Lib leader hopeful wins marginal Hawthorn

Former shadow attorney-general and Liberal leadership hopeful John Pesutto will return to Victorian parliament.

The Liberal candidate for the marginal seat of Hawthorn moved almost 1000 votes ahead of teal independent Melissa Lowe as pre-poll absentee ballots roll in on Wednesday.

Ms Lowe conceded to Mr Pesutto soon after.

"Congratulations to (John Pesutto) on his success in Hawthorn!" she tweeted.

"He and Betty worked exceptionally hard on his campaign, and the result is a credit to their efforts and the efforts of their team. Wishing you well, John!"

The result paves the way for Mr Pesutto to nominate to become party leader after he was informed on live television that he had lost his seat four years ago to retired teacher and Labor candidate John Kennedy.

Mr Kennedy also congratulated Mr Pesutto in a phone call on Wednesday.

The Liberals have also snatched the lead in Pakenham, one of six lower house races still too close to call after Labor's crushing election victory.

Liberal candidate David Farrelly skipped ahead of Labor's Emma Vulin by 220 votes on earlier on Wednesday afternoon.

Ms Vulin previously led Mr Farrelly by eight votes for the seat, which was recreated after a redistribution of electoral boundaries.

The other lower house contests remaining neck-and-neck are Bass, Hastings, Mornington, Preston and Northcote.

The Liberals remain on track to clinch the seat of Mornington over another teal independent, while Labor is ahead in Preston, Northcote, Bass and Hastings.

Official results for close seats will not be known until preference distributions are carried out next week and the outcome of upper house regions will take even longer.

"This is because all eligible votes must be admitted to the count first and rechecked," a Victorian Electoral Commission spokesperson said.

Postal votes lodged before polls closed on election day can be received up until 6pm on Friday.

Early figures indicate progressive parties could hold the balance of power in Victoria's upper house.

Reason Party leader Fiona Patten could lose her seat to former Labor minister turned Democratic Labour Party hopeful Adem Somyurek.

While final results for the Legislative Council are not yet known, it appears both Labor and the coalition will claim 15 seats.

The crossbench is likely to be made up of 10 mostly left-leaning members, including three Greens and seven candidates from micro parties.

Among them are three potential candidates from Legalise Cannabis Victoria, one from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, one from the Animal Justice Party, and one from the Liberal Democrats.

Premier Daniel Andrews led Labor to a sweeping victory to secure a third term in power.

Labor is on track to win more than 50 of the 88 seats in the lower house, despite a plunge in its primary vote and double-digit swings against the party in parts of Melbourne's north and west.