Close race looming as Mayo count begins

A close contest was tipped in the federal by-election in Mayo as polls closed and counting got underway for the South Australian federal seat.
Liberal candidate Jamie Briggs was favoured to retain the seat for the opposition
but with 11 candidates standing and a range of preference deals in place, the
electoral commission said a result might not become clear.
The main opposition for Mr Briggs should come from Greens candidate Lynton Vonow
after Labor decided not to contest the seat.
Casting his ballot, Mr Vonow said one thing he had noticed during the campaign was
the willingness of voters to turn Mayo into a marginal seat, one way or the other.
Mr Briggs also believed the result would be close but directed his attack at Labor
for not running a candidate, describing the decision as gutless.
Also in the mix in Mayo was former Liberal candidate Bob Day, who left the party
after a bitter preselection battle to run for Family First instead.
The Mayo poll was forced by the resignation of former foreign minister Alexander
Downer who had held the seat for 24 years.
Mr Downer said with Labor not running and so many candidates contesting the seat,
the result could be decided by just a handful of votes.