Labor wins 2022 state election with increased majority

Jacinta Allan and Maree Edwards were returned with commanding majorities in Bendigo East and Bendigo West.

With just over 65 per cent of the vote counted shortly after midnight on Sunday Jacinta Allan had a provisional result of 47.8 per cent of the first preference vote, and 59.9 per cent after preference distribution in Bendigo East.

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In Bendigo West Maree Edwards had recorded 46.73 per cent of the first preference and 65.59 per cent of the two party preferred vote.

With Ms Allan, the Deputy Premier, away in Melbourne, appearing on the ABC's election commentary panel, the party faithful gathered around Ms Edwards at Trades Hall on Saturday night to await the election results, and celebrated with jubilation when the result became clear.

Despite talk in the last week of a Labor upset, the ABC had called the election for Labor at 8.20pm, less than two and a half hours after the polls closed.

As the broadcaster ended its live coverage just before midnight, analyst Antony Green was predicting Labor would win 53 lower house seats, with just 15 going to the Liberals.

The result was so bad for the Liberals, who had entertained hopes of winning, it prompted one pollster on the ABC panel to suggest the party may have simply ceased to be relevant to the majority of the community.

Liberal upper house leader and shadow treasurer David Davis described himself as "incredibly sad on a personal level" about the loss.

Just after 10.45pm Opposition leader Matthew Guy fronted the cameras to concede defeat but made no mention of stepping down as leader.

He was followed shortly after 11pm by Premier Daniel Andrews, who gave an emotional speech that referred to the "very tough couple of years" of the pandemic and described Victorians as "united in our faith in science and in our faith and care for and in each other."

"Vaccines work!" he said.

The Premier said the election result was an endorsement of Labor's agenda, which includes free childcare, expanded free TAFE courses, more health workers, hospitals and schools and "bringing back the SEC".

With counting still continuing The Nationals, who have won back Mildura, Shepparton and Morwell, looked likely to have nine seats in the new parliament, including Peter Walsh's safe seat of Murray Plains and Annabelle Cleeland's Euroa.

In Ripon, which was subject to a redistribution that worked in Labor's favour, Liberal Louise Staley, who won in 2018 with just 15 votes, looked set to lose to Labor's Martha Haylett.

One lower house seat, Mornington, looks likely to go to an independent, Dr Kate Lardner.

Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam said the election result, which saw her party pick up Richmond and retain Melbourne, Brunswick and Prahran, signalled "the beginning of the end of the two party system in Victoria".

The results of voting for Victoria's upper house are not likely to be known for some time.