A recount to find Tasmania’s newest member of parliament, following the resignation of the former member for Clark, has officially begun.
Elise Archer left the Liberal Party and her ministerial positions at the start of the month amidst allegations of bullying and the release of leaked text messages in which she said she was ‘sick of victim survivors’.
12 candidates who ran in the 2021 state election for Clark have now thrown their hats into the ring for the recount, with current Hobart City Council alderman Simon Behrakis, who ran for the Liberal Party, expected to claim the position.
Tasmanian Electoral Commissioner Andrew Hawkey said nominations for the recount closed at noon on Monday.
“All of Elise Archer’s ballot papers (10,626) will now be thrown to the consenting candidates as part of the recount,” Hawkey said.
“The candidate who receives a majority of the votes from these ballot papers will be elected as the new member for Clark.”
UPDATE 4PM: Simon Behrakis is leading the Clark recount with 41.4% of votes, followed by Will Coats at 25.6% and Harvey Lennon at 23.0%.
According to Electoral Commissioner Andrew Hawkey, the remaining 9 contesting candidates “each have less than 5% of the vote” and he does not expect an outcome on Monday night.
Jax Ewin has been excluded from the vote, marking the first of what is likely to be 10 exclusions required in this recount.
FULL LIST OF CANDIDATES:
- Tasmanian Greens – Bec Taylor
- Australian Labor Party – Deb Carnes, Simon Davis, Sam Mitchell
- Animal Justice Party – Tim Westcott
- Shooters, Fishers, Farmers TAS – Lorraine Bennett
- Group G – Sue Hickey
- Liberal Party – Simon Behrakis, Will Coates, Harvey Lennon
- Ungrouped – Mike Dutta, Jax Ewin
Party affiliations and candidate names are as at May 2021.
