One Nation has successfully maintained its hold on the Narungga seat in South Australia after a review of ballots that were not counted on election day.

The South Australian Electoral Commission announced that if these ballots had been included in the initial tally, the victory margin for One Nation’s Chantelle Thomas would have grown from 58 to 74 votes.

In a recent update, the commission disclosed the discovery of 81 unopened ballots for Narungga, along with several hundred from other electoral divisions.

Given the narrow margin in the Narungga seat, the commission called for a recount of these specific ballots.

Acting Electoral Commissioner Leah McLay provided details in a statement, indicating that out of the 81 ballots, 46 were cast for Ms. Thomas while 30 were for the Liberal candidate, Tania Stock. Additionally, one ballot was rejected, and four were classified as informal.

“If these ballots had been accounted for during the initial count and subsequent recount, the margin in favor of Chantelle Thomas from One Nation would have increased from 58 to 74 votes,” she explained.

The electoral commission confirmed Ms. Thomas as the winner of the Narungga seat following a recount conducted on April 1 and 2, where she initially secured victory by a margin of 58 votes, equivalent to just 0.1 percent.