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Tory Whanau (Taranaki) is the new mayor of Wellington.
“This is the best day of my life, but it just doesn’t feel real. I keep having to pinch myself," Whanau has told Stuff.
"Just who would have thought I would actually be mayor of Wellington?”
A progress report released Saturday afternoon says Whanau has "convincingly won the Wellington mayoralty".
The former Green Party chief of staff beat sitting mayor Andy Foster who finished second, with Ray Chung in third and Labour MP for Rongotai Paul Eagle in fourth.
The progress result shows Whanau received 29,458 votes compared to Foster with 13,032 votes - a margin of 16,426 votes.
"The preliminary results are in, and I am incredibly humbled to confirm that I will be Wellington's next mayor," Whanau said in a statement.
On Twitter, she simply wrote "Thank you", alongside an image that read "Wellington We Did It!"
A final result will be available by 14 October.
In another notable result, Tania Tapsell has claimed victory as Rotorua's new mayor.