Independent candidate Nicolette Boele has won the final recount in the Sydney seat of Bradfield, beating Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian by just 27 votes.
Multiple media outlets, including the ABC and the Sydney Morning Herald have declared the win for Boele this afternoon. The Australian Electoral Commission is expected to make an announcement shortly.
Boele has won the seat after an extremely tight race against Kapterian. The loss of the seat is a massive blow to the Liberal Party, who have held the seat for more than 75 years.
It is Boele’s second attempt at the seat, first running against former Liberal minister Paul Fletcher in 2022. Fletcher retired ahead of this year’s election, with Kapterian winning preselection.
Boele will now sit on the crossbench alongside other ‘teal’ independents from Sydney, including Allegra Spender, Zali Steggall and Sophie Scamps.
The Liberal Party had clearly had a level of confidence about retaining the seat in the weeks since the election, with Kapterian taking part in the leadership ballot last month. Liberal leader Sussan Ley even reserved a place for Kapterian in her shadow frontbench should she have won Bradfield.
Kapterian was declared the provisional winner of the seat after an inital count, but on May 29, the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed a recount would take place under a policy applied to contests won by lesss than 100 votes.
According to reports, the Liberal Party is now considering whether it will challenge the Bradfield result in the Court of Disputed Returns.