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Liberal hopeful Gisele Kapterian has conceded defeat in Bradfield more than four months after the federal election, abandoning a court challenge over the validity of 151 ballot papers.
Kapterian, who has a junior shadow cabinet position on hold for her in Canberra, said it was clear that the correct result had been declared and teal MP Nicolette Boele was rightly elected to the once-blue-ribbon Liberal seat in Sydney’s north.
Liberal hopeful Gisele Kapterian says this is not the end of her political career.Credit: Jessica Hromas
“The initial results were so close that we felt it was the right call to have another look at the ballots,” Kapterian said on Thursday ahead of abandoning a challenge in the Court of Disputed Returns.
“Both sides challenged the determinations made – I think it was a total of over 320 ballots. Based on the submissions that were made, I think many challenges would have been successful.
“Ultimately, though, I don’t think the final outcome would have involved enough ballots changing sides to overturn the result.”
Kapterian had believed that 56 ballot papers were wrongly rejected, while 95 were incorrectly allowed, based on information from Liberal scrutineers.
Teal MP Nicolette Boele will not have to fight a court challenge over the outcome in Bradfield.Credit: Oscar Colman
Bradfield, now the most marginal federal seat in the country, was a rollercoaster ride for Kapterian and Boele from the moment the polls closed on May 3.
Boele, who also ran in 2022, was ahead on election night, but Kapterian ultimately edged in front and won the first count by just eight votes. Under the Australian Electoral Commission’s rules, for any result where the margin is 100 votes or fewer, an automatic recount is ordered.
At the end of that recount, by which time most ballots had been counted seven times, Boele was ahead by 26 votes. She was declared the winner and has been sworn into parliament.
Kapterian, who was preselected five months ahead of the May poll, said her task to hold the seat for the Liberals was significant.
“We faced major headwinds from a very weak national policy agenda and campaign,” she said. “That said, our local campaign did manage to win back former teal voters in places like Willoughby and Northbridge. I am proud of that.”
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Kapterian, who is expected to seek preselection again for the seat, said the pathway back for the Liberal Party in seats such as Bradfield was “to focus on the big national and global challenges”.
Those, she said, include inflation, housing, productivity, energy and national security, climate and intergenerational equity. “These issues won’t solve themselves – they need urgent attention from people in parliament who can grasp the problem and shape it,” Kapterian said.
On July 15, about 10 weeks after the election, Kapterian lodged a petition to challenge the result. A hearing date in the Federal Court was set for October 2, after lawyers for Kapterian and Boele were provided access to more than 700 ballot papers for analysis.
The Liberals agreed to indemnify Kapterian against costs, while Boele launched a fundraising drive among supporters to cover her costs. She said donations would be returned or given to charity if they were not needed.
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