Australia's prime minister said on Sunday that his conservative coalition government was re-elected for a second three-year term, after a chaotic national election that left the country in a state of political paralysis for more than a week while officials scrambled to sort out who had won the tight race. Vote counting was still underway from the July 2 ballot, but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that his conservative Liberal Party-led coalition had secured a victory, and that opposition leader Bill Shorten had called him earlier to congratulate him on being re-elected. "We have resolved this election and done so peacefully," Turnbull said. The election was not, however, entirely resolved. Parties are required to hold at least 76 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to form a majority government, and neither party has yet to officially reach that number. There are two possibilities: Either the coalition will form a majority government by a slim margin, or the country will have a hung Parliament. If that happens, Turnbull's coalition will forge an alliance with independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government. Three independent lawmakers have already pledged their support to the coalition if such a situation arises. Asked whether he thought his party would win a majority, Turnbull replied simply, "We've won the election." With about a quarter of the ballots still left to be counted, the Australian Electoral Commission said the coalition was leading in 74 seats, the center-left Labor Party in 71 seats and minor parties and independents in five. It could take days or weeks to resolve the final tally. — AP
