Elsie Lange
Democratic Labour Party leader Bernie Finn’s calls for a recount of the western metropolitan region’s election results have been declined, spelling the end of the hard-right politician’s time in parliament.
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) finalised voting for the upper house on Wednesday, December 14, with Mr Finn finishing behind Liberal candidate Trung Luu to miss out on one of five seats.
Following the VEC’s decision, Mr Finn took to social media to say he “may have to take [the decision] to a higher authority”.
“Despite the final margin being just 210 votes (out of close to half a million) in western metro and ample precedence, the VEC has denied my request for a recount,” he said.
The long-serving politician was expelled from the parliamentary Liberal Party earlier this year for disobedience around controversial social media posts on abortion.
Before his expulsion Mr Finn was the number one candidate on the Liberal ticket in the western metropolitan region since 2006 and was re-elected in 2010, 2014 and 2018.
His Liberal Party replacement, Moira Deeming, has secured her seat.
Mr Finn said he was “staggered” the VEC rejected the recount request given the size of the margin.
“It’s paper thin, I’m at a loss as to why they rejected it,” he said.
The VEC has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, in the northern Victoria seat, Animal Justice Party candidate and Kyneton resident Georgie Purcell has been elected to the Legislative Council.
Posting on social media, Ms Purcell said it was an honour to be one of the youngest women ever elected to the upper house of Victorian Parliament.
“For so long, I was led to believe parliament wasn’t a place for women like me,” she said.
“But now I’ve realised that more than ever, we need politicians with colourful backgrounds and diverse experiences to share in our halls of power.”
