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5h ago

Farkas Leads in Calgary as Hand Counts Slow Alberta Municipal Results

Bill 20’s hand-count rule, coupled with a postal strike, produced long waits and added paperwork at polling stations.

Council chamber inside Edmonton City Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024.
Long lineups of frustrated voters were reported at many polling stations on Monday as people in some communities waited to cast a ballot in this year's municipal elections.
The vote counting centre at Calgary's Big Four building is show Monday afternoon as it waits for the first ballots to arrive, prior to the the close of voting.
A road sign in Airdrie, Alta., on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, encourages people to vote in Alberta's municipal elections on Oct. 20. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Overview

  • Unofficial Calgary totals show Jeromy Farkas at 91,065 votes to Sonya Sharp’s 90,480 out of 348,626 mayoral ballots, with Jyoti Gondek conceding after finishing third.
  • The 585-vote gap is about 0.17% of mayoral ballots, within the provincial threshold that allows a candidate to request a recount.
  • Edmonton’s mayoral result remains in progress with manual counting continuing after fewer than a quarter of polls reported this morning, where Andrew Knack led over Tim Cartmell in early returns.
  • New rules under 2024’s Bill 20 require hand counts and a permanent electors register, which officials say contributed to multi-hour queues, Form 13 declarations and staffing shortfalls.
  • Municipalities reported higher costs and slower timelines, with official results due by noon Oct. 24; Elections Calgary estimates roughly $3.3 million in added hand-count staffing, bringing its budget near $12 million.