Vote 'mistake' decides seat

CANBERRA - About 20 votest incorrectly wrapped in Senate ballot papers may ensure former Howard Government minister Fran Bailey returns to Parliament.

Bailey, the former Small Business and Tourism Minister, believes she has won her outer-Melbourne seat of McEwen by 12 votes after a recount by electoral officials.

On the first count, finalised last week, her Labor opponent Rob Mitchell held a lead of just five votes over Bailey.

"I always wait until the formal declaration of the poll but late [Monday] the Australian Electoral Commission official announced the final count," she told ABC radio yesterday.

- AAP