Former Liberal minister Gareth Ward has claimed victory in the seat of Kiama, describing his win amid an extraordinary set of circumstances as "one for the history books".
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A day after he pleaded not guilty to five historical sexual and indecent assault charges which have been hanging over his head for the past year, Mr Ward thanked his electorate for putting "faith and trust" in him as an independent MP who will represent them for the fourth time.
"When it comes to elections, the people always get it right and it is with humility and honour that I look forward to continuing to work hard and get results for the people of our community as the local Member for Kiama," he said.
"To those who didn't vote for me for whatever reason, I respect your decision and I am here to serve those who voted for me and those who didn't."
Mr Ward has received just under 40 per cent of the first preference votes, and currently leads the two-candidate preferred count with a margin of 1.3 per cent.
Labor's Katelin McInerney earlier called Mr Ward to concede after he gained a lead she couldn't overcome as the vote count continued.
"It has become clear that Labor will not win the seat of Kiama," she said.
"While the result is disappointing, I am incredibly proud of the positive and disciplined campaign we have run to give both Kiama and NSW a fresh start."
"I put my hand up to run for the seat of Kiama to make sure that my son William and kids just like him could grow up in the best future possible."
Mr Ward acknowledged Ms McInerney's campaign, saying she had been "incredibly decent, dedicated and hard working".
"She deserves every accolade for her efforts in this contest and she can be proud of the results she achieved on election day," he said.
A first time candidate, Ms McInerney increased Labor's first preference vote to around 34.5 per cent, compared with 28 per cent at the last election.
Despite Ms McInerney taking an early lead in the Kiama count amid a big swing towards Labor across the state, Mr Ward pulled ahead by Tuesday afternoon when votes from Nowra early voting centre came in.
On a two-candidate preferred vote, he was on 51.3 per cent, while Ms McInerney had 48.7 per cent, with just over 1000 votes splitting the two candidates.
There are still postal votes to come in - which skew older and are likely to go Mr Ward's way - which means the final tally will continue to shift to Mr Ward but may not be known for some time.
His victory comes after one of the region's most interesting political contests, which has seen the MP endorsed by a majority of voters even after he was dumped from his party and suspended from parliament following serious allegations.
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On March 22 last year, Mr Ward was charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual intercourse without consent and one count of common assault. He has always strenuously denied these charges and officially entered a not guilty plea to each on Tuesday.
Police allege he indecently assaulted a 17 year old boy at Meroo Meadow in February 2013 and sexually assaulted a 27-year-old man in Sydney in September 2015.
In the lead up to the election - when Mr Ward's camp said their polling indicated he would win - Ms McInerney acknowledged that she would have a big job overcoming his significant 12 per cent margin.
The former journalist and union director told the Mercury last week that she was committed to staying as Labor's candidate for another run.
"We're here and invested and building our life here," she said.
"It's lovely to be raising our kids alongside mates from school and uni, so I'm not going anywhere."
"While we will not get across the line in Kiama, I am glad that the people of NSW voted for a fresh start and I look forward to a new Labor government delivering for our community."
She thanked her supporters and family and said she would continue to advocate for her community.