Australia will hold a general election on May 3

28/3/2025 6:20

Australia will hold a

general election on May 3, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

announced on Friday.



Opinion polls indicate it will be a neck-and-neck race

between Albanese's ruling centre-left Labor party and the

conservative Liberal-National coalition led by Peter Dutton, as

cost of living pressures hit households.



A large number of independent and minor parties are also

seeking reelection and could become king-makers if Labor and the

Liberal-Nationals fall short of majority government.



Labor returned to power in 2022 after nine years of

Liberal-National coalition rule.



Here are some facts on how elections work in Australia:







HOW DOES IT WORK?



Australia is one of the few countries in the world with

compulsory voting for all citizens aged 18 years and older.



Australia does not have a set date for national elections,

but the maximum term for the House of Representatives is three

years. The election is called by the prime minister. The

previous election was on May 21, 2022.



There are two houses of parliament, with the government

formed by the party or coalition holding a majority in the lower

chamber, the House of Representatives. The prime minister is

chosen by the governing party from the House.







WHAT'S THE STATE OF PLAY NOW?



Labor holds 77 House of Representatives seats, the

Liberal-National coalition holds 53 seats, the Greens hold 4,

and 15 are held by micro parties and independents.



Boundaries have been redrawn in New South Wales, Victoria

and Western Australia states since the last election. There will

be 150 House of Representatives seats up for election, reduced

from 151.



If neither Labor nor the Liberal-National coalition has a

majority of seats in the House of Representatives after polling

day, a minority government can be formed with an agreement of

support from independent members or minor parties.







HOW DO AUSTRALIANS VOTE?



Australia has a preferential voting system for the House of

Representatives. Voters rank local candidates in order of

preference on their ballot papers.



A candidate who gets more than 50% of the first-preference

votes wins the seat. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the

one with the fewest votes is excluded and their votes are

distributed to the person each of those voters nominated as

their second preference. This continues until one candidate

passes the 50% threshold.



The upper house, the Senate, has 76 members - 12 from each

of the six states and two from each of Australia's two

less-populous territories. Half of the Senate seats will be

contested at this election.