Australia's One Nation Wins First House of Representatives Seat in Farrer By-Election
Historic Victory for One Nation in Farrer By-Election
Preliminary Results and Global Context
SYDNEY, May 9 (Reuters) - Australian far-right populist party Pauline Hanson's One Nation won its first seat in the country's House of Representatives in a byelection on Saturday, a preliminary vote count showed.
The result is in line with a surge of electoral support for far-right populist parties globally. Britain's ruling Labour party this week suffered a widespread loss of seats at council elections.
Details of the Farrer By-Election
David Farley's Victory
David Farley, a former agribusiness executive, won the rural seat of Farrer, some 550 km (340 miles) south of Sydney and 320 km (200 miles) north of Melbourne, for the anti-immigration party with a projected vote of 59.1%, defeating the incumbent centre-right Liberal Party, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Election Analyst Commentary
"It's very clear, the next member for Farrer is David Farley," Australian Broadcasting Corp election analyst Casey Briggs said in a broadcast. "It's not a close result."
Significance of the Result
The result is significant in that it marks the first time One Nation has won a lower-house seat since Hanson formed the party 30 years ago.
Impact on Parliamentary Landscape
But it does not affect the parliamentary majority of the ruling Labor Party, which holds 94 of 150 lower-house seats.
The seat was left vacant when Liberals leader Sussan Ley resigned in February.
The Labor Party did not run a candidate in the contest for the seat that has been held by the opposition conservatives since it was formed more than half a century ago.
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; editing by Barbara Lewis)
