Hard-right British politician Nigel Farage was re-elected to his parliamentary seat Friday in a by-election shunned by the major parties -- handing his main rival, joke candidate Count Binface, a larger than expected share of the vote.
Farage, who triggered Thursday's polls by resigning from the parliamentary seat he had held since 2024 over an investigation into his finances, swept 63 percent of the ballots in the eastern English constituency of Clacton, results showed.
While votes were still being counted, Farage had declared victory, and refused to attend the official count.
"The verdict is in and it is a convincing and overwhelming win," he said as supporters chanted his name at an event in Essex broadcast on X.
Count Binface, the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey -- exceeded expectations, however, taking 9,455 votes, 27 percent of the total.
Analysts had anticipated a win for Farage but underestimated the appeal of the self-styled "intergalactic space warrior" from planet Sigma IX, who campaigns wearing a rubbish bin on his head.
The vote had been snubbed by Britain's main political parties, including the governing Labour Party, as a stunt by the Reform UK leader to dodge scrutiny of his financial dealings.
That gave dozens of fringe candidates including Binface a chance to seize the spotlight.
"The moral victory is already mine," Binface told AFP at the counting centre early Friday.
If the other parties "choose not to stand, somebody has to stand up and be the opposition. And so it's my humble duty to actually be His Majesty's official opposition," he added.
"If a majority of the voters of Clacton say they would like (Farage) to be returned as their MP, that is to be respected," Binface added.
Farage said Essex Police had warned him that an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result" was planned.
Acting Returning Officer Ian Davidson said election officials had worked with police to ensure the process was "completed safely and securely".
Turnout reached about 44 percent, down from 59 percent in the 2024 general election but not unusual for a by-election.
In the seaside resort, many voters appeared unenthusiastic about the vote, with even some Reform party volunteers describing the contest as a joke.
"It's a bit ridiculous," party campaigner Jane Embleton told AFP on Thursday.
"It's all to make Nigel Farage look like an idiot, basically. But he doesn't look like an idiot to me or his supporters."
A record 34 candidates, most of them independents and fringe candidates, including Binface -- stood in the vote, with some of the longest ballot papers in UK history seen at the Clacton Leisure Centre, where the count was held.
'Limited Consequence'
Farage, whose party had topped national opinion polls for 18 months before falling behind recently, surprised voters with his July 7 resignation amid the probe into his finances.
The investigation by the parliamentary sleaze watchdog is examining allegations he and Reform's deputy leader, Richard Tice, failed to declare financial gifts. They deny any wrongdoing.
"Now he's back in Parliament, the standards commissioner will resume the investigation," said Stuart Fox, senior lecturer in politics at Exeter University.
"He could easily be forced to face another by-election in a matter of weeks," he told AFP.
Farage had framed the vote as "the people of Clacton versus the Establishment", aimed at thwarting the "stitch-up" over his finances.
But political pundits downplayed the vote's wider significance in a constituency that overwhelmingly backed Brexit a decade ago.
"This by-election was ultimately of limited consequence," Queen Mary University of London politics professor Stijn van Kessel told AFP Friday.
"Farage successfully managed to mobilise supporters in a constituency where he is popular. But the result does not reflect Reform's support across the country."
The parliamentary probe is investigating a five million pound ($6.7 million) donation from the cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
London police have also confirmed starting a investigation last year into donations to Reform before the 2024 election.