Voting is under way in an early state election in Tasmania, where all signs point to a hung parliament and prolonged count.
Australia’s only Liberal government is chasing a record fourth successive term, while Labor is aiming to return to power after 10 years in opposition.
Saturday’s election is being held more than a year ahead of schedule after the Liberals were unable to resolve a minority government standoff with two independents.
Opinion polls point to a hung parliament, with the Liberals winning more seats than Labor but not the 18 of 35 required for majority.
Labor is led by Rebecca White, who is making a third tilt at becoming premier after briefly stepping down from the party’s top role following her 2021 defeat.
Polls suggest Labor will receive a first-preference percentage in the 20s and more than a third of voters will snub the two major parties.
The premier, Jeremy Rockliff, was casting his ballot in the state’s north-west, while White voted in historic Sorell, north of Hobart, alongside her husband, Rodney Dann, and their two children.
“There is every chance that Tasmanians won’t get a final result [on Saturday night],” she said.
“It might take a number of days before we actually understand what the makeup of the next government and parliament is.”
The Liberals have accused Labor of breaching the state’s Electoral Act by installing signs at polling booths.
A Labor volunteer said the signs had been put up “across the state” on Friday night, not in breach of an election law that prohibits distributing signs anywhere on polling day.
Final results may not be known until the week of 8 April because of Easter public holidays, a record 167 candidates and an expanded parliament.
“What the polls say is the Liberal party is the only party within striking distance of majority government,” Rockliff said on Friday.
Rockliff and White have said they are prepared to govern in minority but have ruled out doing deals or trading policy positions.
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The pair have exchanged barbs over whether a new $715m stadium in Hobart – a condition of Tasmania’s licence for an AFL club – is the right priority for the state.
Rockliff, who signed the contract, backs the project but White has described it as a bad deal and promised to renegotiate despite the AFL’s refusal to budge.
The two leaders may have to contend with a crossbench featuring the Greens, the Jacqui Lambie Network and independents.
Lambie was in Devonport in the state’s north-west alongside her candidates.
“We’ve had 10 years of the Liberal government, we’ve only seen Tasmania get worse,” the senator told reporters.
Tasmania’s lower house is being restored from 25 to 35 members, with seven MPs for each of the state’s five electorates.
More than 90,000 of Tasmania’s 408,000 registered voters have cast their ballot early.
Former Liberals John Tucker and Lara Alexander, whose decision to quit the party put the government in minority in May, are running as independents.
Other independent candidates include the former Liberal speaker Sue Hickey, the one-time Labor leader David O’Byrne and Kristie Johnston, the sole independent elected in 2021.
