An eleventh hour request for a formal recount of votes for the Federal seat of Gilmore has forced the Australian Electoral Commission to defer announcing the official result.
Fiona Phillips was scheduled to be officially declared Gilmore's new representative at 2pm on Tuesday at the AEC's Port Kembla facility, but a spokeswoman advised the Mercury it had been postponed as they were considering the request.
Read more: Berkeley house goes up in flames after mattress catches fire
In a statement, Liberal candidate Andrew Constance said the large amount of informal votes in the first round of counting prompted his request.
"As counting has progressed over the past couple of weeks, my scrutineers have raised concerns in relation to certain aspects of the process, particularly the scrutiny of informal votes," he said.
"Given the close result, I believe there are strong grounds for a recount and I have submitted a request to the Australian Electoral Commissioner.
"I will not be providing any further comment at this time while the Commissioner considers the request."
The latest figures from the AEC published last week, show on two-candidate preferred Labor's Fiona Phillips had 50.17 percent of the vote, while Constance was on 49.83 percent - just 373 votes behind.
Meanwhile, Labor's Alison Byrnes is still set to be officially declared the new Member for Cunningham at 3pm Tuesday, telling the Mercury she was excited to "open for business".
"It's been a long wait this one, I'm really excited," Ms Byrnes said.
"It means I can open my office for business tomorrow and im really excited to get things done for our region."
Read more: Gerringong's 'slow food' bakery wins big at national pie awards
She said some of the first tasks she'll be focusing on include establishing a renewable energy training centre and a community battery at Warrawong.
"I've already been out in the community talking to business and community leaders talking about the next generation of needs for our region."
- We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Illawarra Mercury website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
