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Watson — Australian Federal Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Watson was won by Tony Burke (Labor) at the 2019 federal election, with a margin of 22,786 votes over Mohammad Zaman after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Watson from 1934 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), 1934–2019

Election Winner Party Final Votes Final Share Runner-up Margin
1934 John Jennings United Australia Party 28,758 61.7% Joseph Lamaro (Labor (Non-Communist)) 10,941 (23.5 pts)
1937 John Jennings United Australia Party 31,187 53.8% William Dignam (Labor) 4,399 (7.6 pts)
1940 Sydney Falstein Labor 31,831 52.0% John Jennings (United Australia Party) 2,414 (3.9 pts)
1943 Sydney Falstein Labor 35,400 65.6% Norman Whitfield (United Australia Party) 16,812 (31.1 pts)
1946 Sydney Falstein Labor 38,025 61.1% Charles De Monchaux (Liberal) 13,779 (22.1 pts)
1949 Daniel Curtin Labor 19,909 56.4% Stanley Card (Liberal) 4,526 (12.8 pts)
1951 Daniel Curtin Labor 22,510 56.7% Donald Clark (Liberal) 5,352 (13.5 pts)
1954 Daniel Curtin Labor 25,507 63.2% Hubert O'connell (Liberal) 10,661 (26.4 pts)
1955 James Cope Labor 30,129 78.4% Jill Huxtable (Liberal) 21,813 (56.7 pts)
1958 James Cope Labor 27,232 73.9% John Bampton (Liberal) 17,604 (47.8 pts)
1961 James Cope Labor 29,079 82.6% Sidney Pitkethly (Liberal) 22,945 (65.2 pts)
1963 James Cope Labor 24,280 74.5% Louis Mamo (Liberal) 15,978 (49.0 pts)
1966 James Cope Labor 21,492 67.2% Peter Lowe (Liberal) 11,016 (34.5 pts)
1993 Leo Mcleay Labor 45,355 64.8% Bernard O'bree (Liberal) 20,762 (29.7 pts)
1996 Leo Mcleay Labor 43,913 61.7% Bruce Larter (Liberal) 16,632 (23.4 pts)
1998 Leo Mcleay Labor 48,849 67.5% Joe Rafferty (Liberal) 25,293 (34.9 pts)
2004 Tony Burke Labor 44,899 65.1% Keith Topolski (Liberal) 20,870 (30.3 pts)
2007 Tony Burke Labor 56,499 70.3% Philip Mansour (Liberal) 32,664 (40.7 pts)
2010 Tony Burke Labor 45,393 59.1% Ken Nam (Liberal) 14,029 (18.3 pts)
2013 Tony Burke Labor 44,895 56.8% Ron Delezio (Liberal) 10,760 (13.6 pts)
2016 Tony Burke Labor 56,247 67.6% Mohammad Zaman (Liberal) 29,258 (35.2 pts)
2019 Tony Burke Labor 53,518 63.5% Mohammad Zaman (Liberal) 22,786 (27.0 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

Every candidate's first-preference votes, before any preference redistribution.

1934

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John JenningsUnited Australia Party28,75854.9%
Joseph LamaroLabor (Non-Communist)17,81734.0%
William MurphyLabor3,3986.5%
Vincent MurtaghSC2,3714.5%

1937

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John JenningsUnited Australia Party31,18753.8%
William DignamLabor26,78846.2%

1940

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
John JenningsUnited Australia Party27,58645.0%
Sydney FalsteinLabor21,10134.5%
Cecil IrwinLabor (Non-Communist)6,69310.9%
Richard WilsonSL5,8689.6%

1943

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Sydney FalsteinLabor35,40052.3%
Norman WhitfieldUnited Australia Party18,58827.5%
Richard WilsonSL5,6628.4%
Leslie FingletonIndependent2,3043.4%
Arthur DudleyLiberal Democrats2,2183.3%
Harry YatesIndependent1,9422.9%
Herbert O'connellIndependent1,5792.3%

1946

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Sydney FalsteinLabor38,02553.7%
Charles De MonchauxLiberal24,24634.2%
Charles WilsonIndependent6,1778.7%
Wallace KnoxIndependent2,3643.3%

1949

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Daniel CurtinLabor19,51549.4%
Stanley CardLiberal15,14738.3%
Sydney FalsteinIndependent3,6569.2%
Harold O'reillyLabor (Non-Communist)1,2103.1%

1951

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Daniel CurtinLabor22,51056.7%
Donald ClarkLiberal17,15843.3%

1954

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Daniel CurtinLabor25,50763.2%
Hubert O'connellLiberal14,84636.8%

1955

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
James CopeLabor30,12974.4%
Jill HuxtableLiberal8,31620.5%
Henry HatfieldCommunist Party of Australia2,0255.0%

1958

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
James CopeLabor27,23271.0%
John BamptonLiberal9,62825.1%
Kenneth CollinsDemocratic Labor Party1,5033.9%

