- Elizabeth Lee admits defeat despite initial swing in her favor
- Andrew Barr’s Labor Party returned for a historic seventh term in the ACT
The Liberals have conceded defeat in the ACT despite early polls suggesting they could finally end it. 23 years of Labor dominance in the country’s capital.
With just over half the votes counted early on Saturday night, the Liberals were leading the incumbent Labor Party after a surprising show of support.
But as the night’s (and vote’s) counting progressed, it soon became clear that Labor would likely survive a swing against the party and return for a seventh term.
And by 9.30pm it was all over, with Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee admitting defeat and telling her colleagues they knew they had “quite an uphill battle to climb”.
‘Today the people of the Australian Capital Territory have spoken. “They have voted for change, but maybe not enough to get there,” he said.
Ms Lee congratulated the Labor Party and its leader Andrew Barr, saying “no matter how you split it, 27 years… is an incredible feat”.
He said he thought the result showed the territory had missed the chance for a new start after almost three decades under the same party, but said it had made Labor work.
ACT Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee is proud of her colleagues’ efforts despite admitting defeat in her battle to end Labour’s long reign in the ACT on Saturday.
Early accusations suggested the Liberals were doing well in the polls, but by 9:30 p.m., it was all over.
“I truly believe we are the best team. And I truly believe… we have what it takes to deliver a much-needed ACT update,” he said.
“I think we can be proud of our efforts, because we really took it to Labor and closed the gap between the Labor and Liberal vote.”
Labor and Liberal candidates had been fighting to increase their share of the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
Looking at the votes that have already been counted, political experts predicted there would likely be 10 seats for the Liberals, 10 for Labor, three for the Greens and two for the independents.
Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Andrew Barr will continue to lead the territory.
Ms Lee conceded defeat after calling out current ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, who has led the territory for the past ten years.
He has cemented his place as the country’s longest-serving state or territory leader.
Both Barr and Lee were re-elected alongside Shane Rattenbury of the ACT Greens in the central Canberra electorate of Kurrajong shortly after vote counting began on Saturday night.
