Australia’s far-right One Nation party has secured its first lower house seat in the state parliament of Western Australia, defeating the ruling Labor Party to win a special election. The election was watched as an indicator of One Nation’s strength after the party surged in the polls over the past year. With 75% of votes counted, One Nation’s Luke Herdegen held 57%, while the Labor candidate had 43%, according to the state electoral commission late Saturday in state capital Perth.
Broadcaster ABC called the by-election for Herdegen. In last year’s election in the area south of Perth, longtime Labor lawmaker Paul Papalia won the seat with almost 47% of the primary vote, with One Nation trailing at slightly more than 8%. Papalia announced in July that he would retire as a family member was ill, forcing the special election.
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