The exceptionally close vote leaves conservative Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull chasing support from independent and minor parties to retain power, the very groups he called a risky double dissolution election to circumvent.
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With the possibility of a hung parliament looming, Turnbull and Shorten both said they had contacted the five independent lawmakers who could make up a minority government if needed.
“Mr. Turnbull tried to capitalize on the Brexit vote and say therefore, because of what happened in England, you had to vote for him in Australia”, Shorten said. Turnbull reporters. “He obviously couldn’t think of anything else better to say”, Turnbull said.
Of those, Dunkley, Gilmore, Capricornia, Forde and Chisholm are considered likely to be held by the Coalition, taking it to 75 seats, while Hindmarsh in South Australia and Cowan in Western Australia are leaning towards Labor.
Critics also point out that Mr Turnbull’s ploy to use the election to try to clear out minor parties from the Senate had backfired. Shorten took the leadership of Labor following a poor performance in the 2013 election and has laid out several policies during the campaign, including promising a royal commission into the misconduct in the banking and financial services industry.
The Labor Party has acknowledged it is unlikely to reach a majority of 76 seats, but it is not giving up hope of forming a minority government.
Some commentators predicted the 61-year-old former banker may be be unable to form government without the help of independent lawmakers – a result that could jeopardize his political future and prolong uncertainty in a nation that has churned through six prime ministers in eight years.
Turnbull said yesterday he remained “quietly confident” of returning his coalition to power for another three-year term. Instead, it left Turnbull’s authority in tatters less than a year after he ousted then prime minister Tony Abbott in a party-room coup with a promise of stable government.
Labor Leader Bill Shorten has accused the prime minister of putting Australia’s triple-A credit rating at risk by delivering instability after a deadlocked federal election.
The initial vote counts from Saturday’s polls were inconclusive, giving the ruling coalition an estimated 68 seats, Labour 67, others five and leaving 10 in doubt.
Shorten, 49, said Turnbull had failed to deliver the stability he had pledged the Australian public and had lost his mandate to govern. While the Australian Electoral Commission can not say when a result will be known, Turnbull is confident of a resolution by the end of this week. Turnbull took a gamble by opting to call the rare early election, and few had predicted his party would suffer such steep losses.
“Before even the votes are counted, we’re being fed the line that a snap poll could be a result of this”.
Mr Turnbull said he remained confident he could get the seats necessary to form a majority government.
It is very clear that Barnaby and I and our colleagues have to work harder to rebuild or strengthen the trust of the Australian people in our side of politics when it comes to health.
David Glance, director of the University of Western Australia’s Center for Software Practice, said the political standstill demonstrated a need for online electronic voting.
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Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen said he expects Mr Shorten to be re-elected unopposed if the Coalition forms government.
