Counting underway in Lyne by-election
Posted
Updated
Vote counting has begun following today's by-election in the federal seat of Lyne on the New South Wales mid-north coast.
The contest was triggered by the resignation of sitting member and former deputy prime minister Mark Vaile.
Lyne has been held by the Nationals since it was created in 1949, but bookmakers and political pundits are both predicting they will lose it tonight.
Independent candidate and former state MP Rob Oakeshott is tipped to win the seat comfortably.
But Nationals candidate Rob Drew says there are early signs it will be closer than that.
"We're still feeling very confident, I think it will be a close result, what we're hearing is that the pre-polling and postal votes were very strong which would possibly mean that we won't get a result tonight," he said.
Both campaigns have accused the other of dirty tricks.
The Nationals also say the Oakeshott campaign screened television ads after the electronic advertising blackout was declared.
Mr Oakeshott's supporters say the Nationals have told voters the state MP was in bed with the Labor Party.
Nonetheless, Mr Oakeshott says if he wins he will deliver a powerful reminder to the major parties.
"This is a message for every single elected Member of Parliament, state and federal, that if you don't work your electorates hard, if you don't listen to your electorates and respond to [them], you quite rightly deserve to get a kick in the bum from your communities," he said.
"It is not what your political party thinks or tells you to do, it's what your community wants you to do."
