Labor claims victory in Liverpool by-election after Liberal challenger concedes defeat

Labor looks set to claim election victory after its Liberal rival conceded defeat in a heated by-election.

Thousands of voters went to the polls in Liverpool City Council’s Southern Ward on Saturday in elections triggered by the resignation of Labor councilor Betty Green.

While the final result is still days away, nearly 50,000 votes were counted on Saturday evening, showing Labor candidate Zeli Munjiza leading his closest rival, Liberal Azam Dabbagh, by more than 6,000 votes.

In a Facebook post on Saturday night, Mr Dabbagh said he had called Ms Munjiza to agree.

He said: “I called Zeli, congratulated him, I accepted him, congratulations Zeli.

“It was a great experience and it was so nice to meet you and your family.

“It was quite a short experience; it took two weeks to organize all of this, so thank you to all the fans. Liverpool, I want to thank you for all your support.”

NSW Electoral Commission data shows more than 44,000 in-person votes were counted on Saturday, along with about 4,800 postal votes.

The count will continue until next week.

Ms Munjiza has 37.2 per cent of the first preference votes counted, while Mr Dabbah has 20.7 per cent.

There were a total of 11 candidates on the ballot, including eight independents and one Community Voice of Australia representative.

The result will be a blow to Liberal mayor Ned Mannoun, whose party holds five of the council’s 11 seats. Labor currently has four members, two of whom are independents.

Ms Munjiza wrote in a post: “I received a call from Azam Dabbagh and the Mayor to congratulate us on our victory. It is a win for all of us.

“Now the real work begins!

“I am excited to join my Liverpool Labor colleagues on the Council where we will work together for you every day.”