Preferences won Mr Corbell his seat by a margin of 1626 votes against labor hopeful Meegan Fitzharris. And Mr Doszpot beat out fellow liberal Elizabeth Lee by just 255 votes.

Mr Corbell will return to the eighth assembly as the longest-serving member. The 41-year-old first joined the chamber in 1997 at the age of 26. He said he would be seeking a ministry if labor returned to power with king-maker Shane Rattenbury's support.

''If we are fortunate enough to see Katy elected as chief minister when the Assembly meets in a week, then yes, I'll certainly be indicating my willingness to serve as a minister again,'' Mr Corbell said.

He said he was grateful for the support he had received, even though his primary vote was 0.8 per cent lower than that of Ms Fitzharris.

''It's always tough for me when you have the leader and the deputy leader in the electorate … it's always a tough road to hoe.''

He said there was still a lot of work to do. ''In particular, Labor's agenda on climate change policy, the deployment of large-scale solar and other renewables in our city, and tackling the big challenge of transport in our city.''

Mr Doszpot was not aware that the official election results were available when he spoke to the Sunday Canberra Times. ''I haven't been near the computer today, or near my home … I haven't heard the final news yet. I'll celebrate when I hear that,'' he said.

The 64-year-old said he was used to elections that came down to the wire. ''It's very close but this is my fourth campaign … Elizabeth came very close to my total but I've lost by 131 votes in previous campaigns.''

Mr Doszpot, who moved into the Molonglo electorate from Brindabella last year, said it took time to establish his profile. ''I took a big risk and that risk was a personal risk … we wanted to win government and we believe the change is there. I certainly think the risk paid off …''