B.C. NDP hangs on to power, will form next government CBC projects

The British Columbia NDP appears to have fended off the Conservative surge by a razor-thin margin and will form the next provincial government, CBC News projects.

Whether the party forms a minority or majority government is still uncertain.

Currently, the NDP has been elected in 46 ridings and is leading in one, with the Conservatives elected in 43 and leading in one. The B.C. Greens have been elected in two ridings.

With 93 seats in the B.C. Legislature, a majority requires 47 seats.

The victory is a result of Monday's absentee and special ballot counts in the most competitive ridings.

Key to securing the win was NDP candidate Dana Lajeunesse in the riding of Juan de Fuca-Malahat, projected elected by CBC News with a lead of 123 votes over Conservative Marina Sapozhnikov.

A nail-biter in the riding of Surrey-Guildford that is still too close to call currently has NDP incumbent Garry Begg leading Conservative Honveer Singe Randhawa by 18 votes.

Should the NDP win that riding, it would give them enough seats to form a majority government.

More to come.