The Country Liberal Party could more than triple its presence in the Northern Territory parliament, but it will still not be enough to secure power.
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With the numbers against her, leader Lia Finocchiaro stood strong on Saturday and declined to concede defeat.
"There are still a lot of votes to count but if there is one thing I know it is that the CLP is back," she told a gathering of the party faithful.
The CLP entered the Top End election with only two seats and could pick up as many as nine, but late on Saturday appeared on track to hold seven.
The incumbent Labor government had a lock on at least 12 seats in the 25-seat assembly.
Ms Finocchiaro, a lawyer and 35-year-old mother-of-two, thanked every member of her "strong and diverse" team and acknowledged it had been a battle as an opposition of two, to keep the government accountable.
"I want to start a new generation of the CLP and we've done that tonight," she said.
"The next generation starts tonight."
Australian Associated Press
