Farage had earlier told supporters at a Reform UK event that he was “damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for, and you’ve tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies”.
He then added he would not attend the count as Essex Police had told him about an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”.
Count Binface said he had asked police if was there “any credible threat of a disruption here”, adding: “I can tell you they said unequivocally no, it was safe to go ahead.”
He also told reporters that hearing the “verdict of the Clactonites was the least I could do”.
He added: “All I will say to you is what happens next: let’s all meet for part two of the Clacton by-election coming soon to a leisure centre near you.”
This remark was a nod to a possible second by-election in Clacton, which could occur as a result of an investigation into Farage by Parliament’s standards commissioner.
Farage resigned as an MP last month and stood in the subsequent by-election after facing intense scrutiny over financial support he has received.
The standards commissioner had been investigating Farage from May after the Reform leader did not declare a £5m gift he received from billionaire Reform donor Christopher Harborne before he became an MP.
Farage has argued he did not need to declare the gift, which he described as “unconditional”.
The investigation was paused as a result of the by-election and resumed following his return to Parliament.
One possible outcome of a standards investigation is a suspension which triggers a recall petition. This process enables an MP to be removed and a by-election triggered if 10% of eligible registered voters sign a petition.
The other main UK parties are expected to put up a candidate if there is a second by-election.
Independent candidate Marc Wilkinson, who received 11 votes, was not happy with the attention Count Binface received during the campaign.
He said: “I was shocked that all the main parties didn’t stand, I was shocked that Reform called the by-election, shocked that all the attention has been on Count Binface, most incredibly shocked by the extent to which the other candidates have been essentially ignored.”
