Australia’s ruling conservative coalition defied polls and scored a stunning political victory in the country’s general election on Saturday, with the main opposition party officially conceding the defeat.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten called Prime Minister Scott Morrison to congratulate him on the election victory. He told Labor party supporters that his party didn’t win enough seats to form a coalition government.
"I know that you're all hurting, and I am too. And without wanting to hold out any false hope, while there are still millions of votes to count ... it is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government,” he said. “In the national interest, a short while ago, I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him.”
The conservative Liberal-National Party coalition is reportedly on course to win 74 seats in the 151-seat lower parliamentary house, with 65 seats to Labor and 12 undecided.
But there was at least one casualty on the conservative side. Former prime minister Tony Abbot conceded defeat in the Sydney seat he has held since 1994.
He lost to the independent candidate and Olympian Zali Steggall amid his opposition to the climate change action, a cause many of his voters cared about.
