Tasmanian election: Liberal premier Jeremy Rockliff declares victory as Labor loses ground after forcing early poll
The Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, declared victory on Saturday night after his party secured 14 seats to Labor's nine, both short of the 18 required for a majority.
Rockliff said he would ask the governor to recommission his government, noting a roughly 3% swing to the Liberals. They had secured 40% of the vote with two-thirds of the ballots counted.
However, the Labor leader, Dean Winter, whose party experienced its worst-ever result in Tasmania with just 26% of the primary vote, didn't concede defeat.
He appeared to leave the door open to governing, if the Liberals couldn't make it work.
'The result of this election is that the Liberals will have the most seats, but it is uncertain as to how they will achieve a majority,' Winter said. 'Another election is not an option, which means we need to figure this out.'
The Greens retained at least five seats with 14% of the vote, while there are three independents, with counting potentially extending for weeks to determine four undecided seats.
Rockliff would need to work with left-leaning independent crossbenchers to govern.
Independents Kristie Johnston and Craig Garland, who both voted for the June no-confidence motion against Rockliff that triggered the election, have been returned.
Johnston urged the next premier to be more collaborative and said she wouldn't enter into a formal deal for confidence and supply with either major party.
'They need to negotiate and respect the views of parliament,' she said.
Anti-salmon activist and independent Peter George has been elected after a strong campaign in the federal election.
The state Greens leader, Rosalie Woodruff, has called on Winter to 'have a conversation' about forming an alliance with her party.
However, Winter has repeatedly ruled out doing a deal with the Greens and on Saturday night also said he wouldn't 'be trading away any of Labor's policies or our values'.
The drawn-out post-election scenario, just 16 months after the previous poll, will further delay the parliamentary approval process for a new $945m stadium in Hobart.
The venue, a condition of Tasmania's AFL licence, is supported by the Liberals and Labor but opposed by the Greens, Garland, Johnston and George.
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