Liberal Party won the Parliamentary elections in Australia

Australian Liberal Party on 8 September 2013 won the 44th Parliamentary elections. Liberal Party defeated the in-power Labor Party in the general elections held on 7 September 2013 to return back in power as the Liberal-National coalition for the first time in six years.

With this win, Tony Abbott the leader of the Liberal-National Coalition will become the Prime Minister of the Country and successor of Kevin Rudd of the Labor Party.

The coalition won 88 seats in the 150 seat Parliament. The ruling Labor Party was successful in winning 57 seats. Three seats were distributed between three small parties, and there were two seats still to return results. WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange failed to get elected to the Senate after running in Victoria, with his Wikileaks Party garnering just 0.62% of the popular vote. Election officials declared 80 percent of the vote as counted. Abbott's Liberal-National Party coalition had won around 52.6 percent of the national vote.

The ruling party PM Kevin Rudd accepted the defeat. He also declared that he won’t contest again for the Labor leadership.

In the election campaign, the main issues were how to tackle economic slowdown, whether to keep tax on carbon emissions and how to reduce the number of asylum seekers by boat (refugees).

Swearing –In
The Constitution provides that every Member of the House of Representatives, before taking his or her seat, must make and subscribe an oath or affirmation of allegiance before the Governor-General or some person authorised by the Governor-General.

Role of Queen
The Monarch of Australia is a form of Government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarch is nominal head in Westminister style of Parliamentary Government.

The present monarch is Elizabeth II, who has reigned, since 6 February 1952. According to the Australian constitution, the monarch is represented by a Governor General, appointed directly by the Queen on the advice of the respective government.

The Australian monarch, besides reigning in Australia, separately serves as monarch for each of fifteen other Common Wealth countries known as Common Wealth Realms. This was developed from the former colonial relationship of these countries to Britain, but they are now independent of each other and are legally distinct.

Westminster style of Parliamentary
In general there are two forms of government. They are Presidential and Parliamentary form.
The Westminster model of Parliament consists of both real and nominal heads. The Real head is head of the Government and he/she is the Prime Minister, who is vested with real powers. On the advice of Prime Minister, the nominal head will act. In Australian context nominal head is Queen Elizabeth II.

About Tony Abbott
• Leader of Liberal Party and main opposition Liberal-National coalition
• Born 1957 in UK to Australian parents
• Rhodes scholar, former student boxer and Catholic priest trainee
• Held employment and health and ageing portfolios in Howard government