1961

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
James CopeLabor29,07980.1%
Sidney PitkethlyLiberal6,13416.9%
Mary NappaDemocratic Labor Party1,0813.0%

1963

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
James CopeLabor24,28068.1%
Louis MamoLiberal8,30223.3%
Bernard AtkinsonDemocratic Labor Party2,1366.0%
Henry HatfieldCommunist Party of Australia9512.7%

1966

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
James CopeLabor21,49262.1%
Peter LoweLiberal10,47630.2%
Thomas ColmanDemocratic Labor Party2,6647.7%

1993

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Leo McleayLabor41,70159.6%
Bernard O'breeLiberal21,33030.5%
Col HardingIndependent2,4993.6%
Amelia NewmanAustralian Democrats2,4573.5%
George TsirkasIndependent9521.4%
Brian MeyerIndependent7211.0%
M ChaplinIndependent3550.5%

1996

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Leo McleayLabor39,32955.1%
Bruce LarterLiberal23,84033.4%
Amelia NewmanAustralian Democrats5,6257.9%
Todd RahmeCommunist Party2,5703.6%

1998

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Leo McleayLabor41,15956.8%
Joe RaffertyLiberal19,46126.9%
Zahir AbdurahmanUnity3,8385.3%
Claire WrightOne Nation3,3924.7%
Amelia Gavagnin NewmanAustralian Democrats2,3093.2%
Murray PetersonChristian Democratic Party1,1761.6%
Caroline ToomeyGreens1,0701.5%

2004

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tony BurkeLabor39,04656.6%
Keith TopolskiLiberal21,72331.5%
Kali ReidGreens4,6676.8%
Cat CannoneFFP1,1501.7%
John ColemanOne Nation1,0931.6%
Garry DalrympleAustralian Democrats9141.3%
Ron PoulsenIndependent3350.5%

2007

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tony BurkeLabor49,65261.8%
Philip MansourLiberal20,95726.1%
Christine DonayreGreens5,3026.6%
Merry FoyFamily First2,0112.5%
Josephine SammutChristian Democratic Party1,9882.5%
Ronald PoulsenIndependent4240.5%

2010

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tony BurkeLabor38,70750.4%
Ken NamLiberal28,52737.2%
Christine DonayreGreens7,3879.6%
Mark SharmaIndependent2,1362.8%

2013

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tony BurkeLabor39,12649.5%
Ron DelezioLiberal30,61738.7%
Barbara BlochGreens4,1715.3%
Zaher NasserPalmer United Party1,9702.5%
David FraserChristian Democratic Party1,8732.4%
Stephen RawsonDemocratic Labor Party8971.1%
Paul KamladeIndependent3760.5%

2016

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tony BurkeLabor46,10555.4%
Mohammad ZamanLiberal21,13325.4%
Violet AbdullaChristian Democratic Party7,9579.6%
Barbara BlochGreens5,5556.7%
Tom GordonIndependent1,6111.9%
Paul GeranIndependent8751.1%

2019

CandidatePartyFirst-Pref. VotesShare
Tony BurkeLabor43,55051.7%
Mohammad ZamanLiberal24,76929.4%
Emmet De BhaldriatheGreens5,9827.1%
Karl SchubertChristian Democratic Party4,5225.4%
Dean WrightsonUnited Australia Party3,5494.2%
Raymond ZengIndependent1,8782.2%

Margin Over Time

Final (after-preferences) winning margin, percentage points, coloured by the winning party.

1934: United Australia Party margin 23.5 pts 1937: United Australia Party margin 7.6 pts 1940: Labor margin 3.9 pts 1943: Labor margin 31.1 pts 1946: Labor margin 22.1 pts 1949: Labor margin 12.8 pts 1951: Labor margin 13.5 pts 1954: Labor margin 26.4 pts 1955: Labor margin 56.7 pts 1958: Labor margin 47.8 pts 1961: Labor margin 65.2 pts 1963: Labor margin 49.0 pts 1966: Labor margin 34.5 pts 1993: Labor margin 29.7 pts 1996: Labor margin 23.4 pts 1998: Labor margin 34.9 pts 2004: Labor margin 30.3 pts 2007: Labor margin 40.7 pts 2010: Labor margin 18.3 pts 2013: Labor margin 13.6 pts 2016: Labor margin 35.2 pts 2019: Labor margin 27.0 pts 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1951 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 1966 1993 1996 1998 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019

Trend

Watson has been contested at 22 federal elections on record since 1934. Winning parties over that span: United Australia Party, Labor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Watson in the 2019 federal election?

Tony Burke (Labor) won Watson in 2019 after preferences, with 53,518 votes (63.5%) to Mohammad Zaman's 30,732.

Which parties have won Watson since 1934?

Since 1934, Watson has been won by: Labor, United Australia Party.

What was the closest result in Watson?

The closest result on record for Watson was 1940, when Sydney Falstein (Labor) beat John Jennings by 2,414 votes (3.9 percentage points) after preferences.

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