Independent Clare Glade-Wright has won the Huon seat in Tasmania’s Legislative Council, overturning a first-preference deficit to defeat fellow independent Dean Harriss after preferences.
The Tasmanian Electoral Commission declared Glade-Wright elected on Thursday evening, following the provisional distribution of preferences.
Harriss led the primary count with 7,094 votes or 30.84% of formal ballots. Glade-Wright trailed on 6,319 votes or 27.47%.
But preferences flowed strongly to Glade-Wright as the lower-polling candidates were excluded.
She finished with 11,959 votes to Harriss’s 10,820, a final margin of 52.50% to 47.50%.
Labor’s Abby McKibben polled 16.66%, while Greens candidate Paul Gibson received 15.02%.
Independents Michael Rowan and Tyler Petersen rounded out the field.
Turnout reached 84.08% of the 28,631 enrolled voters, with 23,006 formal votes counted across the division.
The electoral commission said the remaining postal votes would not change the outcome.
“The number of postal votes still to be received is not sufficient to affect the final outcome,” the commission said in a statement.
Final figures are expected on May 12 after the deadline for the return of postal ballot packs.
