Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly occurred on Saturday, 20 October 2012. The 11-year incumbent Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Katy Gallagher, won a fourth term over the main opposition Liberal Party, led by opposition leader Zed Seselja. Candidates are elected to fill all 17 Legislative Assembly seats in the unicameral parliament which consists of three multi-member electorates, Brindabella (five seats), Ginninderra (five seats) and Molonglo (seven seats), using a proportional representation single transferable vote method known as the Hare-Clark system. The election was conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission. Key dates Last day to lodge applications for party register: 30 June 2012 Party registration closed: 13 September 2012 Pre-election period commenced and nominations opened: 14 September 2012 Rolls closed: 21 September 2012 Nominations closed: 26 September 2012 Nominations declared and ballot paper order determined: 27 September 2012 Pre-poll voting commenced: 2 October 2012 Polling day, between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm: 20 October 2012 Background The incumbent Labor Party led by Chief Minister Katy Gallagher attempted to win re-election for a historic fourth term after 11 years in government in the 17-member unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly. Labor, led by Jon Stanhope, formed a minority government after the 2008 election, with Greens holding the balance of power – Labor 7 seats (37.4%), Liberal 6 seats (31.6%), Greens 4 seats (15.6%). Stanhope resigned as Chief Minister and Labor leader on 12 May 2011, and was replaced by his deputy, Katy Gallagher. All members of the unicameral Assembly faced re-election, with members being elected by the Hare-Clark system of proportional representation. The Assembly is divided into three electorates: five-member Brindabella (including Tuggeranong and parts of the Woden Valley) and Ginninderra (including Belconnen and suburbs) and seven-member Molonglo (including North Canberra, South Canberra, Gungahlin, Weston Creek, and the remainder of the Woden Valley). Election dates are set in statute with four-year fixed terms. Candidates Nine political parties were registered with the ACT Electoral Office as eligible for the October 2012 election. Australian Labor Party (ACT Branch) Australian Motorist Party Bullet Train for Canberra Liberal Democratic Party Marion Lê Social Justice Party Liberal Party of Australia (A.C.T. Division) (Canberra Liberals) Pangallo Independents Party The ACT Greens The Community Alliance Party (ACT) Three further organisations—Pirate Party Australia, Australian Democrats and No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics—were not registered as political parties in the ACT, however had stated they intended to