The Greens have snatched a fourth seat as vote counting ended for last weekend’s ACT election, surprising even themselves.
The final results from the election have been posted, with Greens’ candidate Caroline Le Couteur winning a seat from the Liberals on preferences.
Le Couteur, who kept a low profile during the campaign and was not expected to win a seat, has won the final seat in the Molonglo electorate. The ACT has multi-member seats.
The final make-up of the territory’s 17-member Assembly is 7 Labor, 6 Liberals and 4 Greens.
It’s a surprise result for the Greens, who went into the election with just one MLA and were expecting to win a total of two or three seats.
The Greens will now decide whether to form government with Labor or the Liberals.
Winning the fourth seat gives them more weight in the ACT Legislative Assembly and makes it more likely they will hold one – or even two – ministries.
The Greens last week discussed with both major parties the possibility of forming government in talks which are set to continue this week.
The final result from the election is bad news for both Labor – who previously held an outright majority under Chief Minister Jon Stanhope – and the Liberals, who have dropped one seat.
AAP
