Australians vote to determine conservative government future

21/5/2022 19:49

        Vote counting started in Australia's election on Saturday that will decide whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison's conservative government can defy odds and rule for a fourth three-year term.
        
        Opposition leader Anthony Albanese's center-left Labor Party is a favorite to win its first election since 2007. But Morrison defied the opinion polls in 2019 by leading his coalition to a narrow victory.
        
        His coalition holds the narrowest of majorities — 76 seats in the 151-member House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to form a government.
        
        Both leaders campaigned in Melbourne on Saturday morning before voting in their hometown of Sydney.
        
        Labor is promising more spending on care for children and the elderly. The coalition is promising better economic management as Australia's deficit soars because of the pandemic.
        
        Morrison said if reelected, his government would deliver lower taxes as well as downward pressure on interest rates and costs of living.