Australians have comprehensively rejected the agenda run by the opposition, and re-elected Labor as a majority government.
In a result that mirrors that of the recent Canadian election, the Australian center-right opposition has lost the election, and its leader, Peter Dutton, has lost his own seat.
With over 80 percent of first preference votes counted, the Australian Labor Party (ALP), which had endured declining popularity over the last year, is leading in 77 electorates and narrowly ahead in another 4.
The Liberal-National Coalition leads in just 29 and is running a close race in another 10. Independents are ahead in 9, and may take one more.
For Australia, this will be the first time a prime minister has won a second term since 1998.
All 150 seats in the House of Representatives were on the line, and 40 of 76 Senate seats.
Widely predicted to be a tightly contested race, with cost-of-living pressures, affordable housing, and energy policy dominating the campaign, the ALP managed to turn around its fortunes in the last few months.
The ALP is projected to win 86 seats in total, up from the 77 it held at the previous election. To form government a party needs to win 76 seats.
The Coalition will be cut from 58 seats to just 40, and another 10 will go to independents (including the “Teals”), and none to the Greens.
However, there’s as yet no results from Western Australian (WA) seats as the polls closed later than on the east coast due to the time difference. However, WA at present is very much a red state and has re-elected a string of state ALP governments, so is likely to cement Labor’s national victory.
Australia is unique with its preferential voting system—different from a “first past the post system”—where voters can pick multiple parties on the ballot paper, and these votes can be redistributed to other candidates. Further, the country has compulsory voting, which changes the nature of campaigning with a sizeable portion of voters often less engaged with politics.
