Morrison tells his disappointed supporters that he has called the opposition leader, Labor's Anthony Albanese, and congratulated him on his victory and the post of Australia's next prime minister.
- In this country, in times like these when we look around the world and especially when we look at those who are fighting for their freedom in Ukraine, we can give a thought to our proud democracy, he says according to ABC.
After almost four years as Prime Minister, the Morrison era thus goes to the grave and he says that he also resigns as party leader for the conservative Liberal Party, which since 2013 has ruled in a coalition with the Nationals.
No statement from Albanese
That his replacement is called Anthony Albanese is clear, however, not yet whether he will be allowed to rule with Labor in his own government or whether he will have to seek one or more coalition partners.
Albanese has not yet commented.
At 15 o'clock, Swedish time, only just over 50 percent of the votes had been counted.
However, about half of those eligible to vote are said to have voted early, a higher proportion than in the last election in 2019. Then, as now, Labor had a lead in public opinion, but surprisingly, the Coalition gained confidence at the time.