The fate of the Victorian seat of Indi may not be known until the end of the week with electoral commission officials suggesting it could come down to postal votes.
For Liberal member Sophie Mirabella the delayed result at least gives her hope after the north-eastern Victorian electorate was "awarded" to her independent opponent Cathy McGowan by analysts during Saturday night's count.
Mrs Mirabella has a lead of almost 9000 over Ms McGowan on the primary vote in a seat that is one of only four across the country to remain undecided.
Because electoral commission figures only give two-party preferred figures in contests between the two major parties, a truer picture of the situation in Indi is not available.
For Mrs Mirabella the confusion over the seat she has held for 12 years failed to sour the coalition victory.
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In a speech to followers in Wangaratta on election night, she declared it a "great night to be a Liberal" and to be part of the team of prime minister-elect Tony Abbott.
"Yours is a powerful message for Australia's future, it's a special privilege to be part of your team," she said.
"On this wonderful night for the Liberal Party and Australia, we recommit ourselves to ensuring the people of Indi have a seat at the cabinet table in this new Abbott government."
Mrs Mirabella also had a gracious, if double-edged, message for an opponent who is expected to benefit greatly from preferences.
"As for my opponent, Cathy McGowan, I think in my heart she means well, but I know she's been used by Labor, who have supported her campaign with advertising, with people and with preferences," she said.
"In spite of the conduct of Labor and others, I want Cathy to know I wish her well - after all, once an election is over, that's what people of goodwill do."
A similar situation to that in Indi exists in the neighbouring electorate of Mallee, although a coalition victory is assured.
National Party member Andrew Broad seems certain to retain a seat in which he replaced long-serving member John Forrest who had made it the safest coalition seat in the country.
Mallee is also a seat in which tension between coalition partners blew up when the Liberals chose to field a candidate against Mr Broad.
On primary votes, Mr Broad has a lead of more than 9000 over the Liberals' Chris Crewther.
Again, two-party preferred figures aren't available but independent sources have Mr Broad well in front.
Anger over the Liberal presence in Mallee led the Nationals to throw their support behind the independent candidate in Indi.
