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The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Son of Palestinian refugees projected to win Calwell for Labor in most complex preference count in history
The son of Palestinian refugees has been projected to win the Melbourne seat of Calwell for Labor after the most complex preference count the Australian Electoral Commission has ever conducted. The ABC's chief election analyst Antony Green and the independent election analyst Ben Raue called the seat for Basem Abdo on Monday afternoon, increasing Labor's majority to 94 seats. Abdo, who replaced the long-serving Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou as the party's candidate, was in a field of 13 candidates, with several independent candidates eating into both major parties' margins to make it difficult to predict who would be the final two candidates. Abdo won 30.6% of the primary vote, with the Liberal candidate Usman Ghani second on 15.6%. Two independents sat close behind the Liberal on the primary vote, with the former Labor mayor turned independent Carly Moore banking 12.1% of primary votes and independent candidate Joseph Youhana taking 11.3%. The preference flows were so tight that the Greens candidate Ravneet Kaur Garcha, who was even further behind with a primary vote of 8.3%, knocked out Youhana through preferences and took the fourth spot in the race. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Garcha was then knocked out, with many preferences going to Abdo and Moore, which eliminated the Liberal candidate, making it impossible for Moore to beat Abdo through the final preference flows. The AEC said on its website 'the distribution of preferences for the Division of Calwell is the most complex preference count the AEC has ever conducted'. Calwell has been held by Labor since it was created in 1984. Vamvakinou held Calwell from 2001 and endorsed Abdo to run for the seat, with significant support from within Labor's socialist left faction. Vamvakinou was one of Labor's most outspoken members on the war in Gaza, and said previously that recognising Palestinian statehood was 'unfinished business' for her party. Abdo was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents – his father left a village in the occupied West Bank after the six-day war in 1967 – and his family sought refuge in Jordan during the Gulf war before migrating to Australia in 1991. Calwell was a seat where the conflict in Gaza had a tangible impact. The community group Muslim Votes Matters named Calwell one of its 'focus' electorates, and the Muslim Vote endorsed an independent Muslim candidate. About a quarter of voters in Calwell are Muslim, according to the 2021 census. The Muslim Votes Matters group also handed out their own how to vote cards across the electorate, which had an impact on preference flows. The Muslim Votes Matters card endorsed the independent candidate Samim Moslih, but also preferenced Youhana ahead of Abdo and both ahead of Moore. On Monday the AEC declared the first batch of senators for the state of South Australia. The Labor senators Marielle Smith and Karen Grogan have returned to parliament, along with Liberals Alex Antic and Anne Ruston, and the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Labor also won the last spot, with 21-year-old Charlotte Walker. On Tuesday, the AEC will announce the results for the Northern Territory and Tasmania, where Jacqui Lambie has been facing off against the One Nation candidate Lee Hanson, Pauline Hanson's daughter. The seat of Goldstein will be partially recounted by the AEC after the independent MP Zoe Daniel called for a full recount. Daniel was behind the Liberal candidate and former MP Tim Wilson by 260 votes at the end of the full distribution of preferences. The partial recount will examine all first preference ballot papers for Daniel and Wilson, as well as all informal ballot papers, but won't repeat a complete distribution of preferences, as the AEC said it was confident in that part of the process. The recount will begin on Wednesday and is estimated to take up to four days. A recount has already begun in the Sydney seat of Bradfield, where at the end of the full distribution the Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian was just eight votes ahead of the independent candidate Nicolette Boele. The AEC expects the full recount to take up to two weeks. In the event of a tie, the AEC would petition the court of disputed returns within the high court to void the result and trigger a byelection. A candidate could also petition the court, after the recount, to void the result.
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Afternoon Update: Labor wins Calwell after epic count; PM condemns Gaza ‘outrage'; and a missing calf returns home
Good afternoon. After one of the most complex preference counts in Australian history, electoral analysts have called the seat of Calwell in Melbourne's northern suburbs for Labor candidate Basem Abdo. A record number of votes for minor parties and independents placed the preferential voting system in Calwell under strain, but Greens preferences eventually secured Labor's 94th lower house seat. Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents – his father left a village in the occupied West Bank after the six-day war in 1967 – Abdo's family sought refuge in Jordan during the Gulf war before migrating to Australia in 1991. Meanwhile, the AEC will conduct a partial recount in the seat of Goldstein, after a request for a full recount by the incumbent independent MP, Zoe Daniel. At the end of the full distribution of preferences, the margin was 260 votes in favour of Liberal challenger Tim Wilson. The partial recount will re-examine all first-preference ballot papers for Wilson and Daniel as well as all informal ballot papers, but won't include a fresh distribution of preferences. NSW nurse who triaged Pippa White before septic shock death tells inquest girl 'didn't meet criteria' for rapid response Energy bills to rise by up to 9.7% as regulators approve price increases Private hospital giant Healthscope falls into receivership after lenders withdraw support Victoria to 'immediately' ban machete sales after shopping centre clash Lorde surprises fans by crashing Lorde club night in Sydney: 'She almost refused to leave' Trump warns attempts to conquer all of Ukraine will lead to 'downfall' of Russia As Dan Patch spoke to a reporter, his partner, Heather Middleton, found their calf wandering around their flood-stricken property. The couple had been evacuated from their Ghinni Ghinni property the week earlier and were forced to leave behind their livestock as the deadly deluge hit the NSW mid-north coast. 'It is outrageous that there be a blockade of food and supplies to people who are in need in Gaza … People are starving. The idea that a democratic state withholds supply is an outrage.' In some of his strongest comments since Israel's war in Gaza began, Anthony Albanese called the Israeli government's 'excuses' for stopping critical food and medical supplies into the Palestinian territory 'completely untenable'. The prime minister said he had conveyed Australia's 'deep concern' to Israel's president over what the UN says may constitute 'the cruellest phase of this cruel conflict'. The NSW SES commissioner, Mike Wassing, says of the 572 dwellings assessed as uninhabitable around the Taree, Wingham and Glenthorne areas, 384 are homes. That number is expected to rise. Meanwhile, the federal government has announced 70 Australian defence force personnel will be deployed to the mid-north coast to assist with the cleanup. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Holiday bookings to Japan are down – could a 90s manga comic's earthquake prediction be to blame? A grim prediction made in a manga first published a quarter of a century ago is being blamed for a dramatic fall in holiday bookings to Japan from several Asian countries. Flight reservations from some of Japan's key tourism markets have reportedly plummeted, with some linking the fall to The Future I Saw, a Japanese graphic novel based on the 'prophetic' dreams of its author, Ryo Tatsuki. Today's starter word is: JAM. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know with our Morning Mail newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
