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Voters reject Labor’s Kristina Keneally, Dai Le to take Fowler’s seat in 2022 federal election

Labor has paid a heavy price in the previously safe southwestern seat of Fowler, where independent grassroots candidate Dai Le will defeat Kristina Keneally.

Most important points:

Labour’s 14 percent margin in Fowler’s seat has been wiped out. With more than half of the votes counted; Independent Dai Le is ahead of Labour’s Kristina Keneally.

The former prime minister of NSW was considered a shoo-in when she was parachuted into Fowler after a faction fight pushed her out of a winnable seat in the Senate.

But, on election night, things didn’t go according to the script.

The Labor frontbencher ran after Ms. Le, a former refugee once active as a Liberal.

The results showed a nearly 18 percent swing from Labour, narrowing the party’s previously comfortable margin.

Kristina Keneally moved from the affluent Scotland Island enclave on Sydney’s northern beaches to the sprawling suburbs of southwestern Sydney.

The American-born politician has been criticized for being out of touch with the community, where 16 percent of residents are of Vietnamese descent.

Voters have turned against Labor in the previously safe seat. (Twitter: Annie E)

Outgoing Labor MP Chris Hayes had anointed local lawyer Tu Le as his successor, a party activist with strong local ties.

But he was drowned out by the Labor Party apparatchiks, who insisted on dropping Mrs. Keneally – a move that infuriated many Labor voters in the electorate.

“What we see across the board, time and time again, is that people are tired of having their vote support taken for granted,” said ABC political journalist Annabel Crabb.

Follow the latest Election Night updates as they take place:

The decision to overlook Tu Le rekindled the debate about the lack of diversity in Australian politics.

“They saw one member of their community, Tu Le, being treated horribly, very disrespectful, and this is a population that responded by supporting a former Liberal candidate,” Crabb said.

Analysis from our experts:

Kristina Keneally, who appeared before her supporters on election night, said the result was “not quite clear” and acknowledged the struggles of her grassroots opponents.

federal election

“I want to congratulate Dai Le and [Liberal candidate] Courtney Nguyen on their campaigns,” she said.

Independent candidate Dai Le is neck and neck with Labor’s Kristina Keneally. (MONKEY: Dean Lewins)

As the evening wore on, ABC’s election analyst said forecasts suggested Dai Le would win the seat once preferences split.

With about 57 percent of the vote counted, the Independent had about 34 percent of the first preference vote.

Labor chairwoman Kristina Keneally’s attempt to move to the lower house appears to have failed. It is providing important lessons for the Labor party about how it treats its voters in seats once considered safe.

Election news:

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, and up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 12 minutes 38 seconds12m Scott Morrison admits defeat in the federal election

Posted 1 hour ago1 hour agoSat 21 May 2022 at 13:42, updated 12m ago12 minutes agoSat 21 May 2022 at 14:39

Dorothy R. Barrett

I’m a full-time blogger by passion. This is my first blog, and I'm excited to share everything that I love about technology, business, and lifestyle with you. I’m a writer by trade, and I can be found writing about tech, business, and lifestyle on my personal blog.

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