After five weeks of campaigning, billions of dollars in promises and countless marginal-seat visits by leaders, Australians head to the polls to decide the nation’s political future.
Millions of voters will cast a ballot on Saturday, as challenger Peter Dutton and his coalition camp face a battle pollsters again say is too great for the opposition.
A final YouGov poll released on Saturday puts Labor in the box seat to form majority government.
It will make Anthony Albanese the first prime minister since 2004 to win back-to-back elections.
Labor is ahead 52.2 per cent to 47.8 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, the poll provided to AAP shows.
The survey of more than 3000 people means Labor would increase its vote from the 2022 election by 0.07 per cent.
The coalition would receive 31.4 per cent of the primary vote, followed by Labor on 31.1 per cent, with the Greens on 14.6 per cent.
One Nation would get 8.5 per cent of the primary vote, with 6.7 per cent voting for an independent, while 2.5 per cent would opt for Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots party.
The opposition leader’s satisfaction level among voters has plummeted to its lowest level at minus 24, compared with minus six for the prime minister.
Mr Albanese also leads Mr Dutton 51 per cent to 34 per cent as preferred prime minister.
Mr Dutton’s standing among voters had been the contributing factor to Labor’s success in the polls, YouGov’s director of public data Paul Smith said.
“The decisive fall for the coalition among outer-suburban and provincial votes in key seats will mean Labor will be placed to improve slightly their total over (the last election),” he told AAP.
“The driving force this election campaign is the unpopularity of Peter Dutton.”
The YouGov poll revealed 38 per cent of those surveyed had cast their ballot during the pre-poll period.
The Australian Electoral Commission said on Friday more than 7.3 million people had cast their ballot, while more than 10 million are expected to vote on Saturday.
Despite the polls, Mr Albanese said he was not taking the election result for granted.
“I’m working my guts out to ensure there’s a majority government,” he told reporters on Friday.
Mr Dutton said he was still confident of a coalition victory, which would make him the first leader since 1931 to unseat a government after one term.
“We have worked hard every day and night, and I have given it all my all, as well as my team,” he said.
Labor goes into election day with 78 seats, while the coalition have 57 in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
A majority of 76 seats is needed for a party to form government.
The YouGov poll of 3003 people was carried out between April 24 and May 1, with a margin of error of 2.3 per cent.
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