Conservative candidate Katy Bourne looks to be on course to be re-elected as the police and crime commissioner (PCC) for Sussex.
If so, it would be the third time that Mrs Bourne has topped the poll, having held the post since it started in 2012.
Her main challenge so far has come from Labour and Co-operative Party candidate Paul Richards, who topped the poll in Brighton and Hove.
Mr Richards polled almost 1,000 more votes than Mrs Bourne in Brighton and Hove, with the Green candidate Kahina Bouhassane coming a close third.
Because Mrs Bourne does not have a majority of first preference votes, more than 150,000 second preference votes will be counted for her and second-placed Mr Richards. The other three candidates have been eliminated from the poll.
The number of first preference votes cast across Sussex was …
- Conservative 214,523 (47.25 per cent)
- Labour 84,736
- Lib Dem 63,271
- Green 60,781
- Independent 30,408
…
The number of ballots rejected was 10,782.
The number of first preference votes cast in Brighton and Hove was …
- Paul Adrian Richards (Labour) 17,513
- Katy Elizabeth Bourne (Conservative) 16,515
- Kahina Suzanna Bouhassane (Green) 16,466
- Roy Thomas Williams (Independent) 2,796
- Jamie Frank Bennett (Liberal Democrat) 2,693
…
The total number of votes cast in Brighton and Hove was 56,808, with 829 ballots rejected.
The rules for the election are that if no candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the first choice votes, all except the top two candidates are eliminated.
If a voter’s first choice candidate is eliminated and their second choice votes is for one of the top two candidates, their second choice vote is counted.
