Zed Seselja, ACT Liberal Leader, off to vote in Canberra in the ACT election with his wife Ros and children William, Olivia and Tommy. Picture: Kym Smith Source: News Limited
TRIUMPHANT Liberal leader Zed Seselja says ACT voters have rejected a Labor-Greens alliance in Saturday's election.
But he's stopped short of claiming victory, with the Opposition falling one seat short of majority government in the 17-seat legislative assembly.
It will take days of negotiation with the Greens before a new minority government can be formed in the territory.
But Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott today said Mr Seselja had a moral right to form government given the Liberals would hold the most seats in the new ACT parliament.
"A six per cent plus swing to the Liberal Party is a sign that the people of the ACT want change,'' he said.
Mr Abbott paid tribute to Mr Seselja.
''The Liberals are now the largest party in the ACT,'' Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney today.
"People of the ACT and Canberra have decisively rejected the Greens and I think the people of Canberra don't want to see more Labor-Green Coalition government."
The Liberals, on the back of their biggest-ever primary vote, are on track to take eight seats to Labor's seven giving them their highest representation in the 23-year history of self-government.
With more than 70 per cent of the vote counted at 10.50pm (AEST), Labor had 39.1 per cent of the overall vote (up 1.7pc on 2008), to the Liberals 38 per cent (up 6.4pc) and the Greens 11 per cent (down 4.6pc)
A surprise Labor casualty could be Attorney-General Simon Corbell who might lose his seat to fellow Labor candidate Meegan Fitzharris.
The Greens drop from four seats to two with their leader Meredith Hunter still in a tight race with Summernats car festival founder Chic Henry, running for the Australian Motorists Party.
If she loses, the Greens would have only one seat in the assembly.
Mr Seselja said the election result was a rejection of both Labor and the Greens.
"Most importantly it is a rejection of their alliance," he told the party faithful.
"It would be a rejection of the verdict of the people if the Labor Party and the Greens were to now forge a closer alliance.
"We are ready to deliver the kind of government the ACT deserves."
Labor leader Katy Gallagher said it was not the night for victory speeches from any party.
"We're not arrogant, we're not coming out saying we have won this election," she told supporters.
"We've won the highest primary vote, we've increased our vote, we've held our seats and we've seen a swing towards us."
Ms Gallagher noted more than half the electorate voted for "a progressive government", referring to the combined Labor-Greens vote of 50.1 per cent.
Mr Seselja reiterated earlier pledges that he wouldn't offer the Greens a ministry as part of any negotiations, unlike in 2008.
But he shied away from questions on whether or not he would negotiate with them at all.
Liberal MLA Jeremy Hanson said: "Should we get eight seats we have a very strong case for government."
However, Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury said the minor party would not be taking the number of seats won into account.
"We want to make sure there's a stable government for four years," he told AAP.
"We delivered that this term, we expect to deliver it in the coming term."
The Greens had a duty to the one-in-eight Canberrans who voted for the party to deliver on as many of their policies as possible, Mr Rattenbury said.
"We're quite open to talking to both of them (major parties) and that's something we will start in the next few days," he said.
"We won't see an agreement to form a government, one way or the other, for quite some days yet."
Labor MLA Andrew Barr said a Liberal-Greens alliance would be "extraordinary" since "they are just a world apart".
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