Polling underway to elect a new Parliament in Australia

In Australia, polling is underway for Parliament elections. Voters will elect MPs for all the seats in the House of Representatives, and just over half the seats in the Senate. Voting is compulsory in Australia, and about 17 million people are expected to cast a ballot this time around. 

The main political contenders are the ruling Liberal-National coalition and Labor. Either party will need to win at



least 76 of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives to form a majority government. The election is also being held for 40 out of 76 Senate seats.

Initial results are expected by this evening. Australian Electoral Commission said that more than half of voters had already been cast yesterday, with a record 8 million early in-person and postal votes.