Abbotsford News reporter Vikki Hopes is at the camp of Mike de Jong on Election Night (April 28), where the independent candidate and supporters are watching results come in at Gian's Banquet Hall in Abbotsford. Watch this story for live updates through the evening.
9:25 p.m.:
De Jong has spoken to his supporters, conceding his loss and saying he is disappointed in the results, but they "reflect the will of the people, and the people are always right." Results as of 9:30 p.m. show Gill with 12,382 votes, Gillies with 8,891 and de Jong with 5,226.
9:05 p.m.
De Jong has arrived. Stay tuned.
9 p.m.:
150 polls reporting: Gill with 9,743 votes, Gillies with 6,755 and de Jong with 4,041.
8:51 p.m.
Longtime former MLA John van Dongen, who was among the current and former politicians who endorsed de Jong, has arrived at Gian's Banquet Hall. We're told that de Jong will arrive in about 10 minutes and will address the crowd.
8:50 p.m.
More than half the polls (120) are now reporting: Gill with 7,659 votes, Gillies with 5,515 and de Jong with 3,332.
8:40 p.m.
A total of 100 polls are reporting, with the following votes: 6,319 for Gill, 4,564 for Gillies and 2,698 for de Jong.
8:30 p.m.
The gap is widening. With 65 out of 215 polls reporting, Gill retains the lead with 3,846 votes, while Gillies trails with 2,892 and de Jong with 1,801. Gill, who works on his family's blueberry farm in 91原创, was criticized heavily during the campaign for not participating in candidate debates, not doing media interviews and deleting his social media accounts.
8:12 p.m.:
The numbers are changing quickly. Gill is now in the lead with 1,253 votes, followed by Gillies with 1,043 and de Jong with 724. Also in the running are Melissa Snazell with the Green Party, Dharmasena Yakandawela with the NDP and Aeriol Alderking with the People's Party of Canada.
8:05 p.m.:
Early results show the Liberals' Kevin Gillies in the lead with 400 votes, followed by Conservative Sukhman Gill with 330 and de Jong with 270.
8:00 p.m.:
A few more people have filtered in and are enjoying the buffet of Indian cuisine, as they wait for voting results to start rolling in. There's no word yet of when de Jong will arrive.
7:30 p.m.:
Media have started to gather at Gian's Banquet Hall, but the site is still pretty quiet. This riding is a hot spot for news coverage, with the former longtime MLA 鈥� he served 30 years under BC United (formerly the Liberals) 鈥� having stepped away from provincial politics a year ago in hopes of garnering the federal Conservative nomination. After the federal Conservatives denied his nomination application just days before the vote, de Jong chose to run as an independent.
Keep watching for news on the other candidates in Abbotsford-South 91原创, as well as in the riding of Mission-Matsqui Abbotsford.
