Australia prime minister claims shock win in country’s election as Labor’s Bill Shorten accepts defeat
There looks set to be a shock result in the Australian general election as leader of the opposition Labor party, Bill Shorten, who was widely expected to win, has accepted defeat.
The current ruling coalition is set to return to power, led by prime minister Scott Morrison, despite polls predicting he would lose.
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It is still unclear whether he will gain enough votes to form a majority government this time around.
Exit polls had suggested Labor would claim a narrow win, but Shorten has now accepted defeat.
"Without wanting to hold out any false hope, while there are still millions of votes to count and important seats yet to be finalised, it is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government," he said.
The final result will not be known for a number of hours still, with only 70 per cent of the votes counted so far.
But of those, the Liberal coalition has won or is ahead in 74 seats as he seeks a 76-seat majority, while Labor is on just 65.
The country still has a mandatory voting process, and there were a record 16.4m voters enrolled for this election, the sixth in as many years.
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Morrison told supporters after the result: "I have always believed in miracles."
"Tonight is not about me or even the Liberal Party but it's about every single Australian who depends on their government to put them first and so, friends, that's exactly what we're going to do."