- Albanese seeks re -election, faces the opposition leader Peter Dutton.
- Prime Minister Albanese promises to focus on renewable energy, medical care.
- The result is likely to be announced tonight in the midst of mandatory vote.
Sydney: The vote began in Australia on Saturday in a national election dominated by the increase in prices, climate anxiety and the disruptive influence of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
From supermarket shelves to global headlines, foreign inflation and politics have weighed a lot in the campaign.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is looking for a second term, facing Peter Dutton, who has caused controversy with his praise to Trump.
The almost universal consensus in a series of opinion surveys prior to the day of the elections was that the ruling labor party of Albanese would win a second mandate.
“I will not leave anything in the field for the next three years if I am re -elected as the Prime Minister of Australia,” Albanese told Channel Seven on Saturday morning.
‘I hope we receive a majority government today so we can build on the bases we have put. Australia has folded the corner.
The first surveys were opened at 8:00 am (2200 GMT) on the east coast of Australia, which will later follow it through the Western cities of the country and the territories of the remote island.
A total of 18.1 million voters have registered for the elections. More than a third of them have thrown an early vote, the electoral authority said.
The vote is mandatory, applied with fines of Aus $ 20 (US $ 13), which leads to participations that exceed 90 percent.
A result could come as soon as Saturday night, unless the vote is very tight.
Albanese, 62, has promised to adopt renewable energy, address a housing crisis that worsens and pour money into a crunchy health system.
Trump drop
The leader of the Liberal Party and former Police officer Dutton, 54, wants to reduce immigration, take energetic measures against crime and get rid of a long -standing nuclear energy prohibition.
Some surveys showed that Dutton leaked support due to the president of the United States, Trump, whom he praised this year as a “great thinker” with ‘Gravitas’ on the global stage.
“I mean, Donald Trump is as angry as a cut snake, and we all know that,” said the voter Alan Whitman, 59, before throwing his ballot on Saturday.
“And we have to realize that.”
While the Australians grouped in Trump, both Dutton and Albanese acquired a more struggle.
“If I had to fight with Donald Trump or any other world leader, to advance the interest of our nation, he would do it in a heart,” Dutton said in April.
Albanese condemned Trump’s tariffs as an act of “economic self -harm” and “not the act of a friend.”
Economic concerns have dominated the contest for the many Australian households fighting inflated prices for milk, bread, energy and gasoline.
‘The cost of living is extremely high at this time. So, taxes is also something really big. Gasoline prices, all basic things, ‘said human resources manager Robyn Knox at AFP in Brisbane.
The owner of a small business, Jared Bell, had similar concerns.
“Our grocery stores are definitely much more expensive than they were a couple of years ago,” he said.
Campaign troops
Both Albanese and Dutton tried to promote themselves as the men of the people, but they were perplexed when the price of eggs in a national televised debate was asked.
Australian coal mining superpower will choose between two leaders with very contrasting ideas about climate change and emissions reduction.
The Albanese government has adopted global impulse towards decarbonization, warning of a future in which iron ore and coal polluting exports no longer support the economy.
Dutton’s signature policy is a scheme of US $ 200 billion to build seven nuclear reactors at an industrial scale, eliminating the need to increase renewable energy.
The 36 -day campaign was a large thing holy, but there were a few moments of lightness without script.
Albanese fell backwards off the stage in a campaign manifestation, while Dutton took blood when he hit a creepy camera on his head with a street football.
It remains to be seen if Albanese or Dutton will command an absolute majority, or if they are forced to promote a coalition with the support of minor parties.
The growing disenchantment among voters has emboldened the independents by pressing for greater transparency and climate progress.
Surveys have suggested that 10 or more non -aligned transverse could maintain the balance of power, which makes a rare minority government a different possibility.
