Why is it taking so long to decide who won the election in Monash?

The Australian federal election was held on Saturday May 3. The Labor party won with a resounding majority, which will see it return to government for a second term with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the helm.

That doesn’t mean the counting of votes across the country is over, and there are many electorates that haven’t been called yet. Some results may not be known for weeks.

What’s happening in Gippsland?

In the electorate of Monash, as of Tuesday afternoon at 3:15, there was no clear victor.

Liberal Party candidate Mary Aldred is firm favourite, but there is a slim chance Labor candidate Tully Fletcher may receive enough votes to get him over the line.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 81.1 percent of the vote has been counted. After the allocation of preferences Aldred was on 54.8 percent of the two-candidate preferred vote, with Fletcher about 8,000 votes behind, on 45.2 percent.

During this stage of the counting process the AEC is tallying what are known as declaration votes. These include:

• Postal votes

• Pre-polling day votes

• Votes cast outside the home electorate

• Provisional votes

It won’t be until more of these votes are counted that we have a clear picture of who is going to be the federal MP for Monash.

Thus far, there has been a 2.2 percent swing to the Liberal Party in Monash. Given the current buffer enjoyed by Aldred, it’s likely she will win the seat for the Liberal Party.

The Gippsland Monitor will keep you updated.