Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared victory on Sunday in a marathon national election, with his coalition government retaining power after a concession call from the opposition leader, Bill Shorten.
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“This is a great day”, Mr. Turnbull said in a press conference shortly after opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat.
Both Mr Pyne and Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg both emphasised Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s mandate on Monday, amid reports conservatives wanted more of a say on policy after the result.
“We’ve strengthened our position and it’s gone as predicted, ” Mr Georganas said.
Well it always takes this long, but we don’t notice because it usually becomes obvious on election night when around 70 per cent of the votes have been counted that one side or the other has won enough seats.
He said he had called the prime minister to congratulate him on Sunday afternoon, and promised that “where there is common ground we will work very hard to accomplish it”. Parties are required to hold at least 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to form a majority government, and neither party has yet to officially reach that number.
Labor could win 68 seats and the Liberal-held Queensland electorate Herbert is going down to the wire. It’s about the Australian people…Everything we do, is about the future. The Greens party appears to be in the third place, having secured some 9.8 percent of votes.
And then there are the demands Labor will make on the re-elected Turnbull Government. Smaller parties and independents will win five, the broadcaster projects.
With around a quarter of the votes still left to be counted, the Australian Electoral Commission said the coalition was leading in 74 seats, the center-left Labor Party in 71 seats and minor parties and independents in five.
The chaos follows one of the closest elections in Australian history, which failed to deliver an immediate victor.
Before forming government, Turnbull must sign a new Coalition agreement with Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.
“I understand we need to make this parliament function and we’ll be up for that”, he said.
“In these circumstances I advise you that I am in a position to form a ministry that has the confidence of the House of Representatives”, Turnbull wrote.
The junior coalition partner, the Nationals, meanwhile, are agitating for an extra seat in cabinet given they are on track to increase their representation in parliament.
The election was an opportunity for Turnbull to get the clear backing of voters, nine months after he seized the Liberal leadership from Tony Abbott in a coup of ruling party lawmakers.
Greg Dooley, managing director of Computershare’s Investor Services, which has developed and managed electronic voting for more than 900 listed companies over more than a decade, says the move to e-voting is inevitable.
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The Prime Minister said it was too early to speculate whether the Government would be able to pass the legislation which he used to trigger the double dissolution election – bills to crack down on union corruption and reinstate the construction industry watchdog.
