I don't dare predict who will win the Dunedin mayoralty contest.
Indeed, I was asked the question yesterday as I grabbed a morning coffee from a cafe, and failed to answer it.
I will hazard a guess significant work will be required from the STV calculator before a result is arrived at.
■ It’s a fair bet that when the date of October 8 was chosen as election day, one contingency not seriously considered was what might happen if snow disrupted things that week.
Dunedin voting papers made it through to Christchurch for counting despite Thursday’s snow, we have been assured.
There was also no need to extend the voting period.
Turnout figures suggest there was a bounce in voting in Dunedin by Thursday night.
We can infer people either got their ballots in just before the cold snap was at its most vigorous or that they relished delivering their votes during a freezing-cold excursion.
As of Thursday night, more than 37,000 Dunedin votes had come in.
This equated to a turnout at 39.1% at this point, which was slightly up on the turnouts at the equivalent times from 2019, 2016 and 2013.
The final turnout in 2019 was 45.6%.
■ Dunedin mayoralty candidate Richard Seager has worked out when he saw the show Fiddler on the Roof.
Mr Seager said it was not the 2003 production that featured a man who went on to become mayor, Aaron Hawkins.
The show Mr Seager saw was in 2018 and it was a school production, he said.
The subject came up at a performing arts forum last month, when candidates were asked about performances they had witnessed lately.
■ A reminder that the deadline for voting is noon today.
Preliminary results for election races across the South will be on the Otago Daily Times website today.
