Australian General Election Results: Ruling Party Changes After Over 8 Years... Prime Minister Morrison Concedes Defeat

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In the Australian general election held on the 21st (local time), the ruling Liberal-National Coalition was defeated, making it likely that the ruling party will change for the first time in 8 years.

According to the Associated Press, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, while the vote count was still ongoing, said in a TV speech, "I congratulated the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese of the Labor Party, on his election victory during a phone call." He also announced, "I will resign as leader of the Liberal-National Coalition."

With more than 60% of the vote count completed for the 151 House of Representatives seats and 40 Senate seats, the Labor Party secured 72 seats in the House, while the Liberal-National Coalition obtained 55 seats. The Labor Party is approaching the minimum number of seats (76) required to form a majority government.

As Albanese's victory became likely, he expressed his aspirations, saying, "Now the people want to pursue common interests and move toward common goals," and "What they want is unity, and I will lead them on that path."

As a result, the outcome of this Australian general election marks a change in the ruling party after 8 years and 9 months. Albanese, who is of Italian descent, is expected to become Australia's first non-Anglo-Celtic Prime Minister.

Previously, the Labor Party had proposed policies including increased spending on childcare and elderly care, support for wage increases for low-income workers, revitalization of manufacturing, and government subsidies of up to 40% of the price for new home purchases.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.