Rob Scott relieved to be back as mayor

Southland District Mayor Rob Scott says a weight has been lifted off after securing a second term in the top job.

Progress results show Scott has won the district mayoralty by a comfortable margin with 4726 votes separating him from closest opponent, Gary Tong.

It is a far cry from the tense 2022 race which saw three candidates separated by just 45 votes.

"Very relieved, very humbled and I’m going to sleep a lot easier tonight than I did last night," Mr Scott said.

"It’s been a stressful few weeks. A number of people I’ve talked to have sort of felt the same thing, so I don’t know what the difference is.

"Maybe this time, because I’ve got something to lose. Whereas last time I kind of had nothing to lose."

Mr Scott said it had been difficult to try to do the job while applying to retain it, but the result was rewarding.

He was spending the afternoon in Winton with friends, family and other councillors.

"It’s good to be able to carry on with the work."

The council's progress results account for about 85% of total votes, but around 510 papers are yet to be counted, as well as special votes.

All incumbent councillors who sought re-election would return if progress results held and new councillors Michael Weusten, Brian Somerville and Phil Dobson would join.

The council said its preliminary results would be announced tomorrow, with the final result coming later in the week.

Four councillors were elected unopposed due to the makeup of the council's ward structure: Sarah Greaney, Tom O’Brien, Matt Wilson and Jon Spraggon.

• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air