NT election: Barkly still too close to call despite Labor’s late lead

IT was a night of whirlwind emotions for the CLP’s Steve Edgington when his lead in the seat of Barkly was overtaken at the final hour last night

IT was a night of whirlwind emotions for the CLP’s Steve Edgington when his lead in the seat of Barkly was overtaken at the final hour last night.

Barkly was still too close to call when vote counting stopped at midnight.

NTEC results show that with just over half the votes counted, Labor’s Sid Vashist holds 51.9 per cent (1,441) and Mr Edgington has 48.1 per cent (1,338) of the two candidate preferred count.

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Strong numbers in the Tennant Creek early voting centre pushed Labor into the lead.

Election analyst Antony Green said while Labor was ahead in vote count last night they were projected to lose on postal votes.

The seat was left vacant by retiring Labor MLA Gerry McCarthy, who won in 2016 with a margin of 15.9 per cent.

But last night there was a swing of more than 14 per cent back to the CLP.

The former Barkly Regional Council mayor said he still had hope he could claim the seat for the CLP.

“We’re still confident but at the close of counting (on Saturday night) it’s too early to call,” Mr Edgington said.

“I’m proud of the efforts of my team in holding the NT Labor Government to account.

“At this point I’d like to congratulate all the successful CLP candidates so far.”

Mr Edgington said he thought crime and community housing were some of the “deal breaking” issues that pushed voters back to the CLP in Barkly this election.

During his victory speech last night Chief Minister Michael Gunner said he was confident Labor was still “in the hunt” for Barkly.

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The NT News has contacted Sid Vashist for comment.