Wyatt refuses to claim victory

A very humble Wyatt Roy votes on Saturday.

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WYATT Roy may have been the focus of national media attention yesterday but he was still refusing to claim victory.

“I'm not saying that'' was his response to congratulations about his presumed victory.

“There are so many postal votes to be counted it will be a long week ...unfortunately,'' was all the 20-year-old who appears destined to become the nation's youngest federal politician would concede.

“I'm certainly not calling anything yet. There are a number of votes that still have to be counted. I've been told I won the pre-polls but I'm not even certain of that.''

Nor was he getting too carried away with the glare of the media spotlight.

“One thing is certain about politicians,'' Roy said. “No-one likes them.''

Win or lose in the southern Sunshine Coast seat of Longman, the university student who voted in his first federal election on Saturday said he hoped his story would convince more young people to engage in the political process.

“We need to make politics positive and inclusive,” he said.

“Young people have felt naturally excluded. Win or lose I hope I can make a real difference in encouraging more people to play a role.

“There is a disconnect with politics but it is civil service and is the realm where everyone can make a real difference.

“I've tried to be positive in this campaign and have talked about how good politics can be.''

He laughed at the rock star attention he has been receiving on Twitter, being the most talked about individual on the new media in the world yesterday.

But he embraces the internet and social networking sites describing them as tools that have become other ways to make politicians more accountable.

Of the 87,062 voters enrolled in Longman only 78.91% turned out to vote, a figure reflective of national trends.

Mr Roy recorded a 3.87% swing to the Coalition on the 2007 vote which saw sitting Howard minister Mal Brough lose to Labor's Jon Sullivan.

This time Mr Sullivan appears to have garnered only 48% of the two-party preferred vote to Mr Roy's 52%.

Yesterday afternoon he was looking for a break from the spotlight and a chance to just lay down and catch some decent sleep.