Recount to make Palmer wait a week OUTSPOKEN political hopeful Clive Palmer will have to sweat it out for another week before he knows whether he'll take a seat in federal parliament. The mining magnate faces a full recount in the Queensland seat of Fairfax, after he finished just 36 votes ahead of his Liberal National Party rival. Australian Electoral Commission spokesman Phil Diak says the process could stretch into next week - placing the aspirations of the voluble mining magnate on hold for now. Mr Palmer - whose Palmer United Party polled above expectations and is likely to have three representatives in the new parliament - has been highly critical of the AEC. Last week, he called for a recount in the Queensland sunshine coast seat due to "suspected major voting discrepancies." These revolve around the counting of 768 Senate pre-poll ballot papers with Mr Palmer alleging vote tampering and irregularities with the counting process. In a statement, the former LNP official said that on the basis of evidence, "a fraud has been committed" as he accused the AEC of "cover up." "I will continue to fight to hold the AEC accountable as they've shown themselves to be greatly incompetent with no transparency," he said, in a statement. Under Australia's electoral laws, any candidate in a federal election can lodge their concerns with the Court of Disputed Returns. With Mr Palmer just 36 votes ahead of his LNP rival, Ted O'Brien, the electoral commission will tomorrow (Monday) begin a full distribution of preferences in the seat. If the margin remains below 100 votes, then the AEC will commence a fresh count of all ballot papers - a process that could drag into next week.