While the CLP was decimated in Saturday’ Northern Territory election, it could be up to 10 days before a final result is known in the Division of Katherine.
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On Tuesday afternoon, with only a handful of postal votes yet to be counted, 41 votes seperated the CLP’s Willem Westra van Holthe and the ALP’s Sandra Nelson.
Northern Territory Electoral Commission figures showing the following results:
- CLP, Willem Westra van Holthe – 1351
- ALP, Sandra Nelson – 1209
- 1TP, Braedon Earley – 703
- SFP, Chris Righton – 265
- IND Dean David – 261
- IND Leon Cellier – 57
Two candidate preferred:
- ALP, Sandra Nelson, ALP – 1748
- CLP, Willem Westra van Holthe – 1707
Mr Westra van Holthe told the Katherine Times that preference deals between the Labor Party and “particularly 1 Territory” had contributed to the close results.
As counting edged forward on Monday and Tuesday, the ALP’s Sandra Nelson slightly increased her lead.
“I’m on tenterhooks of course. This is a difficult time for me as I’m sure it is for Sandra,” Mr Westra van Holthe said.
“I am very surprised it’s come so close. The swing away from me and the CLP in the seat of Katherine was so big.
“I believe it was due to the politics of division that we saw across the Territory, but also local issues such as TBLs and fracking.”
Ms Nelson said on Tuesday it was still to close to call but she was “over the moon” at the size of the 22.8 per cent swing to Labor in Katherine.
She said she spent Saturday night listening to the election coverage on radio with family and friends.
“I was absolultely ecstatic. We were listening downstairs and my mum and my cousin were watching TV upstairs. My mum came down and said ‘Antony Green’s just called Katherine’.”
Ms Nelson said while she was “feeling somewhat confident” she would not be celebrating until the last vote was counted.
She said her overwhelming feeling was pride in the people of Katherine, for both voter turn out and their level of engagement.
“I had quite a number of people come and speak to me outside the pre-poll. Loads of people asked me for clarification on policy – the voters were really engaged.
“This was more than people being angry at the CLP. They were wanting to make very informed decisions.”
She said she would be “keeping my fingers and toes crossed now until the last vote is counted”.
See the Katherine Times website for updated election coverage as results come in: www.katherinetimes.com.au