The conservative Liberal Party has governed Australia for almost ten years. Now she is being replaced by the opposition.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese.
(dpa) The Social Democratic Labor Party, led by former opposition leader Anthony Albanese, has won the general election in Australia, according to figures from broadcaster ABC and other media. Labor will be able to form at least one minority government, and it may also be enough for a majority government, it said on Saturday evening (local time).
This will most likely make Albanese the country’s 31st prime minister. The 59-year-old has been Vice Prime Minister in the past. He has been head of the laboratory since 2019.
According to preliminary calculations, the party can count on at least 71 seats in the lower house. The majority is 76 seats. The right-wing conservative coalition under Prime Minister Scott Morrison initially only had 49 seats and can no longer achieve a majority. Labor has not been in power in Australia for almost a decade.
Hours after the counting of votes began, it was unclear how the election would turn out. The main reason was the good performance of many independent candidates and the Australian Greens (The Greens).
Around 17 million eligible voters were called upon to vote for all 151 seats in the House of Commons and half of the 78 seats in the Senate. There is a compulsory choice. About half of Australians have reportedly voted in advance, either by absentee ballot or early voting. The 2.7 million postal votes were not counted on Saturday.