ACT voters went to the polls on Saturday 18 October 2008.
Key features of the election include:
- The Labor Government led by Chief Minister Jon Stanhope seeking a third term in office;
- With the obvious exception of Labor, every candidate running in the election essentially campaigning against a majority Labor Government;
- Labor won an historic majority Government at the 2004 election despite a complex electoral system (multi-member electorates, Hare-Clarke, with Robson rotation) that generally favours minority governments;
- A rejuvenated Liberal Opposition with new Leader Zed Seselja;
- A Green Party with resources and organised candidates; and
- A raft of single issue anti-Government parties with advertising budgets.
The result of the election will see the return of minority Government in the ACT with the ACT Greens holding the balance of power.
With 86.6% of the vote counted (as at Monday 20 October):
- 6 confirmed Labor Party Members with the possibility of up to 8 members;
- 5 confirmed Liberal Party Members with the possibility of up to 7 members; and
- 1 confirmed Green with the possibility of up to 4 members.
It is anticipated that the counting will continue for at least a week and the final result will not be known until all preferences have been distributed. In a complex electoral system such as this, these preference flows can be interesting and can deliver surprising results. As for which Party is likely to form Government, negotiations between the three parties will begin this week. It could be two weeks or more before a Government is formed.
Other results of interest:
- Sitting Liberal members Jacquie Burke (Molonglo) and Steve Pratt (Brindabella) will not be returned and are likely to be replaced by new Liberal members;
- Sitting Labor Member Mick Gentleman (Brindabella) may not be returned and is likely to be replaced by Labor’s Joy Burch; and
- Labor’s vote fell by around 9% although this did not translate into Liberal votes with the Liberal vote falling by around 3.5%. The Greens and Independents vote increased.
To track the unfolding results of the ACT election see the ABC website.
