Thu Parmar is now the councillor for Ward sipiwiyiniwak after coming in second by six votes before a recount was called Wednesday morning. As election results trickled in Monday night through Tuesday, Better Edmonton’s Darrell Friesen was in the lead by just six votes, prompting a recount. A statement from Edmonton Elections said a recount was called for the ward due to a “potential administrative or technical error.” “Both the recount and ballot accounting processes confirmed a human error in the recording of counted votes,” said the statement. The unofficial results show that Parmar beat Friesen by 627 votes. Parmar, born in Thailand, has lived in Edmonton since the 80s and worked as a bookkeeper and pharmacist, running her own small pharmacy relief business, according to her website. The ward, which consists of a portion of west and southwest Edmonton, did not have an incumbent candidate. Ballots are being counted by hand this year because the Alberta government prohibited municipalities from using machines in an effort to raise trust in election integrity. Edmonton Elections will release the official statement of results at noon on Friday.
