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Northern Territory election: vote-counting continues as Labor edges closer to majority Northern Territory election: Labor secures majority government as counting continues
(about 16 hours later)
Chief minister Michael Gunner ‘very confident’ Labor will form government as battle comes down to handful of key seats ABC election analyst Antony Green on Monday afternoon said Labor had secured at least 13 seats in the 25-seat assembly
Vote counting is set to resume in the knife-edge Northern Territory election, with incumbent Labor edging closer to a majority. Labor has retained majority government in the Northern Territory with the latest count confirming the party will hold at least 13 seats in the 25-member parliament.
The three-way race, which includes the County Liberal party and newcomers Territory Alliance, is the first major political test of the Covid-19 pandemic. The most recent figures from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission showed Labor ahead in 16 seats, with the Country Liberal party leading in six, independents in two and the Territory Alliance in one.
The chief minister, Michael Gunner, told supporters he was “very confident Labor would form the next government” following Saturday’s poll. A formal declaration of the poll is not scheduled until September 7 as postal votes are still coming in.
The battle is coming down to a handful of key seats including Arnhem, Barkly, Brennan, Braitling, Daly, Katherine and Namatjira. Counting in the crucial seat of Fong Lim swung Labor’s way on Monday afternoon, with candidate Mark Monaghan ahead of his CLP rival Kylie Bonanni by 137 votes.
Labor was ahead on primary votes in Arnhem and Katherine on Sunday but the two-party-preferred count had to be checked after the wrong candidates’ names were used. The seat of Namatjira also dropped out of the CLP’s column, with Labor’s Sheralee Taylor leading Bill Yan by 20 votes on a two-candidate preferred basis.
The party was also ahead of the Country Liberal party in Barkly by 102 two-party preferred when vote counting ended for the day. Labor senator Don Farrell, a factional colleague of NT chief minister Michael Gunner, told the Senate on Monday the results were positive.
The race is tighter in Daly and Namatjira, where the CLP led Labor by seven and 25 votes respectively on a two-party-preferred basis. “It does appear sometime today or tomorrow we will find (Gunner) has been returned with majority government in the Northern Territory and continue the terrific work he is doing, particularly in the circumstance of the pandemic,” Farrell said.
On Saturday night, Labor secured 38.9% of the primary vote to the CLP’s 31.8%. ABC election analyst Antony Green on Monday afternoon said Labor had secured 13 seats and could “potentially” win two more.
Gunner’s team was on track to take at least 12 seats in the 25-seat assembly but on Sunday, two seats swung back to the CLP. Labor was ahead in Arafura, Arnhem, Barkly, Blain, Casuarina, Drysdale, Fannie Bay, Fong Lim, Johnston, Karama, Gwoja, Namatjira, Nightcliff, Port Darwin, Sanderson and Wanguri.
Despite this, Labor scrutineers expect 13 seats will be secured, delivering a majority. Labor won 18 seats in the 2016 poll. The CLP appeared on track to win Braitling, Brennan, Daly, Katherine, Nelson and Spillett.
A formal declaration of the poll is not scheduled until 7 September, three days after postal votes close. Independents will hold Mulka and Goyder while the Territory Alliance is set to take Araluen.
Counting continues on Monday, with recounts of the two-party-preferred ballots for Arnhem, Blain, Fong Lim, Johnston and Katherine. The alliance leader, Terry Mills, was the biggest casualty of election night, losing his seat of Blain.