After two weeks of waiting with bated breath for the fate of the province’s political future to be determined, the drama unfolded in slow motion this week.
After whipping through about 20,000 votes per riding in a matter of hours on election night, Elections BC kept us in suspense for three days as about 3,000 crucial absentee ballots were counted – perhaps by abacus – in the key riding of Courtenay-Comox.
In the end, the result was the same – only more so: a razor-thin margin separating winners and losers in key seats and in the popular vote overall. Less than one-tenth of one per cent now separates the Liberals’ share of the popular vote from that of the NDP.
The divide between the rural areas of the province and the urban Lower Mainland appears greater than ever. We are a house divided.
In many respects it’s a relief to see the end of the formal election process.
But this truly is the zombie election. Backroom negotiations between the parties and attempts to form government are expected to continue for some time.
The truth is: democracy is messy. Grappling with that is part of the process.
This election sends a strong message that voting counts. When ridings are decided by less than 100 votes, and the fate of the government hangs on that, all votes are important.
Equally important are the 40 per cent of eligible voters who couldn’t be bothered. How might the outcome have been different if just a few more of those people had made it to the ballot box?
That’s a question both the Liberals and New Democrats are surely asking themselves now as well.
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