More than two months after the federal election the battle for the seat of Bradfield on Sydney’s north shore isn't over. The liberal party will contest the result in court after its candidate Gisele Kapterian lost to independent Nicolette boulle.
00:00Independent Nicolette Buller is headed to Canberra next week to be sworn in as the member for Bradfield and take her seat in the lower house.
00:10But it could be a short stay if Liberal Giselle Kaptarian wins her court challenge.
00:15Because that result was so close, this is a really important opportunity to make sure that each of those ballots are given a voice.
00:24Ms Buller says the Liberal Party has every right to take the case to court, but it won't come cheap.
00:30Ms Kaptarian does have the Liberal Party machinery behind her, but we have the community.
00:36Ms Kaptarian originally appeared to have won Bradfield by eight votes, but after a full recount, Ms Buller was declared the winner by a margin of 26 ballots.
00:45The Liberals want the court to re-examine some of those ballots, which the party believes were critical to the result.
00:51The court can decide that either candidate is the valid winner, but it can also declare the election void, which would prompt a by-election, and mean voters in this seat would be back to the polls within months.
01:02I think people are sick of elections. They just want to get on with it.
01:06I understand it, and I feel sorry for both of them. How terrible to go through what they went through.
01:13Ms Kaptarian thinks a by-election is an unlikely outcome.
01:16Because we're not seeking a by-election, I see it as a limited possibility that that could happen.
01:22I think the main thing is that it's business as usual as the MP here in Bradfield, and if we do go to a by-election, we're going to be ready.
01:30Whether voters are ready might be a different question.
