1800 CST
Eyes are on key seats such as Hindmarsh and Adelaide as South Australian polling booths have closed, and the state’s Senate race also will draw plenty of attention.
The pressure will be on Labor’s Steve Georganas in Hindmarsh, where Liberal challenger Matt Williams needs a swing more than 6 per cent.
In Adelaide, Labor’s Kate Ellis is facing a challenge from Carmen Garcia for the Liberals, with a margin of 7.5 per cent before the seat changes hands.
Paul Langtry of the Electoral Commission in SA said:
“Counting will commence generally around 6:15-6:30pm. The smaller polling places with the lesser number of votes will finish their counts first so it’s quite common for country votes to come in earlier and bigger polling places like Woodcroft and Belair Primary School and Mt Barker will take a bit longer.
“We’ll see the probably the most, majority of votes come in between 7:30 and 9 o’clock.”
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon hopes to win another Senate term, along with two Labor Senators Penny Wong and Don Farrell and two Liberals Cory Bernardi and Simon Birmingham.
But the battle is expected to be on for high-profile Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young to win another term.
1730 CST
Joe O’Brien @joeobrien24
Stephen Smith starts the ABC coverage saying the Govt will be defeated.
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