PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION ANALYSIS:
1999 POLLS FOR 54TH LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF VICTORIA
Copyright 1999 Proportional Representation Society of Australia: 18 Anita Street Beaumaris 3193
Tel +61395891802, +61429176725   Fax +61395891680   www.prsa.org.au      ggd@netspace.net.au    Final Data from www.vec.vic.gov.au
           
SEATS
           
ALP OTHERS NAT LIB TOTAL
Hare-Clark Proportional Representation Seats 42 4 3 39 88
Present Single-member "Winner-take-all" Seats 42 3 7 36 88
FIRST PREFERENCE VOTES 1,289,696 209,647 135,930 1,194,998 2,830,271
           
PERCENTAGES
           
ALP OTHERS NAT LIB TOTAL
% of Hare-Clark Proportional Representation Seats 47.73% 4.55% 3.41% 44.32% 100.00%
% of Present Single-member "Winner-take-all" Seats 47.73% 3.41% 7.95% 40.91% 100.00%
FIRST PREFERENCE VOTES 45.57% 7.41% 4.80% 42.22% 100.00%
           
SUMMARY:
Under a Hare-Clark electoral system with the grouping of seats suggested the Coalition parties would have gained 47.73% of the Assembly seats with 47.02% of the first preference votes State-wide. The ALP would have gained the same percentage of the seats, but with 45.57% of the state-wide vote. Because neither major party was sufficiently well-supported by the voters to deserve Government by itself, the choice of which major party would govern would be made by three of the MLAs in the 'Others' category agreeing to support a Government. The 'Others' category gained 7.41% of the vote. 

The balance of the Parliament would not be disturbed as a result of seats becoming vacant, as Hare-Clark vacancies are filled not by a by-election poll, but by a re-examination, by the Electoral Commission, of the ballot-papers that formed the quota of votes that elected the vacating candidate at the last General Election. 

The seat of Frankston East was not filled on 18th September 1999, as one of the candidates died on polling day, so a supplementary poll was not held until 16th October. In multi-member proportional representation systems such as that for Tasmania's Assembly, there is no fresh poll in such situations. If the death is before polling day counting proceeds by using the next available preferences. If the death is on or after polling day, the usual casual vacancy countback procedure above is conducted by the Electoral Commission.