Corangamite hangs in the balance as neither Henderson nor Coker claims victory

CORANGAMITE candidates Libby Coker and Sarah Henderson are yet to claim or concede the seat following the federal election at the weekend.

Major media outlets called the seat, held by the Liberals and Sarah Henderson for the past six years, for Labor’s Libby Coker early on election night, but as the pre-poll votes were counted a clear trend in them towards Liberal incumbent Sarah Henderson emerged, meaning that supporters of both sides of politics left election night parties in Geelong without a clear winner.

Boundaries in Corangamite were redrawn following an Australian Electoral Commission review last year, making the seat notionally Labor’s or a razor-thin margin of .03 per cent.

With the counting of more than 14,000 postal votes on-going and the possibility of the margin narrowing to within 1,000 votes, it could be days until a result is finalised, particularly if a recount is requested.

Both candidates released statements thanking their supporters following Saturday’s poll.

“I want to start by thanking all my amazing volunteers who handed out for me on Saturday and at prepoll, and to everyone who knocked on doors and made phone calls,” Ms Coker said.

“I said at the beginning of this election campaign that I would fight for a fair go for the people of Corangamite.

“And I won’t give up fighting for a fair go. I will hold this Liberal government to account to ensure the promises they have made to our communities are honoured.”

Ms Henderson said she was proud of the work of the Morrison Government and of all the things they had achieved together.

“We are behind in Corangamite but there are more than 14,000 postal votes to count. I want to thank the people of Corangamite and I want to thank my supporters. We ran the best campaign possible and I am so grateful to all those who supported and campaigned for me. Family is so important to me and I thank my family for all their support. I couldn’t have done it without them.

“To the people of Corangamite, whatever happens, I am so proud of all of our achievements.”

The Australian Electoral Commission released a statement earlier in the week saying it was prioritising counting in the close seats of Bass (TAS), Chisolm (VIC), Macquarie (NSW) and others. It said postal vote counts were occurring in all 151 electoral divisions in addition to those prioritised activities.