THE once-mighty Country Liberal Party, having ruled all but 11 years since self-Government, is effectively dead as a political force.

Adam Giles wakes this morning not only a former Chief Minister, but possibly a former member of parliament, pending the last of the counting.

Of the 16 members who formed CLP Government in 2012, only Lia Finocchiaro is guaranteed to be returned.

At the close of counting last night, Gary Higgins was leading Labor’s Anthony Venes in Daly. In conservative Katherine, Willem Westra Van Holthe was trailing Labor candidate Sandra Nelson.

Mr Giles trailed in his Alice Springs seat of Braitling 50.2 per cent to 49.8 per cent on a two-party preferred basis to Labor’s Dale Wakefield.

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In a bitter and telling twist, Robyn Lambley and Kezia Purick, who both left the party in anger and turned independent, won their seats convincingly, the latter by an increased margin.

The CLP is now so weakened it may not have the representation to form opposition.

At the party’s Alice Springs function last night, supporters were reduced to tears as the devastating results rolled in. One speculated their town, a CLP heartland, would be forgotten and was now “doomed”.

In Darwin, there were no tears or anger, but forlorn acceptance. No-one laughed at jokes, no-one clapped.

Mr Giles called Labor leader Michael Gunner at about 9.40pm to concede and offer congratulations.

He also told him to “watch ... colleagues in bathrooms around Parliament House”, in a reference to the Nathan Barrett masturbation video, the most recent of a long list of personality scandals and debacles to erode party support. The first was March 2013, when Mr Giles knocked off the elected Chief Minister Terry Mills.

Mr Mills returned this election as an independent and polled better than the CLP candidate Marie-Clare Boothby, though he will not pass Labor’s Damian Hale.

media_camera CLP members and candidates sit under the stars while watching Saturday night’s NT election coverage at Cullen Bay. PICTURE: Justin Kennedy

“Tonight no doubt is a landslide, it’s a thumping,” Mr Giles told the Alice Springs function. “I don’t think anyone would describe it as anything different.

“But I think politically speaking ... tonight’s result is a lesson in ‘disunity is death in politics’.

“It’s a result of personalities before the politics. It’s a result of looking after one’s self rather than thinking about the people. And that message has been heard loud and clear within the candidates and within the party of the Country Liberals.”

“ ... We will rebuild and come back cohesively. We will remove the disagreements.

“We will remove the personalities of politics and we will come back bigger and better because one thing is for sure: Labor can’t manage the economy, Labor can’t manage law and order.”

CLP president Tory Mencshelyi dismissed speculation about the National or Liberal parties entering the Territory to pitch for conservative votes in her party’s place.

“I think a lot of people who were involved in creating disunity have moved on from the Country Liberals,” she said. “The Country Liberals have a core base of members and supporters.

“Some of those people have been with the party since its formation and we also have a lot of new blood that’s entered the party in the last 12 months.

“I’m confident the Country Liberals will rebuild and come back bigger and better in four years’ time.”

Former CLP Deputy Chief Minister Barry Coulter said the party’s candidates were good, but voters had already made up their minds. “You can’t abuse people for 47 months and expect people to either forgive or forget,” he said.

Ms Purick said the CLP had lost its way.

“If they were a (business) brand the company would have gone into bankruptcy,” she said.

“I think the brand is gone as a political party. But still a big chunk of NT are conservative-leaning people and they will want to be associated with conservative values.” Mr Giles thanked supporters and staff, listing the achievements of the CLP’s term and telling them the Territory was a better place than when they took office in 2012.

Former Chief Minister Shane Stone took to Facebook to offer support. “Tonight is not the time for recriminations and navel gazing as to what might have been,” he wrote. “Politics is a brutal game and not for the faint hearted.”