Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Forde was won by Bert Van Manen (Liberal National (Qld)) at the 2019 federal election, with a margin of 15,736 votes over Des Hardman after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Forde from 1984 to 2019.
Australia uses instant-runoff (preferential) voting: voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no one has a majority of first-preference votes, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed to voters' next preference, repeating until one candidate has a majority. The "Winner" and "Margin" below reflect the final result after preferences (equivalent to the AEC's own two-candidate-preferred figure) — not simply whoever led on first preferences, which can occasionally be a different candidate.
Full Election History (After Preferences), 1984–2019
Election
Winner
Party
Final Votes
Final Share
Runner-up
Margin
1984
David Watson
Liberal
26,272
50.0%
Hamish Linacre (Labor)
43 (0.1 pts)
1987
Mary Crawford
Labor
30,152
51.0%
David Watson (Liberal)
1,227 (2.1 pts)
1990
Mary Crawford
Labor
34,910
54.5%
Brad Bauman (Liberal)
5,749 (9.0 pts)
1993
Mary Crawford
Labor
40,969
58.6%
Jim Planincic (Liberal)
11,990 (17.1 pts)
1996
Kay Elson
Liberal
41,087
59.7%
Mary Crawford (Labor)
13,352 (19.4 pts)
1998
Kay Elson
Liberal
37,948
55.2%
Peter Keech (Labor)
7,207 (10.5 pts)
2001
Kay Elson
Liberal
44,207
57.4%
Valerie Smith (Labor)
11,372 (14.8 pts)
2004
Kay Elson
Liberal
47,502
63.0%
Sean Leader (Labor)
19,586 (26.0 pts)
2007
Brett Raguse
Labor
41,419
52.9%
Wendy Creighton (Liberal)
4,550 (5.8 pts)
2013
Bert Van Manen
Liberal National (Qld)
41,256
54.4%
Peter Beattie (Labor)
6,652 (8.8 pts)
2016
Bert Van Manen
Liberal National (Qld)
42,486
50.6%
Des Hardman (Labor)
1,062 (1.3 pts)
2019
Bert Van Manen
Liberal National (Qld)
53,635
58.6%
Des Hardman (Labor)
15,736 (17.2 pts)
First-Preference Result by Election
Every candidate's first-preference votes, before any preference redistribution.
1984
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Hamish Linacre
Labor
23,573
44.9%
David Watson
Liberal
16,707
31.8%
Francis Gaffy
National
8,675
16.5%
Michael Coogan
Australian Democrats
3,564
6.8%
1987
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Mary Crawford
Labor
27,441
46.4%
David Watson
Liberal
20,957
35.5%
Tony Philbrick
National
7,107
12.0%
Sheila Rieff
Australian Democrats
3,582
6.1%
1990
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Mary Crawford
Labor
28,063
43.7%
Brad Bauman
Liberal
24,232
37.7%
Jason Neville
Australian Democrats
7,138
11.1%
Coral Wynter
Greens
2,169
3.4%
Ross Adams
National
1,967
3.1%
John Duggan
Independent
646
1.0%
1993
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Mary Crawford
Labor
36,227
51.8%
Jim Planincic
Liberal
23,590
33.7%
Alan Dickson
Australian Democrats
4,085
5.8%
Peter Flaws
National
2,527
3.6%
Barry Stark
Greens
2,070
3.0%
Marion Corbley
Independent
1,494
2.1%
1996
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Kay Elson
Liberal
28,172
40.8%
Mary Crawford
Labor
23,201
33.6%
Garth Carey
National
9,833
14.2%
Xanthe Adams
Australian Democrats
5,507
8.0%
Aaron Wise
Greens
1,683
2.4%
Marshall Bell
Independent
612
0.9%
1998
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Kay Elson
Liberal
29,358
42.7%
Peter Keech
Labor
22,431
32.7%
Adrian Dean
One Nation
11,746
17.1%
Alan Dickson
Australian Democrats
3,093
4.5%
Daniel Habermann
Greens
1,546
2.3%
Geoff Daniels
Independent
286
0.4%
Danny Hope
Independent
229
0.3%
2001
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Kay Elson
Liberal
38,263
49.7%
Valerie Smith
Labor
25,424
33.0%
Alice Ngahooro
One Nation
7,372
9.6%
Alan Dickson
Australian Democrats
3,620
4.7%
Rose Clyne
Greens
2,363
3.1%
2004
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Kay Elson
Liberal
41,335
54.8%
Sean Leader
Labor
23,382
31.0%
Daniel Lloyd
Greens
3,076
4.1%
Shereen Hinds
FFP
2,986
4.0%
Aaron Heaps
One Nation
2,935
3.9%
Anita Martin
Australian Democrats
1,018
1.3%
David Howse
Independent
515
0.7%
Daniel Hope
CEC
171
0.2%
2007
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Brett Raguse
Labor
34,721
44.4%
Wendy Creighton
Liberal
26,576
33.9%
Hajnal Ban
National
9,550
12.2%
Andy Grodecki
Greens
3,756
4.8%
Iona Abrahamson
Family First
1,756
2.2%
Rod Evans
One Nation
671
0.9%
Chris Coyle
Independent
623
0.8%
Maaz Syed
Australian Democrats
419
0.5%
Danny Hope
Independent
216
0.3%
2013
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Bert Van Manen
Liberal National (Qld)
32,271
42.5%
Peter Beattie
Labor
25,794
34.0%
Blair Brewster
Palmer United Party
9,445
12.5%
Sally Spain
Greens
3,162
4.2%
Amanda Best
Family First
1,701
2.2%
Paul Hunter
Katter's Australian Party
1,652
2.2%
Jonathan Jennings
Independent
745
1.0%
Joshua Sloss
Independent
698
0.9%
Keith Douglas
Independent
262
0.3%
Jan Pukallus
Independent
130
0.2%
2016
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Bert Van Manen
Liberal National (Qld)
34,096
40.6%
Des Hardman
Labor
31,587
37.6%
Sally Spain
Greens
5,393
6.4%
David Wilks
Independent
5,242
6.2%
Annelise Hellberg
Family First
4,687
5.6%
Shaun Spain
Independent
2,905
3.5%
2019
Candidate
Party
First-Pref. Votes
Share
Bert Van Manen
Liberal National (Qld)
39,819
43.5%
Des Hardman
Labor
27,008
29.5%
Ian Bowron
One Nation
10,807
11.8%
Kirsty Petersen
Greens
7,987
8.7%
Paul Creighton
United Australia Party
3,696
4.0%
Les Innes
FACNP
2,217
2.4%
Margin Over Time
Final (after-preferences) winning margin, percentage points, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Forde has been contested at 12 federal elections on record since 1984. Winning parties over that span: Liberal, Labor, Liberal National (Qld).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Forde in the 2019 federal election?
Bert Van Manen (Liberal National (Qld)) won Forde in 2019 after preferences, with 53,635 votes (58.6%) to Des Hardman's 37,899.
Which parties have won Forde since 1984?
Since 1984, Forde has been won by: Labor, Liberal, Liberal National (Qld).
What was the closest result in Forde?
The closest result on record for Forde was 1984, when David Watson (Liberal) beat Hamish Linacre by 43 votes (0.1 percentage points) after preferences.