Latest counting points to a deadlock in Australian election
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Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Coalition Leader Tony Abbott are heading for a draw of 73 seats each, latest election counting showed on Tuesday.
Antony Green, a closely watched analyst who uses computer algorhythms to project elections results, said on ABC Online News that the ruling Labor party and conservative opposition would each win 73 seats in the 150-seat lower house of Saturday's general election.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) listed Labor-held Hasluck and the Liberal-held seats of Dunkley and Boothby as too close to call on Monday as counting continued.
Further counting on Tuesday improved Labor's position in the Tasmanian seat of Denison, but the Liberals/National Party held their lead in Western Australia's Hasluck.
The Liberals has been leading in the three close seats, indicating the Coalition on track to move from its current standing of 70 to 73 seats, while Labor would improve from 72 to 73 if it gained Denison, The Australian newspaper reported.
This would leave both sides short of the 76 seats needed to form government in their own right and relying on the three independents, Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Bob Katter and the Greens member for Melbourne, Adam Bandt, to form government.
The AEC's current official tally is 72 seats for Labor and 70 for the Liberal/National Party.
After recounting the weekend's votes in many seats on Monday, the AEC will move on to pre-poll and postal votes over the next few days, which should provide a clearer picture in the tight seats. But with postal votes able to be received up to 13 days after polling day, the results may not be finalized until late next week.
