Nigel Farage says he won't attend count in bizarre Clacton by-election

Right-wing political leader Nigel Farage has told supporters he will skip the UK tradition of joining all of the candidates on stage when a final result is announced in the Clacton by-election.In July, the 62-year-old former banker announced he would stand down as an MP and recontest his parliamentary seat while under investigation for a £5 million gift he did not declare in the months before he was elected to the Commons in 2024.Polls closed in the by-election at 10pm local time (7am AEST) and counting is still underway, with a final result expected within hours.But in a speech to a room full of Reform UK supporters, which was delivered several hours before the count concluded, Mr Farage declared there would be "no question" about the result."The verdict has now come in … you haven't heard it yet," he told a cheering and laughing crowd."It is a convincing overwhelming win," he added, before the crowd broke out in chants of "Nigel! Nigel! Nigel!"Mr Farage did not present evidence backing up his claim of a resounding victory.An "I'm with Nigel Farage" sign is displayed in Clacton. (ABC News: Daniel Pannett)The Reform UK leader also said he would not attend the official count, claiming, without providing evidence, that there was an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade" the result."I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory … and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies," he told the crowd."I will not, sadly, be attending the count."Shortly after Mr Farage's speech, acting returning officer for the by-election and chief executive of Tendring District Council, Ian Davidson, denied there was an issue with the count."I will not comment on security matters," he said during a live stream of the proceedings."But I am going to say to you that we've been working closely with Essex Police, we've just had a further meeting. There is no issue in terms of us completing the count tonight."In his re-election campaign, Mr Farage had framed the poll as a "people versus the establishment" contest, but many of the UK's major parties opted not to field candidates after deriding it as a stunt.He instead competed against an odd assortment of 33 other candidates, including 20 independents. A man who chose to wear a bin on his face became his main, and most notable, rival. The political satirist, dubbed Count Binface, has run in other high-profile elections before, including against then-prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, and was on track to secure the second-highest number of votes.A man voting for Count Binface proudly displays a shirt emblazoned with his image. (ABC News: Daniel Pannett)"It's a joke, [an] absolute joke. I just think the whole thing is a farce," one voter told the ABC.In what was regarded as a by-election steeped in bizarre novelty, Clacton residents had to use a one-metre-long ballot paper to cast their votes.But with the sun out and summer almost over, many locals claimed they would rather be elsewhere."[I'd rather be] hanging out the beach," another voter told the ABC.