THERE were no surprises in Mitchell on Saturday, with incumbent Alex Hawke easily retaining the Liberal stronghold.
But the battle for Greenway continues to rage, with Labor's Michelle Rowland and Liberal
Jaymes Diaz slugging it out in a battle for preferences and postal votes.
Whether they and the other candidates will have to do it all again in the near future remains in the realm of possibility as the leaders of the major parties conduct talks with three rural independent candidates, a Greens and perhaps another independent from Tasmania to determine which side will form the next federal government.
Both Labor's Nigel Gould and the Greens' Colin Dawson in Mitchell said they would not be surprised if the country had to return to the polls in the next 12 to 14 months, while Mr Hawke was more optimistic that this situation could be avoided.
``It is still very much a question of who will form government,'' Mr Hawke said. ``It will be tight because either side have to get to 73 [seats]. If we got 73 seats then we could form a government with the independents.''
Ms Rowland said yesterday that the result for Greenway was too close to call.
``There will be scrutineering this week,'' she said.
``I do look forward to the result.
``If I am ultimately successful I want to immediately set about the task of being an effective and responsive local member.''
The News contacted Mr Diaz for a comment, but had not had a response at the time of going to press.
Greens candidate for Greenway Paul Taylor was pleased with his result, which saw a swing to his party.
``We had a swing to us in every booth except one,'' he said.
``We have helped get Lee [Rhiannon] elected to the senate and that was the main goal.
``I would like to thank everyone who helped out and supported us and who sent messages and emails and tweets.''
Allan Green, Christian Democratic Party candidate for the seat, is also pleased with his result.
``I have significantly increased the CDP vote,'' he said.
``There was a positive reaction to my campaign on election day and my preferences could result in a Liberal win despite the intensive campaign by Labor.
``I am very thankful for the hard work of my volunteers.''
Mr Hawke said he was ``very pleased with the result'' particularly from one booth at Annangrove Public School, where he said he had gained 90per cent of the two-party preferred vote.
He attributed this huge show of support to a Building the Education Revolution (BER) project which had seen a new library built next to an existing library at the school, but which was not as well equipped as the existing building and cost $1million.
Other candidates' responses will be posted on our website.
Thanks to all the candidates who kept us posted on Saturday and to all who followed our election night tweets and website updates.
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