By Corey Everitt
Liz Roberts still has a comfortable lead in Henty Ward over incumbent councillor Carol Ryan as first preferences have been fully counted, but nothing is final until the count goes down the ballot.
The VEC has completed the full tally for first preferences in Henty Ward as of Wednesday 6 November.
Roberts leads with 36 percent of the votes at 2550 first preferences, behind is incumbent councillor Carol Ryan with 24 percent at 1735 votes.
Counting an extra 1132 votes in ‘Group B’, after the initial 6121 in ‘Group A’, Roberts’ share of the vote dropped slightly by one percentage point, while Ryan’s stayed the same.
The battle for the centre of Pakenham is the most contested ward this election with five candidates running.
The contest is now firmly between Roberts and Ryan, as Shoheli Sunjida stands with 15 percent of the vote, Victorian Socialists Candidate Stephanie Grigg and Cecilia Mphande are both on 11 percent.
Preferences will decide the winner, the VEC plans to calculate distribution on Friday 8 November.
Ranges, Toomuc, Officer and Westernport Wards are expected to have further results on Thursday 7 November, updates from the Gazette will follow.
