Sky News projects Labor to win Victorian election as first seats called

Daniel Andrews’ fate as Premier is hanging in the balance as broadcasters make major predictions for the Victorian election.

Daniel Andrews is expected to remain as Victoria’s Premier for a third term with projections indicating Labor will hold on to power.

Sky News called the election shortly after 8pm on Saturday but it remains unclear whether or not Mr Andrews will lead a minority government

The projection comes after the first seats in Victoria’s state election were called as Labor battled to hold on to power.

Labor has claimed 16 seats and the Liberals have won seven as part of their effort to reclaim power after the ‘Danslide’ of 2018.

Retired tennis player Sam Groth appears to have won the seat of Nepean on the Mornington Peninsula from Labor’s Chris Brayne after the semi-rural region was heavily hit by strict lockdown measures.

On the other side of the peninsula, TV star and actor Paul Mercurio has snatched the seat of Hastings from the Liberals.

Premier Daniel Andrews and wife Catherine makes an announcement at Joan Kirner Hospital in St Albans Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Senior Labor figures Jacinta Allan, Mary-Anne Thomas and Lily D’Ambrosio have retained their seats of Bendigo East, Macedon and Mill Park.

The party has also held on to the seats of Dandenong, Geelong, Essendon, Williamstown, Broadmeadows, Clarinda, Oakleigh and Ringwood.

The Greens appear to have secured Richmond, Prahran, Melbourne and Brunswick.

It comes after the polls closed and millions of Victorian votes are being counted as Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy battle it out to be the state’s next Premier.

More than two million people decided to cast their vote before Saturday, around half of the 4.4 million on the electoral roll.

Labor is aiming to secure a third term of government, the state’s first since 2006, but are facing the prospect of losing several seats to minority parties.

Daniel Andrews voting before the election with his wife and two of his children. Source: Twitter

Much of the past term has been dominated by the state government’s response to the Covid pandemic which included six crippling lockdowns for Melbourne.

Labor is at risk of losing the seats of Richmond, Northcote and Albert Park in Melbourne’s inner city which would double their prescense in the lower house.

The party currently hold from 56 seats out of 88 in Victoria’s lower house.

Liberals have had just 27 seats the past four years after Labor’s ‘Danslide’ results at the 2018 election.

MOMENT VOTERS BRAWL AT POLLING STATION

Election tensions have boiled over at a Melbourne polling booth with two voters getting into a violent scuffle over their views on Daniel Andrews.

The men were filmed trading remarks about the Premier at a school at Niddrie in Melbourne’s northwest on Saturday morning.

A bystander recorded the altercation on their phone which appears shows how the pair’s altercation unfolded.

It’s believed one of the men said “f*** Dan” before the other hit back and asked “what did you say?”.

Two voters in Melbourne's north have gotten into a violent scuffle at the polling booth.

The altercation is then seen to get violent with one man falling to the ground.

Volunteers and other voters quickly attempted to break the pair up as a woman is heard screaming.

“Oi, enough brother,” one person is heard yelling. “Take it easy, yeah.”

Victoria Police has been contacted for comment.

KIM JONG-UN IMPERSONATOR HITS VOTING BOOTH

Voters in Daniel Andrews’ electorate have been greeted with a Kim Jong-un impersonator when at the ballot.

Comedian Howard Lee is running for the seat of Mulgrave alongside the Premier and has dressed up as the North Korean leader throughout the campaign

Mr Lee is running as an independent and had some choice words for his opponent when at the polls on Saturday morning.

Kim Jong-un impersonator Howard Lee is running for the seat of Mulgrave cast his vote on Saturday.

“I’m standing in the seat of Mulgrave because I figure if Dan Andrews, who is the Chinese communist stooge, can stand for re-election, I, too, can directly infiltrate Victoria more effectively if I stand in his own seat of Mulgrave,” Mr Lee told the Today Show.

Mr Lee made news before the Federal election in May when he crashed a media appearance held by Liberal candidate Gladys Liu and former prime minister Scott Morrison.

‘CONFIDENT’: GUY’S FINAL WORDS FOR DAN

Casting his vote at a local primary school on Saturday morning, Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said he was “quietly confident” of defeating the Labor Party and Premier Daniel Andrews in the state election.

Mr Guy, who faces a significant battle in clawing back the number of seats needed to govern after a pulping in the 2018 election left the Liberals with 21 of the 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly, said polling had been “all over the place.”

“We’re quietly confident,” Mr Guy said at Serpell Primary School in Templestowe, in his electorate of Bulleen, on Saturday morning.

An upbeat Matthew Guy told reporters he was “quietly confident” of causing an election upset on Saturday. Picture: David Caird

The Opposition Leader getting a good luck lick in his electorate on Saturday morning. Picture: David Caird

He said WA Premier Mark McGowan had won government from the “biggest margin ever” and said former Victorian Premiers Steve Bracks and Ted Baillieu had also won government against significant odds.

“We’re getting great reception on pre-poll and even on the day,” Mr Guy said, adding that he had “loved” campaigning across the state.

He also cautioned that early booth results may not reflect the final tally.

Mr Guy’s comments come as a Newspoll published by The Australian on Saturday showed Labor cruising to a third term, retaining 45-50 of their current 55 seats and leading the Liberal Party 54.5 to 45.5 on a two-party preferred basis.

Matthew Guy with his family at Serpell Primary School on Saturday morning. Picture: David Caird

The Premier told ABC radio on Saturday that “no deal” will be done with Greens or independents in the event of a hung parliament.

“My position has been clear on these matters for more than a decade. No deal will be offered and no deal will be done,” Mr Andrews said.

“It is a strong, stable Labor majority government that I want Victorians to vote for, so that we can have a bigger economy (and) more people in work,” he said.

As of Saturday, the betting markets strongly favoured a Labor victory.

According to TAB, Labour are paying $1.10, a Coalition victory is $7, while a Labor minority government is paying $3.50.

Originally published as Sky News projects Labor to win Victorian election as first seats called