The Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) confirmed all declarations for the 2020 State general election are complete and the writ has been returned to the Governor His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey today, Monday 16 November.

Commissioner Pat Vidgen said despite having two recounts to complete, all the declarations were finalised within 14 days of election day, which is in line with the 2017 State general election.

“Declaring every electorate in such a timeframe is remarkable considering a record 760,000 postal votes returned, scrutinised and included in the count; this is around half a million more than in 2017,” he said.

“Recounts were also undertaken in Bundaberg and Nicklin where the results were very close.

“The record 597 candidates and 12 political parties also meant there were more complex preference counts, and a more time-consuming counting process.”

Mr Vidgen said the ECQ’s election teams counted more than 2.9 million votes in total, all within a COVID-safe environment.

“Delivering an election is an extremely demanding logistical exercise and our teams worked long hours to ensure accurate outcomes were delivered in a timely manner,” he said.

“I want to thank the ECQ’s more than 10,300 temporary staff, our permanent staff, and election delivery partners, for all their hard work and dedication in ensuring the election was successfully conducted.

“The writ has now been returned to the Governor, and the ECQ begins the process of compiling the election report detailing the election planning, process and delivery, the statistical returns, and an analysis and evaluation of the event,” Mr Vidgen said.

When complete, the election report will be tabled in Parliament and made available on the ECQ’s website at ecq.qld.gov.au.

• See the ECQ Commissioner presenting the Governor with the writ on Twitter https://twitter.com/ECQInfo
• Find the 2020 State general election results
• The ECQ’s media statements are at ecq.qld.gov.au/media