Key Points
- A request for a recount in the NSW seat of Gilmore has been knocked back by the Australian Electoral Commission.
- Liberal candidate wrote a letter to the AEC asking for the recount
A request for a recount in the NSW seat of Gilmore has been knocked back by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).
Liberal candidate for the seat, Andrew Constance, wrote a letter to the commission asking for the recount, citing concerns about the scrutineering of informal votes.
"Given the close result, I believe there are strong grounds for a recount and I have submitted a request to the Australian electoral commissioner," Mr Constance said on Tuesday.
Mr Constance lost to Labor incumbent Fiona Phillips by just 373 votes.
The seat was set to be formally declared on Tuesday, but the declaration was postponed in light of the recount request.
However, on Wednesday the AEC said the request had been declined.
"The AEC has carefully considered and declined a request for a recount in the division of Gilmore," the commission said on Twitter.
"We'll be publishing an updated time for a declaration of this seat in due course."
Ms Phillips also announced the news on Twitter, saying the AEC had "advised me this morning that Andrew Constance's application for a recount in Gilmore has been denied".
An AEC spokesman said the request for a recount was carefully considered, with the counting process for Gilmore carried out in line with electoral laws.
The Liberals had a 2.44 per cent swing in the NSW south coast seat, which bucked the national trend, however, Mr Constance fell 0.2 per cent short.
A recount in the electorate would have automatically been triggered if there were fewer than 100 votes between first and second-placed candidates.
The final result in the House of Representatives is expected to be 77 seats for Labor, 58 for the Coalition, four Greens, 10 independents, one Katter's Australian Party MP and one Centre Alliance MP.
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