AEC Defies Own Policy by Ordering Recount in WA: Clive Palmer

Media release

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has declined to follow its own published policy on evaluating requests for recounts by agreeing to a request from the Greens for a recount of the Senate vote in Western Australia, says Palmer United Party federal leader Clive Palmer.

Mr Palmer said the AEC had already determined that at the end of counting, the Palmer United Party candidate Dio Wang was the winner of the fifth Senate seat in WA, when the Greens’ candidate requested a recount.

The Australian Electoral Officer for Western Australia considered the Greens’ submissions supporting the request for a recount, and rejected the request from the Greens.

“Now the Electoral Commissioner has reversed that decision, and in doing so has gone against the AEC’s own published policy on evaluating such requests for recounts,” Mr Palmer said.

“The Palmer United Party strongly rejects this undemocratic decision. The AEC has taken away what the people of WA voted for.

“The performance of the AEC during the 2013 federal election is of great concern. Australia’s voting systems have been shown to be archaic in the 21st century and open to manipulation.”

Mr Palmer said the Senate election results for the Palmer United Party with seats won in Queensland, Tasmania and WA and the prospect of himself winning the lower house Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax was a tremendous achievement for the party in its election debut.

“The Palmer United Party received 5.6 per cent of the vote nationwide which is remarkable for a new party,” he said.

“We will make a difference to the Australian people. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has already adopted our policy on lobbyists and we have many other policies to benefit the nation.”

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