| In a squeaker in Oak Ridges-Markham, Conservative candidate Paul Calandra, an insurance broker from Stouffville, appeared on the verge of defeating Liberal incumbent Lui Temelkovski but by just a handful of votes. With 350 of 364 polls reporting, Mr. Calandra had garnered 30,922 votes to Mr. Temelkovski’s 30,460 a difference of about 500 votes. The result caps off a see-saw battle that saw both camps enjoy a slim lead at different times during the night as results were reported. Well past midnight, neither candidate had surfaced at the location designated for their victory parties Mr. Temelkovski at the Macedonian Orthodox Church on Hwy. 48 in Markham or Mr. Calandra at the Boston Pizza in Stouffville. The results must still be validated and it is not clear if a recount will take place. It takes seven days to validate the results in any given riding. Under the Canada Elections Act, a recount must be made within four days of validation. A judge has four days to grant or deny a recount. If granted, the recount might take two or three days. There only is an automatic recount if the first- and second-place finishers are separated by less than 0.1 per cent of the total votes cast in their electoral district. In the case of Oak Ridges-Markham, Mr. Calandra beat the incumbent by 7/10ths of percentage point, 42.2 per cent of votes cast to Mr. Temelkovski’s 41.5. The sprawling riding takes in Whitchurch-Stouffville as well as parts of Markham, Richmond Hill and King. The NDP candidate, Andy Arifin, had about 9.4 per cent of the vote. The Green Party’s Richard Taylor garnered about 6.9. |
