Knife-edge poll: Australians swing against ruling coalition

SYDNEY:  

Australia was headed for a hung parliament or a minority government with more than half the votes counted in a national poll on Saturday, potentially blocking Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s ability to enact key economic reforms.

Official electoral data for the House of Representatives showed a 3.2 per cent swing away from the Liberal-led coalition government as officials clocked off for the evening with almost 10 million votes counted.

The leader of Australia’s conservative Liberal Party-led coalition prompted the election by dissolving both houses of parliament in May, blaming intransigent independents in the upper house Senate for blocking his agenda.

Turnbull, acknowledging that the contest was “really close”, on Friday urged voters not to make a protest vote.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2016.