Labor Leader Anthony Albanese claims victory in Australian election
Reuters
Anthony Albanese became the 31st prime minister of Australia on Saturday after winning the Australian general election and ending almost a decade of conservative rule.
Speaking to supporters, Albanese said it was an extraordinary honour to lead the country and that he wanted to bring Australians together.
In results so far, Labor had yet to reach the 76 of the 151 lower house seats required to form a government alone. Final results could take time as the counting of a record number of postal votes is completed.
Labor had 72 seats and Morrison's coalition 52. Independents and the Greens held 11, the Australian Broadcasting Corp projected. A further 16 seats remained in doubt.
Earlier, conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had called Albanese to concede defeat in Saturday's election and congratulate Albanese on his victory.
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