Liberal candidate Andrew Constance’s recount request denied

Election officials have made a decision on Liberal star candidate Andrew Constance’s request that votes in the ultra marginal seat of Gilmore be recounted.

A request to recount the votes in the hotly contested seat of Gilmore has been denied by the Australian Electoral Commision.

Labor’s Fiona Philips finished just 373 votes ahead of former NSW minister Andrew Constance.

The AEC delayed its official declaration of the vote, which was scheduled for Tuesday, to consider Mr Constance’s request for a recount.

But on Wednesday it revealed it had knocked back his request, handing Labor its 77th seat in the House of Representatives.

“The AEC has carefully considered and declined a request for a recount in the division of Gilmore,” it said.

Liberal candidate for Gilmore Andrew Constance has had his recoutn request rejected by the AEC. Picture: Mick Tsikas

“The counting process was undertaken in line with the Electoral Act and there was sufficient checking and rechecking of ballot papers during the scrutiny period (including the fresh scrutiny process).”

Ms Philips said the AEC had advised her of the outcome earlier on Wednesday.

“The details for the AEC Gilmore poll declaration event will be announced shortly,” she Tweeted.

“Thanks again to everyone for your ongoing and kind support.”
It comes after star Liberal candidate Mr Constance formally requested the recount amid “concerns” about the scrutiny of informal votes.

“As counting has progressed over the last couple of weeks, my scrutineers have raised concerns in relation to certain aspects of the process, particularly the scrutiny of informal votes,” Mr Constance said.

Mr Constance has asked the AEC for a recount after he narrowly lost to Labor. Picture: Dylan Arvela

“Given the close result, I believe there are strong grounds for a recount and I have submitted a request to the Australian Electoral Commissioner.

“I will not be providing any further comment at this time, while the Commissioner considers the request.”

Labor MP Fiona Phillips will now be officially named by the AEC as the winner in Gilmore with a two-party preferred margin of just 0.17 per cent.

Mr Constance confirmed his request for a recount in a brief statement.

Mr Constance quit his role as a NSW minister to challenge Ms Phillips for the seat of Gilmore and was personally backed by former prime minister Scott Morrison.

Mr Morrison and other members of the Liberal Party had been confident Mr Constance’s high profile would be enough to secure the seat from Ms Phillips, who picked up Gilmore at the 2019 federal election with a margin of just 2.6 per cent amid a messy three-corner race between Labor, the Nationals and Liberals.

Labor's Fiona Phillips during the 2022 election campaign. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

But on the current official AEC count of the 2022 election, Mr Constance has come up just shy of the number of votes needed to win the seat.

He recorded a 2.44 per cent swing toward him, leaving Labor just ahead by 0.17 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously claimed Gilmore as a Labor victory during his first caucus meeting with MPs and Senators following the May 21 election.

If Ms Phillips holds the seat Labor would have a slim majority in the lower house of 77 seats out of 151.