Synopsis
Recent polls indicate an increase in voter support for the Labor Party and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, with only three weeks left until the general election. Labor's lead over the opposition Coalition is growing, positioning them favorably for a potential second term in the upcoming election on May 3.Key Takeaways
- Voter support for PM Albanese is rising.
- Labor leads the Coalition 52.5-47.5.
- Albanese is preferred PM by 48% of respondents.
- Labor's victory would mark consecutive wins since 2004.
- Record 98.2% of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote.
Canberra, April 12 (NationPress) Voter backing for Australia's ruling Labor Party and Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese is on the rise, just three weeks before the upcoming general election, according to recent polls.
Two newly released polls, one on Friday and another on Saturday, indicate that Labor has broadened its lead over the opposition Coalition, positioning itself strongly for a second term in the government during the election on May 3.
The first poll, released by the Australian division of UK market research company YouGov, reveals that Labor is ahead of the Coalition with a score of 52.5-47.5 on a two-party preferred basis.
This represents Labor's most significant lead over the Coalition in a YouGov poll in the past 18 months and signifies a notable shift from a 51-49 advantage for the opposition that was noted late in February.
In this poll, 48% of participants selected Albanese as their preferred PM, compared to 37% for Coalition leader Peter Dutton. In February, Albanese was ahead of Dutton 42-40 among voters' preferred PM choices, as per YouGov.
The second poll, conducted by market research firms RedBridge and Accent, and released by News Corp Australia newspapers on Saturday, surveyed voters in 20 crucial marginal seats along the East Coast and also recorded a 52.5-47.5 advantage for Labor.
This same poll in early February showed a 52-48 lead for the Coalition.
Labor ascended to power in the 2022 election after nine years in opposition, achieving a 52.13-47.87 edge over the Coalition on a two-party basis.
A victory for Labor on May 3 would make Albanese the first leader from either major party to achieve consecutive election wins since 2004.
When Australians cast their ballots in the election, they do so on a preferential basis. Each of the 150 seats in the lower house will have at least four candidates contesting, with some featuring up to 13 candidates.
This wide array of choices for voters makes it uncommon for any single candidate to attain a clear majority of first preference votes. If no candidate secures at least 50% of first preference votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on voter preferences.
This process continues until one candidate achieves a simple majority. The YouGov poll from Friday revealed that 32% of voters plan to vote for Labor as their first preference, while 33.5% support the Coalition, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
Traditionally, the Coalition performs better than Labor in first preference votes, but Labor tends to excel in preference votes, especially from the Greens, Australia's third-largest political party. Thirteen percent of respondents in the YouGov poll indicated they plan to vote for the Greens.
In the 2022 election, Labor received 32.5% of the primary votes, the Coalition garnered 35.7%, and the Greens accounted for 12.2%.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) announced on Friday that a record 98.2% of eligible Australians are registered to vote in the upcoming election. The number of registered voters has surged by 870,000 since 2022, reaching over 18 million.
It is mandatory for Australians who are registered to vote in the general election.
