OFFICIAL COUNTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 October 1938, Page 5

OFFICIAL COUNTS

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION CONTESTS SEVERAL SEATS IN DOUBT. ABSENTEE & POSTAL VOTES. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. It is expected that the first of the declarations of the official counts for Parliamentary contests will be made at the end of the week. These counts will be carried out by returning officers as soon as the scrutiny of the rolls, which is now proceeding, is completed. The absentee and postal votes for several electorates exceed the majorities obtained by the leading candidates after Saturday night’s preliminary count, and until these outstanding votes are taken into account and the official count completed the results for those constituencies' are in doubt. Three electorates in which these outstanding votes may have an important influence on the ultimate result' are Riccarton, Mid-Canterbury and Waitaki. There are other electorates where outstanding votes outnumber majorities, but in these leading candidates have the advantage of larger majorities than in the case of the three doubtful Canterbury seats. In the Riccarton electorate, where the preliminary figures give the Labour candidate, Mr T. H. Langford, a lead of 38 votes over Mr H. S. S. Kyle (National), there are several hundred absentee votes to come. Mr A. N. Grigg (National) is 48 votes ahead of Mr HE. Herring (Labour) in Mid-Canter-bury, but there are 533 absentee votes and 228 postal votes, a total of 761 votes, yet to be taken into account. In Waitaki Mr D. C. Kidd (National) has an advantage of 62 votes over Mr D. Barnes (Labour), but there are 650 outstanding votes —472 absentee votes, 177 postal votes, and one seamen’s vote. There is little likelihood of the position being altered in three other electorates, including Masterton, where the leading candidates have majorities of well over 100. In Masterton Mr J. Robertson (Labour) has a lead of 167 votes over Mr J. H. Irving (National), with 755 absentee votes yet to be allocated. In Bay of Islands Mr C. W. Boswell (Labour) has a lead of 191 votes over Mr H. F. Guy (National), with 645 absentee votes to come. Mr A. G. Hultquist has a majority of 160 over Mr W. Sullivan (National) in Bay of Plenty with 502 absentee votes yet to be taken into account.