Australia election result: PM Anthony Albanese set to win historic second term; Opposition leader concedes defeat

Australia election results: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to win a second consecutive three-year term as his opponent conceded defeat after projections forecast incumbent Labor Party's return.

Anthony Albanese will be the first Australian prime minister to win a second consecutive three-year term in 21 years.

Australia's right-leaning opposition leader Peter Dutton also conceded defeat in Saturday's election and said that he had congratulated Anthony Albanese on his success.

“We didn’t do well enough during this campaign, that much is obvious tonight, and I accept full responsibility for that,” Dutton said.

“Earlier on, I called the prime minister to congratulate him on his success tonight. It’s an historic occasion for the Labor Party and we recognise that,” he added.

Confirming about Dutton's call, Albanese said that in times of global uncertainties, voters in Australia have chosen optimism.

“There is more to do to help people under pressure,” the incumbent Australian prime minister said, according to Reuters. He also thanked Dutton for his generous words.

Australia's general election

Millions of Australians voted in the general election on Saturday. The first polls opened at 8:00 am local time on Australia's east coast, followed later by the country's western cities and far-flung island territories.

A total of 18.1 million voters had enrolled for the election. About half of them cast an early ballot, according to election authorities.

Soaring inflation, higher interest rates, a shortage of housing, and the global economic uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump's tariff war were the major key issues that dominated the campaign discourse.

Albanese ran an almost faultless campaign against opposition leader Peter Dutton, turning around polls at the start of the year that had suggested he was headed for defeat, according to Bloomberg.

(Inputs from agencies)