Clacton-on-Sea, UK - UK politician Nigel Farage won his contest against Count Binface in the Clacton by-election, but the joke candidate declared the result a "moral victory" against the far-right leader.

Farage, leader of the UK's far-right Reform Party, triggered the by-election in July while under scrutiny for taking a $6 million gift from a billionaire. The move backfired, however, when he was forced to campaign against Count Binface.

In Thursday's by-election, Farage held onto his seat with 63% of the vote, declaring victory while votes were still being counted.

"The verdict is in and it is a convincing and overwhelming win," he said as supporters chanted his name at an event in Essex that was broadcast on X.

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His victory was far from a sweep, however, considering that Count Binface – a man dressed in a bin costume who says he's a Recyclon from planet Sigma IX – received a whopping 27% of the vote, with 9455 ballots.

While most experts expected Farage to take home the win, few expected the self-described "intergalactic space warrior" to take home more than 20% of the vote.

It was largely made possible because the vote had been shunned by the UK's main political parties.

"The moral victory is already mine," he told AFP at the counting center early on Friday ahead of the final tally.

"Hello humans, well, a new dawn has broken – has it not, literally, because it's past 6:30 in the morning?" Count Binface declared in a victory speech posted to X.

"I can officially say that I am the winning candidate – of the candidates who bothered to turn up for the result…"

"Nigel, who said that he did not want to be humiliated, maybe has been," Binface said. "I'm over the moon, I'm over your moon, I'm over my moons."