Four Independents and One Green Hold Balance of Power Following Australian Elections

From the Epoch Times via TPID:

The fate of Australia’s political landscape hangs in the hands of four Independent MPs, after neither Labor nor Liberal succeeded in winning a majority in the 2010 Federal Elections, Saturday, Aug. 21. . . .

For the first time in 70 years Australia is facing the prospect of a hung Parliament, whereby the two major parties will form a minority government, with the balance of power held by the four independents and one Green MP.

The last time a hung Parliament emerged was in 1940 when Robert Menzies’s United Australia Party and the Country Party clung to power, with the support of independents.

Ballot Access News:

Anyone interested in the August 21 Australian national election may get detailed election returns at this official Australian government site. Thanks to Ed Still’s VoteLawBlog for the link.

Walter at Green Party Watch:

The Australian Green Party performed very well in Australia’s recent federal election. Adam Bandt won his seat in Melbourne constituency giving the Greens one seat in the lower House of Australia’s parliament. A first for a general election for The Greens and possibly paving the way for more Green seats in the future! The Greens got about 12% of the vote in the Lower house. The Labour Party suffered a huge set back and were pushed back to 72 seats while the center right Liberal/National Coalition gained 73 seats. So it appears that the lone Green along with four Independents will control the balance of power in this hung parliament.

It also looks like The Greens will also hold the balance of power in the Senate (upper house). Expect Labour and the Liberals to negotiate with the Greens in these coming days.

With this win here in Australia and the win in Britain 2010 has proved to be a historic year for the Green movement.

Note on The Greens website:

Congratulations to all Greens campaigners and supporters.

While counting continues, at midnight election day it appears the Australian Greens have recorded a record result in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Congratulations to Adam Bandt in the seat of Melbourne, and to all the successfull Senate candidates.

At this stage it is expected that the Greens will have ten members in the Federal Parliament.

To everyone who worked on the campaign, we thank you for your efforts,

More details as soon as they come to hand.

Sydney Morning Herald:

THE Greens were hoping to secure the balance of power in the Senate last night after a backlash against the major parties pushed up their share of the vote and delivered them a lower house seat.

While the Senate result will not be clear for some days, the Greens chalked up an early lower house victory, claiming the electorate of Melbourne.

With more than a third of the vote counted in Melbourne, the Greens candidate Adam Bandt had 36.5 per cent of first-preference votes, compared to 41.3 per cent for Labor candidate Cath Bowtell.

The Liberal Party was polling 17.8per cent of the vote in Melbourne, meaning its preferences will easily deliver the seat to Mr Bandt, making him the first Green to win a seat in the House of Representatives at a federal election.

Greens strategists were hopeful that the higher national vote for the party would translate into extra Senate seats for the party, giving it the balance of power.

In voting for the House of Representatives, with more than half the nation-wide vote counted, the Greens had 11.5 per cent of the primary vote. That was up from 7.8 per cent in 2007 and was the minor party’s best yet share of the national vote.

Ballot Access News:

Australia held a parliamentary election on August 21. Although all the votes are not counted yet, it appears the neither major party won a majority in either house.

The House has 150 seats. The tentative results are: Labour 72, Liberal 72, Green 1, and 4 independents, with one seat too close to call. Assuming the Greens do win that one seat, it will be the first time in history they have won a seat in the lower house. This story describes the 4 independents and the one Green elected to the House. The Green, Adam Bandt, was elected from Melbourne. Australia uses a system very similar to Instant-Runoff Voting for House elections. This story shows how that system made it possible for Bandt to win.

In the Senate, which is elected somewhat proportinately, the Greens may also have the balance of power. See this story. Greens already had five Senators and they may have eight Senators when all the votes are counted.