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Liberals mount court challenge in last ditch bid to reclaim Bradfield

By Alexandra Smith
Updated

Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian has ended weeks of speculation and will on Tuesday appeal against the election outcome in the once blue-ribbon North Sydney seat.

Kapterian fell short in Bradfield by 26 votes to teal candidate Nicolette Boele in a recount, leaving Bradfield the most marginal seat in the country. Kapterian won the initial count by eight votes.

Gisele Kapterian is challenging the Bradfield result in court.

Gisele Kapterian is challenging the Bradfield result in court.Credit: Sam Mooy

Boele’s win marked the first time in 75 years that the seat was not held by the Liberals. However, despite the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) declaring her the winner, Kapterian did not concede.

In a statement posted on her Instagram account on Monday night, Kapterian said: “After careful consideration of the two different results of the counts in Bradfield, we have taken the decision to go to the umpire.”

“Today’s decision is taken to ensure the intentions of the votes of Bradfield were accurately reflected in the final count,” her statement said.

“The legislation anticipates the need to look again at the ballot papers, given the highly subjective nature of decisions relating to interpreting voter intentions. In this instance, a final arbitrator does exactly what the AEC officials were doing throughout the count.”

She said this would include looking at the ballot papers and determining whether a number is legible, such as “whether a five is an eight”.

“We are requesting a targeted final examination of a small number of ‘line-ball ballots’ that were reserved and considered by the AEC officer during the counts,” Kapterian’s statement said.

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She stressed there was “no question regarding the integrity of our electoral system”.

“In fact, this process has only served to reaffirm my faith in Australia’s democratic institutions.” She finished her statement with: “Every vote counts.”

“Every vote counts”: Kapterian narrowly lost to independent Nicolette Boele after a recount, but didn’t concede.

“Every vote counts”: Kapterian narrowly lost to independent Nicolette Boele after a recount, but didn’t concede. Credit: Sam Mooy

NSW Liberal members pushed for party bosses to fund the court challenge and indemnify Kapterian in a bid to have her failed election result overturned, which could prompt a byelection.

However, senior Liberals are pinning their hopes on the judge presiding over the Court of Disputed Returns examining several dozen ballots and ruling them invalid, and therefore declaring Kapterian the winner of the seat.

A byelection, according to several senior Liberals not authorised to speak to the media, could be a huge risk for the party, especially if Labor does not run in Bradfield as expected.

The party has agreed to indemnify Kapterian if she is unsuccessful, with senior party sources labelling it the “Pesutto precedent”. The Victorian Liberals agreed to loan $1.5 million to the former Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto to help him cover some of the legal costs owed to his colleague Moira Deeming, whom he defamed.

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Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/liberals-mount-court-challenge-in-last-ditch-bid-to-reclaim-bradfield-20250714-p5mewz.html