Weeks of counting before poll finalised
Prime minister-elect Tony Abbott may not know for weeks who he’ll have to deal with in the Senate.
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) spokesman Phil Diak says current assessments of who will become Senators after July 1 next year are based on a provisional quota.
But the final quota could only be set once all postal votes arrive, with the AEC setting September 20 as the deadline for their arrival.
“There won’t be any declaration of the Senate until into the following week after the postals deadline on September 20 or the week after that, depending on how it’s going in the larger states,” he told ABC radio.
Diak said that was no different to the 2010 federal election, when the biggest Senate count for NSW was not finalised until the fourth week after the election.
In the count for the House of Representatives, the AEC still classed six seats as close, with a one per cent difference between leading candidates.
Closest is Barton in NSW where there’s just 14 votes between Liberal Nick Varvaris and Labor’s Steve McMahon.
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Much attention has centred on the Victoria seat of Indi, where Liberal Sophie Mirabella is facing a strong challenge from independent Cathy McGowan, 764 ahead at close of counting on Tuesday night.
Diak said the AEC will consider some 2000 postal votes on Wednesday, as it did on Tuesday, when Ms Mirabella gained some 15 votes in every 100 counted. There could be as many as 10,000 postal votes altogether.
In the NSW seat of Eden-Monaro, Liberal Peter Hendy is 470 ahead of sitting Labor MP Mike Kelly.
Diak said there would be an automatic recount for any seat where’s there’s less than 100 votes between contenders after full distribution of preferences.
