Australian election result 'could take over a week'

It could take more than a week to learn who will govern Australia after a cliffhanger election – the closest in nearly 50 years – and the winner may have to woo the support of a handful of independent lawmakers in order to assume power.

Prime minister Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister who seized power in an internal Labour Party coup only two months ago, said she will remain the nation’s caretaker leader during the “anxious days ahead” as vote counting continues.