By-elections in Wentworth: Kerryn Phelps still top of the Wentworth rankings, mail-in votes are counted and the stands are told

Update

October 21, 2018 17:23:03

Antony Green, an analyst at ABC, said independent candidate Kerryn Phelps was still about to win the Wentworth by-election among the Liberals, despite narrowing her margin earlier today, while the counting of the votes continued.

Dr. Phelps won Saturday night as Liberal candidate Dave Sharma lost about 19% of his momentum.

She saw her margin reduced to less than 900 votes Sunday, while postal ballots were counted and that after four major pre-election ballots with 18,000 votes, released near midnight.

But this margin then increased, the recounts taking place in the stands of Bondi Beach, Bellevue Hill and Vaucluse.

"Kerryn Phelps is ahead and she is probably just early enough to survive the trend of additional postal votes," said Green.

At 5 pm, AEDT, the ABC's election count showed that Dr. Phelps had a lead of over 1,700 votes after preferences.

But Green warned that the official final result might not be known for days.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg both said that "angry Wentworth voters" were "punishing" the Liberal Party for demolishing Malcolm Turnbull, who held this position until he be sacked from his position as Prime Minister.

But this morning, Mr. Morrison said that, while it was clear that there was a significant move against the government, he was recovering "more and more".

"We will just wait for this democratic, robust and credible, normal process to take its course," Morrison said.

"There's only a little over 800 votes left and it's as close as 100, an automatic recount is triggered according to the usual rules, I'm not saying it will lead to that."

Union wavers for early vote

Previously, Dr. Phelps had cracked down on Labor's call to call early general elections, saying the coalition should fulfill its full mandate unless "exceptional circumstances."

Tony Burke, Labor's Opposition Affairs Officer, said the coalition had told voters that an independent victory in Wentworth would bring more uncertainty to Canberra.

"Now, if it is [Mr Morrison’s] This means that he has spent his entire campaign saying that if we got the result last night, it would create instability in people's lives and in the economy, "Burke told Insiders.

"I do not see how he could argue that and not say afterwards that we must have elections."

Losing the majority in the House of Representatives does not necessarily mean the end of the government, but the opposition will test Mr. Morrison's control of the House.

If Dr. Phelps claims siege, the opposition will still need an absolute majority of 76 votes for the government's program to be defeated in the House – meaning that a member of this government would still need to change the word.

Dr. Phelps did not commit to voting with the government on motions of censure, stating that she should consider every vote on the merits.

"All governments should have a full mandate, barring exceptional circumstances, and the next elections will be held next May, which is enough," said Dr. Phelps.

"Last week we saw people voting on motions they had not read and understood and who did not understand, that's not how I work.

"I need proofs, I need to see a complete brief, I need to know what I'm voting on, and talk about voting in one way or another." another on a hypothetical motion in the future would be carefree. "

"We have to pull ourselves to the chin"

Liberal treasurer and deputy leader Josh Frydenberg said the result of the by-election was "deeply disappointing" and that the Liberal Party should "stick to the chin".

Frydenberg said the party was "absolutely" punished for dismantling Malcolm Turnbull's post as prime minister, and that the party was already seeking assurances from base MPs.

"We will not find ourselves in a chaotic situation, we will find ourselves in a new world without a clear majority," Frydenberg told Sky.

"That being said, history shows that governments without a clear majority can run for several years."

The treasurer stated that he did not believe that the result of the Wentworth by-election would have an influence on the general election calendar, which must take place before May of next year.

"Bill Shorten finds no comfort in last night's result, he could not even show up at Wentworth, which shows his point of view in Canberra," he told Sky.

Topics:

Government and politics,

federal government,

elections,

Liberals

alp,

political parties,

Australia,

nsw,

Sydney-2000

First posted

October 21, 2018 11:10:55