Conservative coalition sweeps to power in Australia

March 2, 1996
Web posted at: 2:50 p.m. EST (1950 GMT)

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australians have voted overwhelmingly for a change of government, dumping the Labor Party in favor of a conservative alliance.

Prime Minister Paul Keating conceded defeat Saturday , ending 13 years of Labor rule in Australia.

Howard "I feel many emotions tonight, but the deepest emotion of all I feel is that of humility that the Australian people have given me the privilege of leading the government of this country," said opposition leader John Howard, the newly elected prime minister.

When the final results are tabulated, some observers have predicted that the Liberal-National party coalition, headed by Howard, could have as much as a 45-seat majority in Parliament.

For many, the vote represented a rejection of Keating's drive to establish an Australian republic -- severing symbolic ties with Great Britain -- in time for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, and Howard's focus on economic issues.

Howard has promised to let voters decide whether to keep the British monarch as head of the Australian state, but he is not expected to move quickly on the matter.

Howard was reappointed head of the Liberal party a year ago. After failing to lead the party past Labor in 1987, he was replaced by Andrew Peacock in 1989.

Keating Keating will resign as head of the Labor Party, but will keep his seat in the House of Representatives, where he has served 26 years.

"I wanted to deliver for all of those who supported us," Keating said in his concession speech, "but obviously it wasn't to be."

Officials said that 11.6 million people were eligible to vote in the election. Not voting carries a $50 (U.S. $38) fine in Australia.

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Conservative coalition sweeps to power in Australia

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