Ontario election: PC’s Gila Martow declared winner in Thornhill after ‘data entry error’

TORONTO-Thornhill PC incumbent Gila Martow has been declared the winner in Thursday’s provincial election after Elections Ontario discovered a data entry error on Friday.

The unofficial results on the Elections Ontario website had named Liberal candidate Sandra Yeung Racco as the winner of Thornhill riding by just 85 votes.

Elections Ontario said in a statement the difference in results can be attributed to  “transpositions and other minor clerical errors.”

READ MORE: Ontario election 2014, the winners and losers

The official tabulation takes place after the polls close during an election, and requires the returning officer to review reports from all of the election officials who have counted ballots.

Elections Ontario says representatives from both the Ontario Liberal Party candidate and the PC Party of Ontario were present during the tabulation.

“My campaign manager was with Liberal manager late in day at Elections ON — told officially of error in recording,” Martow tweeted Friday.

On elections night, Yeung Racco led Martow 21,837 to 21,752.

Yeung Racco says she will be requesting a judicial recount.

“The voters of Thornhill deserve to know that their votes counted and their will is reflected in the result,” she said in a statement released on Saturday.

The election results now have Ontario’s Liberals with 58 seats compared to 28 for the Tories.

READ MORE: Fear of Hudak, disillusionment with Horwath key to Wynne’s win

The Tories have now won five GTA ridings, but failed to topple the Liberals who were elected to a majority government Thursday.

The stunning results forced PC leader Tim Hudak to step down, and left many popular Conservatives like Doug Holyday without a seat.

Full results from the 2014 Ontario provincial election