The 57-year-old, who in 2007 endured an agonising 16-day wait to learn his fate, said he was “reasonably” confident of his re-election.

Although pre-poll and postal votes are still to be counted, the Liberal-Nationals appear likely to have nine candidates elected to the Legislative Council.

With Mr Khan sitting eighth on the ticket, his path back to the upper house could only be dashed by “something drastic changing”.

“I’m reasonably certain at this stage,” he said. “It certainly does seem to be a much healthier position than eight years ago.”

Mr Khan looks to be the only one of the 13 North West candidates standing for the Legislative Council likely to win a seat.

With the Greens seemingly set to have two, or perhaps three, candidates elected, Gurley-based candidate Penny Blatchford is sitting too far down the ticket.

An unnamed group of independents comprising candidates largely opposed to coal seam gas development, including eight from the local area, were yesterday tracking at just 0.06 per cent of the vote.

Mr Khan said if the Coalition picked up nine seats, it could end up with 20 out of 42 members in the Legislative Council. “It may well be a more manageable Parliament,” he said.