Monique Ryan on track to narrowly hold Kooyong

A key Teal independent is on track to hold her seat after one of the longest undecided vote counts of the federal election.

Monique Ryan is on track to narrowly cling onto the Melbourne seat of Kooyong after one of the tightest vote counts of the federal election.

With the count grinding on for more than a week, the Teal independent looked to be in trouble.

Dr Ryan was forced to take back her election night victory declaration after her lead on Liberal challenger Amelia Harmer fell to just 366 votes, saying it was “too close to call”.

But her fortunes shifted over the weekend as she extended her lead.

Monique Ryan has held onto the seat of Kooyong after a tight race against her Liberal challenger. Picture: Tony Gough / NewsWire

As of noon Sunday, Dr Ryan was ahead of Ms Harmer with 693 votes.

With 89.41 per cent of ballots counted, Sky News called it for the independent.

Though, Ms Harmer was leading in first preference votes, securing 43.7 per cent (47,604) to Dr Ryan’s 34.1 per cent (37,162), official figures showed.

The results represented a 2.2 per cent swing toward the Liberal Party.

Dr Ryan, a former pediatric neurologist, won the seat from Morrison government treasurer Josh Frydenberg in 2022.

A win in Kooyong would mean Climate 200-backed MPs keep a hold of five out of six of their existing seats.

Fellow Melbourne Teal Zoe Daniel lost the seat of Goldstein to Tim Wilson — the Liberal moderate she won it from in 2022.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led Labor to a landslide victory at the federal election. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Labor’s landslide election win has sparked questions about the relevance of Teal independents.

They enjoyed significant sway on the crossbench during the Albanese government’s first term on the back of the so-called Teal wave in 2022.

At reporting, Labor was on track to win 91 seats — up from 77 three years ago.

With the Albanese government returned with an expanded majority, their ability to shape Labor’s policies has been hamstrung.

But Zali Steggall — who unseated former prime minister Tony Abbott in 2019 — last week insisted “community independents” would “continue to play an incredibly important role”.

“We would not have net zero by 2050 legislated without the push, we wouldn’t have a national anti-corruption commission without a push from the crossbench,” she told Sky News.

Originally published as Monique Ryan on track to narrowly hold Kooyong