Counting of postal and pre-poll ballots will take place on Monday, after which the final results will be declared.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal Party lost power in the state of South Australia in a shock electoral defeat, raising concerns for the federal government, which faces national elections in nearly two months.
The centre-left Labor Party took power in South Australia, which has a population of around 1.8 million, after Liberal Party leader Steven Marshall conceded defeat following elections late Saturday.
The Australian Associated Press reported that Labor, led by former union boss Peter Malinouskas, is set to grab at least 25 seats in the 47-seat state assembly.
Counting of postal and pre-poll ballots will take place on Monday, after which the final results will be declared.
Marshall is the first leader in Australia to lose power since the start of the pandemic, and expresses concern for Prime Minister Morrison, who faces stiff competition in his election campaign.
Morrison’s Liberal Party at both the state and federal levels has come under pressure in recent months to deal with the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as cases and deaths soared after Omicron’s version came out.
Labor has led Morrison’s conservative coalition in consecutive opinion polls this year.
Opposition Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese has leveled with Morrison as the preferred prime minister for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to a newspaper published last week.
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