THE GREENS’ Simon Sheikh has conceded the Senate contest as results point to The Liberals’ Zed Seselja securing the ACT’s second Senate seat.

In a statement released today, Mr Sheikh said the Animals Justice Party’s decision to preference the Liberal Party ahead of the Greens had made it “incredibly difficult for the Greens to win this Senate seat”.

He added the Greens’ campaign this year had “been a demonstration of how grassroots, community engagement can work.”

“We doorknocked over 20,000 houses and overwhelmingly we heard the same message; that people are tired of the old parties’ race to the bottom and they are looking for alternative vision for Australia,” he said.

“All across the country there was a swing towards the right – except here in Canberra. In Canberra, we saw a drop in the Liberal vote and Zed Seselja is currently below quota, which means preferences will decide this Senate seat.

“The AEC will announce the final Senate results next Tuesday, but I wanted today to take this opportunity to thank everyone who volunteered, donated or in some way contributed to our campaign; and to congratulate Mr Seselja on his success.”

The announcement comes after almost a month of “grinding” counting, after Labor’s Kate Lundy predictably retained her position in the first ACT Senate seat.