Australians voted in closest election

Australia, Aug 21: Australians on Saturday, Aug 21 voted in a general election as one of the closest election since 1961 in which, first woman Prime Minister Julia Gillard is pitted against her Conservative rival Tony Abbott.

Polling stations were set up at 7700 locations across the country and more than 14 millions voted. The final opinion poll indicated that 48-year-old Gillard"s Australian Labour Party (ALP) was leading by a small margin.

Her Labour party was leading at 52 per cent in the Age/Nielsen poll, down a point in a week, while the opposition Coalition was at 48 per cent. There has been a swing of about 1 per cent against the Labour since 2007, the report said.

Pollster John Stirton said Labour would need to perform well in its marginals to hang on.

Taking into account the margin for error, the figures suggest the result could range from a comfortable Labour win to a narrow win for Coalition led by 52-year-old Conservative leader Mr. Abbott.

“A very narrow Labour win is the most likely outcome, but it all depends on whether incumbency can tip the ALP over the line in the marginals," Mr. Stirton said.

OneIndia News