Another election error could have hit results in Swanmore and Newtown where the new leader of Winchester City Council was returned with a slim 33-vote majority.
A polling station at Rookesbury Hall, at Newtown, was forced to close for 35 minutes at 7pm last Thursday because staff ran out of ballot papers, sparking fears that the outcome of the election would be hit.
Ballot papers were hastily borrowed from another polling station but more than 20 voters were turned away. Swanmore and Newtown was the last ward to declare its result and, after a recount, returned two councillors, the new Liberal Democrat leader, Sheila Campbell, and Conservative, Frank Pearson.
Mr Pearson polled just 58 votes more than his closest rival, Lib Dem Sally Bradby.
But returning officer and city council chief executive, David Cowan, said he was satisfied the temporary closure of the polling station had not effected the results. "The fact that an administrative error was made is of course regrettable," he said. "We cannot be completely sure how the situation arose but we are looking at our processes to make sure this won't happen in the future."
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