Labor's Kristy McBain claims victory in Eden-Monaro byelection

The former Bega mayor looks all but certain to hold on to the seat after postal and prepoll votes swing towards Labor

Labor has claimed victory in the Eden-Monaro byelection with Kristy McBain saying she would follow in Mike Kelly's footsteps and not be hyper-partisan" and put her electorate first, with a focus on rolling out bushfire relief to ravaged communities.

McBain maintained a narrow lead over the Liberal candidate, Fiona Kotvojs, from the moment counting began on Saturday night, a trend which continued as counting resumed on Sunday.