Wellington City Council has confirmed former mayor Justin Lester has been denied a vote recount.
Lester lost the election by 62 votes to Andy Foster.
In a decision released on Friday morning, Judge Kevin Kelly said there was no evidence to support a recount, except for the closeness of the race.
"The closeness of voting by itself [does not] amount to reasonable grounds for a belief that the declaration is incorrect," read the decision.
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"The application for a recount is therefore declined."
Lester told Newshub he fully respects the decision of the judge and he is looking forward to spending more time with his family.
"That will be a blessing for all of us," he said on Friday.
He is also working with startup companies and creating his own affordable housing charity alongside his wife.
Lester says he is proud of his achievements and wishes new Mayor Andy Foster the best of luck for his years in power.
"I'm really proud of the work we did over three years and I wish the new mayor and council all the very best," he told Newshub.
He acknowledged he was "a little surprised" at the ruling, saying recounts are always granted in other countries such as Australia and the US.
The report said although Lester had requested a manual recount of the votes, it was not as accurate as electronic counting.
The only benefit of a manual count was any mistakes could be identified and corrected.
Foster, whose campaign was bankrolled by filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson, said in October that the recount would not be "particularly helpful".
"Electoral officials would have taken a great deal of care. They will be massively embarrassed if there was a significant change."
Lester has been approached for comment.
Newshub
