The labyrinth deals organised by “preference whisperer” Glenn Druery have lifted the microparties to new heights, winning up to nine of the forty seats in the new council – even though their collective vote went down.

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One of the biggest was the party of Druery’s employer, Senator Derryn Hinch. It appeared likely to take the final seat in the Northern Metropolitan region from Fiona Patten, leader of the Reason Party and the moving force behind the dying with dignity legislation.

The Hinch party will certainly take the final seat in Western Metropolitan region from the Greens, after its candidate, former Maribyrnong mayor Catherine Cumming won 6 per cent of the vote. It also looked well set to win a third seat in Western Victoria.

The Shooters party has retained its seats in Eastern Victoria and Northern Victoria, and could win the final seat in Western Victoria.

There was a big increase in the proportion of Victorians voting below the line, but most of them were supporting parties that were not part of Druery’s deals. Almost 90 per cent of voters still chose to tick the box, which meant that their preferences were decided by others.

The secret of Druery’s success has been his ability to persuade all the microparties to exchange preferences with each other, rather than directing them to Labor, the Coalition or the Greens.

Labor scored huge swings, exceeding 10 per cent in most seats, and looks on track to win 19 of the 40 seats in the new chamber.

The Coalition looks likely to lose four seats to shrink to just 12, while the Greens were almost wiped out, retaining only their stronghold of Northern Metropolitan.