The clichés are working overtime as Coquitlam-Maillardville Liberal MLA-elect Steve Kim and NDP candidate Selina Robinson wait with bated breath for May 29, when the final provincial election results will be revealed.
The big one? "It's never over until it's over."
Current Elections BC numbers show Kim squeaked past Robinson, taking 9,044 votes, or 45.98% of the vote, just 105 votes and 0.54% ahead of Robinson, who had 8,939 votes. (Green Party candidate Edward Stanbrough picked up 1,687 votes, or 8.58%.)
"I really didn't think it would be this close," said Robinson as the final results trickled in on Tuesday evening. "What it says is that Maillardville continues to be a very divided political community."
Robinson, who was gathered with family, friends and supporters at the Centennial Pavilion in Coquitlam on election night, exuded the poise of a seasoned politician. The current Coquitlam city councillor said, regardless of the outcome, she looks forward to supporting the community - on either a municipal or provincial level.
Meanwhile, Kim took a personal day Wednesday to absorb the results. Speaking from his home, Kim was cautiously optimistic, telling The Tri-City News: "It's never over until it's over.
"It was great to see the result, yesterday," said Kim. "At the same time it's very close to call."
Kim, who considered himself an underdog in the Coquitlam-Maillardville race, said he was humbled by the experience. "I can't say enough about the supporters and the team that I have," he said.
When asked about Green Party candidate Edward Stanbrough, who was missing in action during the election campaign, Kim said he commends anyone who throws their hat in the political ring and is curious to know what happened to Stanbrough.
"I'm sure a lot more of the community would have liked to have heard more from him," he said.
Now the waiting game begins, with the Robinson campaign not ready to concede until all absentee ballots are tabulated to see if the contest goes to a judicial recount.
"We're in it for the next two weeks, I'm sorry, Selina," said Robinson's campaign manager, Tania Jarzebiak, Tuesday night.
According to Elections BC, a judicial recount is merited if the difference between the top two candidates - after the final count - is less than 1/500 of the total eligible ballots. Kim or Robinson would then have six days to file for a judicial recount.
In the 2009 B.C. election, absentee ballots accounted for 5.11% of all votes cast in the province.
