John Pesutto has been elected as the new leader of the Victorian Liberals after the party’s third election loss to Daniel Andrews and Labor.

Liberal MPs elected the former shadow attorney-general to replace Matthew Guy, in a secret ballot during a party room meeting on Thursday morning. He defeated Berwick MP Brad Battin.

Pesutto narrowly reclaimed the inner-east seat of Hawthorn after he lost it at the 2018 state election.

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He faces a steep challenge after the party secured just 29 per cent of the primary vote at the November poll, its worst result in decades.

Before the vote, Pesutto said the party would rally behind the new leader regardless of the result.

“We’re going to work hard in a unified way,” he said.

“We’re going to make sure that the Victorian people see an opposition that holds the government to account and that is ready to govern.”

Outgoing leader Matthew Guy has not revealed if he intends leaving parliament after suffering his second consecutive loss to Andrews.

Guy was defeated in the 2018 “Danslide” and resigned his position to serve as a backbencher.

He then reclaimed the leadership from Malvern MP Michael O’Brien in 2021.

Labor has at least 54 seats, the Coalition more than 31 and the Greens secured four in the lower house.

Late on Wednesday Labor won Preston in Melbourne’s north by more than 1600 votes after preferences over the Greens.

The results for Bass and Pakenham are still unknown but expected to become clear within days.

- With AAP