Giesbrecht takes early lead

UPDATE 8:21 p.m.

Dennis Giesbrecht is off to a very early lead with 45.3 per cent of the votes counted so far.

NDP incumbent Harwinder Sandhu is following close behind with 37.8 per cent, and Independent Kevin Acton is showing 16 per cent.

Libertarian Robert Johnson is showing 0.9 per cent.

It's just 20 minutes after the polls have closed, and six of 26 ballot boxes are being counted right now.

UPDATE 8 p.m.

Polls are now closed across the province and results are expected to come in quick with electronic tabulation.

Elections BC has said the goal is to have 50 per cent of results within half an hour of polls closing at 8 p.m. and the majority within the hour.

Vernon-Lumby candidates are now awaiting results alongside voters.

Ahead of the polls closing, at about 4 p.m., Independent candidate Kevin Acton said he was feeling good win or lose, and BC Conservatives candidate Dennis Giesbrecht said he was feeling confident.

At about 7 p.m., NDP incumbent Harwinder Sandhu let Castanet know she was hoping to get the opportunity to serve the community once again.

-with files from Times Colonist

ORIGINAL 5:29 p.m.

Polls close at 8 p.m. across the province and in Vernon-Lumby four candidates are vying for seat in the provincial government.

NDP candidate Harwinder Sandhu has been the MLA in the area since 2020 when she narrowly beat out then-incumbent BC Liberal Eric Foster by just 424 votes. Sandhu was unavailable for comment ahead of the polls closing, Saturday afternoon.

Hoping to unseat Sandhu in this election is long-time mayor of Lumby Kevin Acton who entered the race as a BC United candidate and decided to run as an independent when the party suspended its campaign at the end of August.

Ahead of the polls closing, Acton likened the race to “riding a rollercoaster without a seatbelt – you're up and down, and there's just so little control as a candidate.”

“I really want people to vote for who they believe in and not just the rhetoric that's out there,” said Acton.

“But I'm feeling good, win or lose. My team has been absolutely incredible. I think for an independent candidate's team we raised a lot of money, we put just as much effort – if not more – into the campaign than the other teams.”

Another candidate vying for the MLA job is BC Conservative Dennis Giesbrecht who said he is feeling confident as people finish casting their ballots. Giesbrecht spoke with Castanet Vernon just after 4 p.m. Saturday.

Giesbrecht said the campaign went “really well. The volunteer turnout was amazing. We've been ahead of schedule on our Get out the Vote program. I'm feeling pretty good.”

Polls leading up to election day showed the ruling NDP party neck and neck with the provincial Conservatives, a far cry from even a year ago when the Conservatives were languishing far behind the NDP and then BC Liberal party.

“People are fed up. They see what is going on in streets and they see things that are not working,” Giesbrecht said rise of the provincial party.

BC Libertarian candidate Robert Johnson is also running for the seat.

Polls close at 8 p.m. and with the new electronic ballot counting system in place, full results are expected to be known by 9 p.m.

This story will be updated throughout the evening as results roll in.