Wayne Swan wins national Labor presidency at a canter

Wayne Swan has been overwhelmingly elected Labor’s national president, securing almost half the votes of party members.

Wayne Swan is Labor’s new national president after a rank-and-file member vote. Picture: Kym Smith.

Wayne Swan has been overwhelmingly elected Labor’s ­national president, securing ­almost half the votes of party members and easily defeating Mark Butler, the opposition climate and energy spokesman, who was seeking a second term.

Mr Swan secured 9156 votes (46.94 per cent) to Mr Butler’s 7353 (37.69 per cent). Construction, Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union official Mich-Elle Myers received 2130 (10.92 per cent). Queensland senator Claire Moore won 865 (4.43 per cent).

Mr Butler has been elected senior vice-president of the party and Ms Myers will become junior vice- president, as they respectively ­received the second and third-highest votes after the distribution of preferences.

Mr Swan, a former treasurer and deputy prime minister, was backed by Labor’s national right faction, which has not won a rank-and-file membership election for national president since such votes were introduced in 2002.

The result is a significant defeat for Mr Butler, who was elected ­national president in June 2015 and had the backing of most of the ­national left faction. He ran on a ticket with Senator Moore.

The membership of the party skews to the left, which should have all but guaranteed Mr Butler’s re-election. However, his candidacy — which was launched by leadership contender Anthony ­Albanese — split the left faction.

The CFMMEU ran Ms Myers as a protest candidate. The rival left camps fought a bitter campaign against each other.

Mr Swan, who made economic and social inequality his focus, ­received the private endorsement of Bill Shorten and had the backing of former prime minister Julia Gillard and former Labor leader Kim Beazley.

The voting by postal and online ballot took place between May 4 and June 15. The counting over the weekend was marked by forced delays and protests by Mr Butler’s scrutineers when it became clear he would be defeated, according to party sources. Mr Swan won 48.77 per cent of postal votes that were counted by Sunday evening, giving him an unassailable lead ahead of the tallying of online votes on Monday. There were 10,621 postal votes and 8771 online votes. About 40 per cent of eligible party members voted.

Mr Swan said it was “an honour and a privilege” to be elected ­national president. “My campaign was driven by the belief that Labor’s future lies first and foremost in being clear about what we stand for,” he said.

Mr Butler, who based his campaign on structural reform, offered his “congratulations” to Mr Swan for “a strong campaign” and an “emphatic victory”.