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The Vernon-Monashee race isn乌鸦传媒檛 over yet. It was one of the province乌鸦传媒檚 four ridings with an outcome too close to call after ballots were counted on election night Oct. 24.

The final count of the remaining mail-in ballots will determine whether BC Liberal candidate Eric Foster, vying his fourth term as MLA, will be upset by NDP candidate Harwinder Sandhu.

Sandhu followed Foster closely Saturday night as ballots were tallied and the final preliminary count keeps Foster ahead with a slim lead of only 180 votes.

乌鸦传媒淚 knew it was going to be a lot closer than the past,乌鸦传媒� Foster said from his campaign chair乌鸦传媒檚 home Saturday night.

乌鸦传媒淲hile it乌鸦传媒檚 too early to say, with the margins so close, whether I乌鸦传媒檒l be serving this riding once again 乌鸦传媒� I start this new day with gratitude,乌鸦传媒� Foster wrote in a post to social media.

The final count won乌鸦传媒檛 be available for another three weeks due to the record number of 525,000 ballots cast by mail in the COVID-19 pandemic.

乌鸦传媒淓very vote counts,乌鸦传媒� Sandhu told Black Press Media on Sunday afternoon. 乌鸦传媒淚 respect whatever the decision voters make in the end.乌鸦传媒�

Sandhu was watching the results come in from her home, accompanied by family, and she said as she was doing chores around the house, her phone started to ring off the hook with messages such as 乌鸦传媒済ood luck乌鸦传媒� and 乌鸦传媒測ou go, girl乌鸦传媒� from friends and relatives around the province.

She described the atmosphere as 乌鸦传媒渘ail-biting,乌鸦传媒� but the early provincial NDP declaration, only an hour after polls closed, came as no surprise.

乌鸦传媒淚 think the polls were suggesting the response we were getting from people,乌鸦传媒� she said of early numbers indicating an orange sweep. 乌鸦传媒淓ven here in town, it was just amazing. I乌鸦传媒檝e run a couple of campaigns and this time, the energy was so different and so positive.乌鸦传媒�

Premier John Horgan乌鸦传媒檚 handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NDP乌鸦传媒檚 fulfilment of promises, improvement in services, mental health initiatives and establishing the first-ever ministry of mental health were a few points Sandhu listed as reasons behind the party乌鸦传媒檚 success on election night.

乌鸦传媒淧eople were very satisfied the NDP had done so well in three years. But there乌鸦传媒檚 a lot more work to do.乌鸦传媒�

Despite hurdles along the campaign trail brought on by COVID-19 restrictions and vandals targeting her signs, Sandhu said she and her team of supporters and volunteers never heard anything negative.

Now, Foster and Sandhu must wait until the final ballots are totalled to determine the outcome.

Sandhu said she will be returning to work as a nurse at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital, which she said will keep her busy through the waiting game.

Foster and Sandhu both offered praise to their campaign teams, fellow candidates 乌鸦传媒� BC Greens Keli Westgate and Conservative Kyle Delfing 乌鸦传媒� as well as volunteers and voters who practised their democratic right.

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