Australia election: Morrison steps down as Labor edges closer to victory

Scott Morrison has announced that he will step down as leader of the Liberals as the Labor party edges closer to winning the Australian election.

Not all of the results have come through but Labor candidate, Anthony Albanese is expected to win the election. What is not known, is whether he will form a majority or minority government.

Speaking on Saturday as results continued to come in, Mr Morrison said the country now needs “certainty”.

“I believe it’s very important that this country has certainty. I think it’s very important this country can move forward,” he said.

“And particularly over the course of this week with the important meetings that are being held, I think it’s vitally important there’s a very clear understanding about the government of this country,” he added.

Mr Morrison, who led the country through bushfires and a pandemic, also gave thanks for “the miracle of the Australian people” during his concession speech.

“What Australians have endured over these past few years has shown a tremendous depth of character and resilience and strength,” he said.

“It has been the Australian people under the strong support of a strong government that’s enabled all of us to come through to where we are today, and that’s something that all Australians can give thanks for as we move forward.”

He added that his party was handing over a country that was “in a stronger position than we inherited it when we came to government those years ago under Tony Abbott”.

Mr Morrison concluded: “We leave government having secured our borders many years ago. And we leave government having restored our nation’s defences.”

Once confirmed, Mr Albanese will become the first Labor candidate to be Prime Minister since Kevin Rudd in 2013.

At the time of writing, the Labor Party held 72 seats, needing just four more to confirm its victory - 18 are yet to declare.

In contrast, the Liberal-National Coalition, holds 55 seats while two have gone to the Greens, 21 to the Liberal National Party, seven to independent candidates, 10 to The Nationals and one to the right-wing, Katter’s Australian Party.

Former defence minister Chris Pyne, who stood down from Mr Morrison’s government in the last election, agreed the ruling coalition would not win enough seats to form a majority government.

“The coalition can’t get there in its own right, no,” he said.

“A Labor majority in our own right is, I think it’s very clear, the most likely outcome of this election,” senior Labor lawmaker Chris Bowen told the Seven Network.

The centre-left Labor Party last won an election in 2007 and had been the favourite during the campaign.

Mr Morrison, however, defied the polls in 2019 when he led the coalition to a narrow victory.

His coalition holds a majority — 76 seats in the 151-member House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to form a government.