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AAP
AAP
Politics
Andrew Brown

Retain: PM officially declared winner of Sydney seat

Basking in victory: Anthony Albanese was formally delcared the winner of his Sydney seat by the AEC. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)

More than a fortnight after Labor's emphatic victory, Anthony Albanese has officially been declared the winner at the ballot box.

Proving all politics is local, the prime minister was formally announced as the victor in his Sydney seat of Grayndler by the Australian Electoral Commission at a short ceremony on Wednesday.

Mr Albanese increased his primary vote and easily won on first preferences in Grayndler.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Mr Albanese said his objective in government will be to change things for people who voted Labor. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)

He described Labor's election success in securing a second term as astounding.

"It's the first time ever that a government seeking re-election has increased its primary vote, increased its two-party vote and increased the number of seats that it holds in the House of Representatives," he said at the declaration.

"Whether it be Hawke in '84, Whitlam in '74, Fraser in '77, Howard in '98, Gillard in 2010 or Turnbull in 2016, they all went backwards and we were able to go forward with a positive agenda.

"My objective over the next few years is not to just occupy the space, but to change things for the people who voted Labor in this election, and for the people who didn't as well."

As of Wednesday, Labor has claimed 93 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives, while the Liberals have 28, the Nationals with 15, with the remaining 12 shared between the Greens, independents and other minor parties.

Independent candidate for Bradfield Nicolette Boele
Nicolette Boele has been provisionally been declared the winner of Bradfield in Sydney. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

A full preference distribution is being carried out in the Sydney seat of Bradfield, after independent Nicolette Boele was provisionally declared the winner by just 40 votes.

The preference flow will take several days to be conducted, with a recount set to take place if the final result remains under 100 votes.

Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian was initially called the winner but the seat was put back into doubt after a surge of postal and absentee votes to Ms Boele.

A preference distribution is also being conducted in the Melbourne-based seat of Calwell, with the electoral commission describing it as the most complex count it has undertaken.

Labor's Basem Abdo is in the lead on primary votes, but the final outcome will be dependent on how preferences to Liberal Usman Ghani and independents Carly Moore and Joseph Youhana eventuate.

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