Within hours of the polls closing, the result of Federal elections are usually known. Enough seats are decided by big majorities to give the required numbers, but there always seems to be a few seats that will go down to the wire - and a decision may take days - and in some cases - weeks !
Such is the case in the Federal seat of Fairfax. The two leading contenders are Clive Palmer of the Palmer United Party and Ted O'Brien of the Liberal National Party. Sixteen days later and it seems that Palmer is leading - by just thirty-six votes.
The count has been vigorously watched by scrutineers from both parties. Every voting paper is carefully examined for irregularities and the count is watched over by officers of the Australian Electoral Commission ( AEC ) as the lead changes hands from time to time. At no stage was the difference more than a mere handfull of votes in a tally from about 85,000 voters.
A final result of less than a hundred votes triggers an automatic recount, but in a close election the distribution of some category of preference votes remain to be distributed. The winner of this seat is still to be decided - and the final decision is yet days away.
When the AEC declares a winner, that will still not be the end of the matter. It is probable that the result will be subjected to court action and it may well drag on by way of countless appeals because both sides have ample funds to follow that course of action.
In this case, the fate of the seat of Fairfax has no impact on the final decision of who won government. Had it been the case in the last election - which delivered a hung parliament - the nation would have been on a knife edge for days following this crucial count.
It is said that the wheels of justice grind slowly. They also grind with certainty and precision. When a final result is declared in Fairfax we can be certain that every " i " will be dotted and every " t " crossed to ensure that the decision is what the voters intended.
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