Matthew Guy is insisting he can unseat Premier Dan Andrews and record a shock win in today’s Victorian election as the Victorian leader was labelled ‘a Communist Party stooge’ in a bizarre live television interview.
Around a million Victorians will cast their final votes on Saturday as conflicting polls leave the result of Mr Andrews’ quest for a third term unclear.
The day began uncomfortably for the increasingly divisive Mr Andrews, with Howard Lee, a professional Kim Jong-Un impersonator, doing a bizarre live television interview attacking the Victorian premier in his home electorate of Mulgrave.
A bullish Liberal leader Matthew Guy believes he can spoil the party for the increasingly divisive Dan Andrews, who is seeking a third term in today’s Victorian election
Conflicting polls mean the likely result remains unclear – some pundits have predicted Mr Andrews is set to finally face a backlash over his tough Covid lockdowns
The day began uncomfortably for Mr Andrews, with a Kim Jong-Un impersonator doing a bizarre live television interview attacking the premier in his home electorate of Mulgrave
‘I’m standing in the seat of Mulgrave because I figure if Dan Andrews, who is the Chinese communist stooge, can stand for re-election, I, too, can directly infiltrate Victoria more effectively if I stand in his own seat of Mulgrave,’ Mr Lee said on the Today Show.
Cost-of-living pressures have been at the forefront of the campaign, while some pundits have predicted Mr Andrews is set to finally face a backlash over his tough Covid lockdowns.
Both leaders posted contrasting final election day messages to social media early on Saturday.
A grinning Mr Guy hit social media early on election day urging voters to ‘vote liberal [and] put Labor last’ as Mr Andrews chose instead to post a hand-written pledge to voters.
‘It’s a beautiful day for a fresh start,’ Mr Guy posted, holding a texta-drawn plea for people to ‘vote Liberal’, with a joke that his ‘Photoshop broke’.
Voters were out in force early on Saturday, lining up at the St Anthony’s Catholic Church voting centre in Melbourne
The Victorian premier dodged the potential pitfalls of an all-in media conference and instead handpicked interviews and posted his promises to voters in flowing handwriting to social media
Liberal leader Matthew Guy’s jokey election day social media post contrasted sharply with Mr Andrews’ appeal to voters
Mr Andrews ignored pleas to face the media in a press conference, instead posting a photo of four promises in flowing handwriting to social media – some of which was difficult to read.
In it he promised to remove 110 ‘dangerous’ level crossings, make V-line fares ‘fair’, bring back the State Electricity Commission – a move he says will lower power prices – and ‘keep doing what matters.
But the polarising Victorian premier Mr Andrews received a blistering response to the post.
Some claimed he didn’t do enough to prevent Covid deaths and others saying they’d never forget the ‘apartheid’-like system he oversaw.
Mr Andrews also frustrated media outlets on Saturday by refusing to face questions at an all-in press conference and instead hand-picking interviews with the ABC and The Today Show.
Polls opened at 8am on Saturday with the Victorians who had not yet voted early casting their ballots
So-called Democracy sausages were on the menu in Victoria on Saturday morning as the 2022 state election comes to a close
Polls opened at 8am on Saturday with the Victorians who had not yet voted early set to cast their ballot and determine the direction of the state for the next four years after a hard-fought campaign.
More than a million people are expected to vote at 1,700 election-day sites across the state before 6pm on Saturday.
According to election analyst Antony Green so many of the 4.4million enrolled voters have already cast their ballot that only 36 per cent of voters are due to do so today.
By the time pre-poll voting closed on Friday, over 1.9million Victorians had voted early — compared to around 1.4million in 2018.
The early votes cast and postal votes submitted led to a warning from the state electoral commission that this could delay results on election night.
Mr Andrews appears in the box seat to win an elusive third term after a Newspoll published on Friday night showed Labor on track to return despite a swing of almost three per cent.
Around a million Victorians will cast their final votes on Saturday as conflicting polls leave the result of Mr Andrews’ quest for a third term unclear
Matthew Guy is insisting he can unseat incumbent Dan Andrews and record a shock win in today’s Victorian election
Labor leads the coalition 54.5 per cent to 45.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, according to the poll published by The Australian.
Labor starts on 55 lower house seats and would need to shed 11 to lose its grip on power. Newspoll has it on track to keep 45 to 50 seats.
The coalition has 27 seats and must pick up an extra 18 to govern outright.
The latest Resolve poll indicated Labor could lose between eight and 12 seats, putting it in danger of slipping into minority government.
Independent consultancy RedBridge Group forecasts Labor to end up with between 41 to 48 seats and the coalition to finish in the range of 27 to 33 seats.
Among the Labor seats at risk of tumbling are Melton, Werribee, Point Cook, Hawthorn, Box Hill, Northcote, Richmond and Albert Park.
Making his third visit of the campaign to Northcote on Friday, Mr Andrews flagged the election would be close.
‘Whole elections are determined by a handful of votes in a handful of seats,’ he told reporters.
Cost of living pressures have been at the forefront of both party’s campaigning
Liberal leader Matthew Guy, who made his final pitch to voters while touring Ballarat and Geelong, was upbeat about causing a boilover.
‘It’s easy, with respect, for those not in politics to think that can’t be done. But I can tell you it can,’ he said.
Newspoll reported that Mr Andrews is well ahead as preferred premier at 51 per cent compared with 35 per cent for Mr Guy.
The premier broke with tradition to cast his ballot early on Thursday evening, voting outside his electorate of Mulgrave alongside wife Catherine and two of his children.
Mr Guy, who pre-polled in 2018, will vote in Templestowe on Saturday morning.