Tasmanian election 2025: Closely contested race for last lower house seats heats up

Several seats remain on a knife-edge as vote counting continues in Tasmania's state election, with some candidates separated by fewer than 100 votes.

Several key seats are still yet to be declared in the state election count. Picture: Tasmanian Electoral Commission

UPDATE 2.30pm: Labor leader Dean Winter has been re-elected to the Tasmanian Parliament in the seat of Franklin, the TEC has annouced.

Mr Winter was the fifth to be elected in the seat. The two remaining seats appear most likely to be filled by Jacquie Petrusma and Labor’s Meg Brown. Counting continues.

UPDATE 1.30pm: Liberal minister Madeleine Ogilvie has pulled off a stunning comeback to be set to take the seventh seat in Clark.

The distribution of preferences form independent Elise Archer pushed Green Helen Burnet to a quota and put Ms Ogilvie 157 votes in font of Simon Behrakis.

As the lowest-polling remaining candidate, Mr Behrakis is set to be excluded from the count and his preferences will push Marcus Vermey and Ms Ogilvie to quotas.

In Franklin, independent David O’Byrne has been elected.

“The Tasmanian Electoral Commission has today confirmed I have been re-elected as in independent for Franklin with an increased personal vote,” he said.

“I am grateful to the voters of Franklin for again placing their trust in me to represent them in state parliament.

“My commitment to Tasmanians today is the same as the one I made at the last election, held just over 16 months ago.

“I’ll continue to work constructively in parliament in the best interests of all Tasmanians.”

Sitting Greens MP Cecil Rosol is back in Bass and Tabatha Badger has been re-elected in Lyons.

And independent Craig Garland is back in Braddon.

What we know so far:

CLARK

ELECTED: Kristie Johnston (Ind), Vica Bayley (Grn), Ella Haddad (ALP), Josh Willie (ALP), Helen Burnet (Grn), UNOFFICAL: Marcus Vermey (Lib), Madeleine Ogilvie.

FRANKLIN

ELECTED: Peter George (Ind), Eric Abetz (Lib), Rosalie Woodruff (Grn). LIKELY: David O’Byrne (Ind), Jacquie Petrusma (Lib), Dean Winter (ALP), Meg Brown (ALP).

LYONS

ELECTED: Guy Barnett (Lib), Jane Howlett (Lib), Tabatha Badger (GRN). LIKELY: Mark Shelton, Jen Butler (ALP), Brian Mitchell (ALP). Seventh seat: too early to call.

BRADDON

ELECTED: Jeremy Rockliff (Lib), Gavin Pearce (Lib), Craig Garland LIKELY: (Ind) Felix Ellis (Lib), Anita Dow (ALP), Shane Broad (ALP), Roger Jaensch (Lib).

BASS

ELECTED: Bridget Archer (Lib), Janie Finlay (ALP), Michael Ferguson (Lib), Cecily Rosol (Grn). LIKELY: Rob Fairs (Lib), either Jess Green or Geoff Lyons (ALP). Seventh seat: too early to call.

EARLIER: More candidates have been declared elected while others stage a ding-dong battle to stay ahead in as the 2025 state election count continues.

Liberals Madeline Ogilvie and Simon Behrakis will be sweating on the distribution of preferences from independent Elise Archer, who was excluded from the count on Thursday morning.

Mr Behrakis maintains just an 83 vote lead.

Several key seats are still yet to be declared in the state election count. Picture: Tasmanian Electoral Commission

In the electorate of Bass, Labor candidate Jess Green holds a 34 vote lead over running mate Geoff Lyons for Labor’s second seat.

Two seats remain too close to call. In Lyons, Shooters, Fishers, Farmers candidate Carlo di Falco is favoured, but remains on 0.53 of a quota.

In Bass, independent George Razay was performing well with 0.34 of a quota, but with a long way to go before multiple other candidates can be written off.

The count continues and is expected to be complete by Saturday afternoon.

Originally published as Tasmanian election 2025: Closely contested race for last lower house seats heats up