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AAP
AAP
Politics
Ethan James

Further counting to finalise Tasmania's new parliament

Jeremy Rockliff needs the support of crossbenchers to secure his minority government. (Rob Blakers/AAP PHOTOS)

The final make-up of Tasmania's new parliament, which is set to return a Liberal minority government, could be known by the end of the week as preferences are distributed.

Australia's only ruling Liberals, who have been in power since 2014, have secured 13 seats following the March 23 poll and could reach 15 - short of the 18 required for majority.

The day after the election, Labor conceded it was unable to form government with just 10 seats.

Crossbenchers, independents Kristie Johnston and David O'Byrne, have indicated a desire to provide the Liberals with "stability" in parliament.

Member for Clark Kristie Johnston
Kristie Johnston has flagged she will offer stability to the minority Liberal government. (Rob Blakers/AAP PHOTOS)

Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie, whose party has two seats and could pick up a third, has also flagged providing Liberals with stability and supply.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff has reached out to Ms Johnston, Mr O'Byrne and the Jacqui Lambie Network, but no formal agreements have yet been reached.

Mr Rockliff has ruled out brokering a deal with the Greens, who on Tuesday upped their confirmed seats from four to five.

Three seats remain undecided, with further counting also to determine which Jacqui Lambie Network candidates get across the line.

Tasmanian Independent MHA David O'Byrne
David O'Byrne is one of the crossbenchers Premier Jeremy Rockliff has reached out to for support. (Rob Blakers/AAP PHOTOS)

Tasmanian Electoral Commissioner Andrew Hawkey said it was hoped preference counting would begin on Tuesday.

Counting under the state's Hare-Clark voting system has taken longer than recent elections because of Easter public holidays and the number of MPs in the the lower house increasing from 25 to 35.

Mr Hawkey said the yet-to-be-decided seats would likely be known by Saturday or Monday, with a final declaration on April 9 or 10.

"We've got a lot of candidates to exclude (through preference tallying) and a lot more candidates to elect," he said.

"It may become more certain as we get through the count. We probably won't know much until Saturday."

Tasmania elects seven MPs in each of the state's five electorates.

The Liberals suffered a 12 per cent swing against them and have 37 per cent of the primary vote compared to Labor's 29 per cent - a less than one per cent rise from the 2021 poll.

Labor has yet to announce a replacement for Rebecca White, who stepped down as leader after her third failed tilt at the premiership.

The election was held more than 12 months early after the Liberals spent the best part of a year in minority after the defection of two MPs.

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