Phil Mauger will stay on as Christchurch mayor for a second term after a convincing victory in the local elections.
Mauger has won the mayoral race with a majority of almost 20,000, progress results show.
He received 54,644 votes. His nearest rival, Sara Templeton, received 34,726 votes.
The next highest polling mayoral candidate was Thomas Healey who received 1547 votes.
The 67-year-old will now lead the city for a second term, but with most councillors being re-elected he will once again lead a left-leaning council.
The votes counted so far do not include those submitted on Saturday or special votes. Preliminary votes will be released by Sunday afternoon, but will not include special votes. Final results will be known by Thursday.
Mauger has attempted to lead a positive campaign - the city is humming and he was keen to keep that momentum going.
However, Mauger’s team, including close ally Sam MacDonald, was accused of running an “attack-style” campaign against Templeton since she announced she was standing a year ago.
Coverage of results across the South Island will be published here throughout the day.
More to come
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