Allegedly abusing the process: Clive Palmer.

Allegedly abusing the process: Clive Palmer. Photo: Michelle Smith

Palmer United Party scrutineers are challenging and rechallenging thousands of votes in the Queensland seat of Fairfax in what some commentators have suggested is a ''calculated abuse'' of the electoral process.

More than half the 89,176 votes cast in Fairfax have been challenged since a recount began on October 3 after PUP leader Clive Palmer finished with seven more votes than Liberal National Party candidate Ted O'Brien.

The LNP is also challenging the ballot papers, but the Australian Electoral Commission says the majority of challenges have been by Mr Palmer's party.

ABC election analyst Antony Green said that the volume of PUP challenges suggested a ''calculated abuse of the process'' in the recount. ''I don't know what they're up to,'' he said.

Mr Green suggested the PUP, backed by Mr Palmer's wealth, was trying to wear out the LNP, given the huge demands on scrutineers' time. The commission estimates the bill for the recount will be in the ''tens of thousands of dollars''.

Scrutineers initially challenged more than 50,000 votes in the recount, which led to the ballots being referred to the Fairfax divisional returning officer. Scrutineers then rechallenged almost 44,000 votes, or 49 per cent, which were then sent to the Australian Electoral Officer for Queensland in Brisbane.

''The rate of referred challenges to the [electoral commission officer] has certainly impacted the speed of the count, and added to its complexity, which will continue this week and into next week,'' a commission spokesman said.

The 49 per cent of votes sent to Brisbane compares to 0.64 per cent of votes that were sent to the AEO in the recount of the Victorian seat of McEwen after the 2007 federal election.

On Monday, Mr Palmer, who has been an outspoken critic of the electoral system, had a lead of 52 votes over Mr O'Brien, with 23 of 46 polling places finalised.

He was unavailable on Monday for comment about the recount.