Listen Now: 
Electoral Commission staff will this morning start recounting the votes cast in Tāmaki Makaurau and Mount Albert, under the eyes of district court judges.
Labour’s Peeni Henare hopes to claw back the lead in the Auckland Māori seat after four special votes delivered it to Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Tarsh Kemp, while National’s Melissa Lee is looking to edge past Helen White, who is clinging onto Labour’s Mt Albert stronghold by just 20 votes.
A recount of Nelson last week confirmed Rachel Boyack the winner by 26 votes, three fewer than the 29 which flipped the seat back to her after an election night loss to National’s Blair Cameron.
In a statement, Ms Boyack said she was looking forward to getting back to Parliament and working alongside colleagues under Chris Hipkins’ leadership to hold the new government to account.
Chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne says recounts generally take up to three days but for larger electorates, such as Tāmaki Makaurau, they could take as long as eight days.
As well as recounting the votes, officials will take a closer look at disallowed votes, including whether the person was on the roll and in the right electorate, and whether the mark on the paper shows the voter’s true intent.
