JOONDALUP’S major party candidates are feeling the heat as less than 80 votes separate them this morning.
Labor hopeful Emily Hamilton said she was feeling “quietly confident” while Liberal incumbent Jan Norberger described it as a “torturous process”.
Ms Hamilton was keeping busy while waiting for updates on the WA Electoral Commission’s vote counting, which is just more than 80 per cent completed and has her 75 votes ahead on the two-candidate preferred basis.
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“We’ve done a really strong campaign,” she said.
“I’m fairly confident because I think we really did as much as we could do as a team on the campaign.”
Mr Norberger said his office was open as usual and would continue to assist the community but admitted he felt “numb” about ongoing vote counting.
“I haven’t given up hope,” he said.
“As much as you can you keep calm.”
He said he was optimistic heading in to the election and did not expect the magnitude of the swing towards Labor.
The race is also tight in Kingsley, where Labor’s Jessica Stojkovski has a 195 vote lead over Liberal MP Andrea Mitchell under preferences, with nearly 90 per cent counted.
The Commission said priority was being given to vote counting in close electorates and once completed, a full distribution of preferences would be conducted at the central count centre in Northbridge.
It hoped to commence preference distribution this weekend but it would depend on when counting finished.