Australia Votes 2007: Early results suggest Labor win

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Early results in the Australian federal election held today show that the opposition Labor Party led by Kevin Rudd looks set to take government. Such a result would end 11 years under the leadership of the Liberal/National coalition led by John Howard.

Early results indicate a 5.25 percent swing to Labor, with 12 percent of the vote counted. If the pattern is continued through the night, Labor could end up with a ten seat majority in the Australian House of Representatives allowing Mr Rudd to form government.

Mr Howard may also face an uphill battle to hold onto his Sydney seat of Bennelong, with Labor recruit Maxine McKew 47.3 percent of the primary vote to Mr Howard's 42.7 percent.

Update 10:04 UTC

At 9:04 PM (AEDT), Labor leads the election with 68 seats, the coalition 43 with 37 still undecided.

Mr Howard also continues to fight for his seat of Bennelong, with the Labor candidate leading Mr Howard 45.95 to 45.19 on the primary vote.

Update 10:50 UTC

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Labor will win the election. Labor's deputy leader Julia Gillard has said Labor had all but won.

"On the numbers we're seeing tonight, Labor is going to form a government," she said.

Officially, Labor has won 71 seats, the coalition 50 with 27 undecided. 63.84 percent of the vote has been counted. Labor has received a 5.89 percent swing against the incumbent coalition.

Update 12:20 UTC

The BBC reports that Howard has conceded the election.