Polls open in Australian Federal election

Polls in Australia's Federal election have opened with voters to cast their votes in what is forecasted to be a tight contest on Saturday.

Australian voters will choose between the incumbent center-right Liberal-National Party coalition led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and Bill Shorten's center-left Labor Party.

A two-party poll released by Newspoll on Saturday gave the coalition a slight edge at 50.5 per cent to Labor's 49.5 per cent while a Fairfax poll published on Friday had the two parties locked in a dead heat at 50 per cent each.

Over 12 million Australians are expected to cast their votes on Saturday with another million taking advantage of early voting in the week leading up to the election.

Both Turnbull and Shorten used the last full day of the campaign to urge voters not to be cavalier with their votes.

This is not a time to make a protest vote. This is a time to treat your vote as though that is the single vote that will determine the next government, Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

Turnbull and Shorten both spent Saturday morning campaigning in marginal electorates in the Western suburbs of Sydney which are considered key to both party's hopes of winning the election.

The party that secures 76 of 150 seats in the House of Representatives will form government with all 76 seats in the Senate also up for election for the first time since 1987.

The Liberal-National coalition and Labor are also facing significant challenges from minor parties such as the Greens and independents who could win enough Senate seats to hold the balance of power in parliament's upper house.

Turnbull set the election date on May 9, prompting an extended eight-week campaign, after independent Senators blocked Liberal-backed legislation from being passed into law.
Source:XINHUA