Three days post-election, numerous key electoral seats across Australia remain undecided, with several too close to call. Among these, the seat of Melbourne, currently held by Greens leader Adam Bandt, faces a particularly tight race. Reporting at 5pm AEST indicated that 13 seats were still in contention, with the counting process expected to extend into the following week.
In the Australian Capital Territory’s previously secure seat for Labor, incumbent David Smith holds a slim lead of just over 700 votes against independent Jessie Price, with more than 85% of votes accounted. Meanwhile, Labor’s Lisa Chesters is clinging to her position against Nationals candidate Andrew Lethlean by a mere 152 votes in Bendigo, while in Sydney’s Bradfield, Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian and independent Nicolette Boele are separated by a mere 51 votes.
In Western Australia, the newly established seat of Bullwinkel sees Labor’s Trish Cook trailing behind Liberal candidate Matt Moran by just 48 votes. Additionally, in the traditionally Labor-strong seat of Fremantle, MP Josh Wilson is just ahead of independent candidate Kate Hulett by about 300 votes.
Independent Zoe Daniel, who celebrated early victory, now finds herself behind Liberal opponent Tim Wilson in Goldstein, where fewer than 1,000 votes separate them and a significant portion of the vote remains uncounted. Similarly, in the inner-east seat of Kooyong, independent MP Monique Ryan has a lead of around 1,000 votes over Liberal contender Amelia Hamer.
In Longman, Liberal MP Terry Young leads Labor’s Rhiannyn Douglas by just over 400 votes, and Bandt’s own seat reflects a significant voter swing against him, as he currently trails in the two-party preferred count. In Melbourne’s Menzies, Liberal MP Keith Wolahan has fallen behind by over 1,300 votes due to an Australian Electoral Commission error that prompted a recount.
The contest in the rural seat of Monash has become complicated, with four candidates securing more than 10% of the primary vote, yet an official preference count is still pending. This seat has been under Liberal control since 2004.
With the election results hanging in the balance, all eyes are on these key constituencies as counting continues and the political landscape potentially shifts in the wake of the recent elections.