 30 per cent, with just 29 per cent of voters casting a ballot for a total of 13,624 votes out of more than 46,000 eligible voters.

Green Party candidate Robert Stupka earned 1,727 votes, over 12 per cent of the vote, while BC Conservative Mark Thompson received 898 votes (seven per cent) and Libertarian Kyle Geronazzo had 110 votes (.81 per cent).

Stewart spoke to supporters at his Quails香蕉视频直播� Gate Winery.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 great to be back on Team Okanagan,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 humbled by the fact that the people of Kelowna West and all of the areas that are in the riding saw fit to elect me as the MLA to represent them and I look forward to doing that with the same effort I did in the past. The volunteers that worked on this campaign were second to none.香蕉视频直播�

Stewart香蕉视频直播檚 closest competitor was Cook of the NDP who also ran and lost in the general election to Clark. But when Clark stepped down, the byelection was called and Stewart grabbed the Liberal nomination by acclamation.

Cook said she was disappointed but proud of the campaign she ran, saying many people told her they were voting for the NDP for the first time ever.

香蕉视频直播淚t was important to get the values and what the NDP stands for out in the community,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 very proud of the campaign and the work that was done.香蕉视频直播�

The Green香蕉视频直播檚 Stupka said voters opted for the status quo and that concerns him.

香蕉视频直播淲e ran the best campaign,香蕉视频直播� he told the Capital News. 香蕉视频直播淲e showed Kelowna West what real representation could look like by engaging with the community on important issues with real answers. I am concerned, given the concerns raised during the campaign, if this is the future we really want.香蕉视频直播�

Stewart previously held office in Kelowna West from 2009 to 2013 where he was a Liberal cabinet minster before stepping down to allow Christy Clark to take office as B.C.香蕉视频直播檚 Premier.

The win in the byelection gives the BC Liberals 42 seats in the Legislature while the NDP and Green combination has 44.

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kparnell@kelownacapnews.com
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