Enlarge image
Campaign advertising for former opposition leader Anthony Albanese
Photo: LOREN ELLIOTT / REUTERS
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.
Labor will be able to form at least one minority government, and it may also be enough for a majority government, it said.
Labor has not been in power in Australia for almost a decade.
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.
Greens perform surprisingly well
The fact that a majority government may not be enough is also due to the fact that many independent candidates and the Australian Greens (The Greens) appear to be doing surprisingly well.
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.
Voting is compulsory in Australia.
Around 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.
Labor had long been well ahead of the Conservative Party in the polls, but their lead had narrowed in the days leading up to the election.
The most important issues in the election campaign were the economic situation and the climate crisis.
The Labor Party had spoken out in favor of higher wages.
Many conservatives deny climate change
Many Australians also see the climate crisis as a huge concern, especially after the recent devastating east coast floods.
The country has also been suffering from severe bush fires and droughts for years, coral bleaching and tree death are other problems.
Conservative PM Morrison is a supporter of the influential coal industry.
Many members of his Liberal Party are considered climate change deniers.
The corona pandemic played a minor role in the election campaign, although the number of cases is still high and the country recorded more than 50,000 new infections on Friday.
jlk/dpa