Bradfield election cliffhanger as every vote inspected and result may still be weeks away

Almost a month after ballots were cast, tally room officials are back at square one for a recount.

Just eight votes separate Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian from independent challenger Nicolette Boele in the north Sydney seat of Bradfield.

But political wonks and candidates needn’t hold their breath, with the process to take as long as two weeks - a new count of all first preference votes, a re-examination of all informal votes, a complete recount of the two-candidate preferred tally and a full distribution of preferences.

Scrutineers could also extend the timeline, as the tightness of the count fuels closer examination of ballots.

Ms Boele is contesting Bradfield for a second time, with former Liberal minister Paul Fletcher having retired after holding the seat for 16 years.

Any lower house contest that ends with a margin fewer than 100 votes automatically triggers a recount. Should election officials return with similar results, Bradfield could go to a by-election or its result could be disputed in court.

The Australian Electoral Commission branded the 2025 federal election count as the “largest and most complex” ever conducted, which continues to play out across both parliamentary chambers and many states.

A four-way contest in the Melbourne seat of Calwell has Labor, the Liberals, the Greens and an independent all eyeing top spot.

Across the Bass Strait, firebrand senator Jacqui Lambie waits with bated breath as her party tries to fend off Liberal Richard Colbeck and Labor for two upper house spots in Tasmania.

Meanwhile, teal independent Zoe Daniel has requested a recount in her Melbourne electorate of Goldstein after the the electoral commission finalised a 260-vote margin in favour of her Liberal opponent Tim Wilson.