NDP's Amanda Lathlin wins The Pas byelection

Voters inThe Pas haveelected to keep their constituency coloured in NDP orange.

Amanda Lathlin won the byelectionTuesday evening for the NDPwith almost twice the number of votes of her nearest opponent, Progressive Conservative candidate JacobNasekapow.

Liberal candidate InezVystrcil-Spenceplaced third.

Voter turnout was only 22.1 per cent, which is the lowest everturnout for a byelection in the province, according to Election Manitoba.

Lathlin, who won the NDP nomination in a controversial coin-toss,is the daughter oflongtime NDP MLA and cabinet minister Oscar Lathlin, who died in 2008. He hadserved as MLA for The Pas for nearly 18 years.

• Some New Democrats in The Pas call coin-toss tiebreaker ludicrous

The constituency was most recently represented by NDP MLAFrank Whitehead, who stepped down in May 2014, citinghealth and family reasons.

The New Democratic Party hasheld the MLA seat for The Pas since 1969.

Despite theloss, Manitoba's Liberal Party is celebrating a bigger gain of the voting pie in the constituency, calling their 13 per cent share "a clear improvement over the 2.8 per cent result in 2011."

"We congratulate NDP candidate Amanda Lathlin on her success, and Conservative candidateJacob Nasekapow on a well-run race, and of course we are very grateful to have such a great Liberal candidate in Inez Vystrcil-Spence,"Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokharisaid in a press release issued after the results came in on Tuesday.

"Everyone who puts their name on a ballot deserves credit for taking part in our democratic system. I'm so proud of all the hard-work Inez has done to help us build a better Manitoba and a stronger Manitoba Liberal Party."