Bradfield back in action after Liberal party launches legal battle

Liberal party candidate Gisele Kapterian announced her intention on Monday to challenge the results of the Bradfield election in the Court of Disputed Returns. 

On June 4th, Independent candidate Nicolette Boele was elected as the winner of the federal seat of Bradfield, leading the count by an ultra-thin margin of 26 votes. This victory only came following a complete recount of votes, after the initial count was deemed too close to call, coming in below the Australian Electoral Commission’s margin for an automatic recount.

In a statement posted to Instagram entitled “Every vote counts”, Gisele Kapterian announced that “After careful consideration of the two different results of the counts in Bradfield, we have taken the decision to go to the umpire.”

“We are requesting a targeted final examination of a small number of ‘line-ball’ ballots that were reserved and considered by the Australian Electoral Officer during the counts,” she said.

On Tuesday, Nicolette Boele said in a media release she will defend any legal challenge and said she would be seeking donations from her community. 

"The Liberal Party has a legal team and enormous resources. I have community," she said. "But we can't rely on volunteers in the High Court, we need good lawyers and that is expensive.:

Boele said that, should she win and the Liberal Party be ordered to cover her legal costs, all donors would be offered a refund or the option to pass their donations onto a nominated cause.

Image Credit: Steven Markham, AAP