AUSTRALIA’s last presidential election has been postponed for the second time in two years after a court ruled the state could not hold a recount.
The Australian Electoral Commission announced on Wednesday the state will hold a second vote in October.
In November, the Australian Electoral Office (AEO) ruled there was no reason to hold a count of the 2.9 million ballots cast in the country’s last general election.
The election, held on October 25, 2016, saw former president Donald Trump win the election despite a contested count.
Mr Trump, who has repeatedly denied the results were rigged, led a coalition led by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who won a resounding victory, with a margin of nearly 1.6 million votes.
However, Mr Rudd had also been under pressure to concede the election, amid a series of scandals involving his former cabinet colleague Julia Gillard.
Mr Rudd was not allowed to attend the official recount, but the Australian Greens have been pushing for a recount and Mr Turnbull has been critical of the AEO’s decision.
The ABC has been told that the AOE has not yet given a date for the next round of the election and that the next date to hold the vote will be the end of October.
There are currently 5.5 million eligible voters who have not yet cast their ballot.
However in recent weeks, the AGO has been hearing from people who are worried about the legitimacy of the outcome.
Topics:elections,government-and-politics,government,elections-and/or-elections