Australia's far-right populist One Nation party, led by Pauline Hanson, won its first-ever seat in the House of Representatives on Saturday, according to preliminary results of a by-election.
The anti-immigration party candidate, David Farley, a former agribusiness executive, won the rural constituency of Farrer, located between Sydney and Melbourne, with approximately 59,1% of the vote, according to projections by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
He thus overtook the centre-right Liberal Party, which had previously held this seat.
"It's very clear that Farrer's next congressman will be David Farley," election analyst Casey Briggs told ABC. "The outcome is clear."
This victory is a historic step for One Nation, founded thirty years ago by Pauline Hanson, as the party had never before managed to win a seat in the lower house of the Australian Parliament.
The success of One Nation comes amid a rise in populist and far-right movements in several Western democracies.
Despite this setback, the ruling Labour Party retains a large parliamentary majority with 94 seats out of the 150 in the House of Representatives.
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