Malcolm Turnbull claims victory after week of limbo

Australia’s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has at last claimed victory in a dramatically close national election that has left the country in limbo for more than a week.

However, with official results still days or even weeks away, it was unclear whether Mr Turnbull’s Liberal Party-led coalition had won enough votes to govern in its own right, or whether it would need the support of independent and minor party lawmakers to form a minority government.

Either way, he faces a rough road with a divided party, a splintered senate, and a politically weary public that has endured five changes of prime minister in as many years.