CANBERRA, Oct. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The followings are facts and figures about Australia's federal election to be held on Oct. 9:     

    Parliamentary election

    Australia has a bicameral parliament. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives, or the lower house, and half of the 76-member Senate, or the upper house are up for election.

    The political party (or coalition of parties) which has the most Members in the House of Representatives becomes the governingparty. Its leader becomes Prime Minister and other ministers are appointed from among the party's Members and Senators.

    The Australian government has been controlled by the conservative Liberal-National coalition led by Prime Minister JohnHoward ever since March 1996. Howard is seeking his fourth term. He is competing with Mark Latham, leader of the Labor Party, for the next premiership.

    There are more than 30 other minor parties fielding candidates in the 2004 election, with the Greens and Democrats being the largest.     

    Voters

    Voting in Australia is compulsory. Citizens aged 18 and over are eligible voters. According to Australian Electoral Commission's figures, there are 13 million eligible voters out of a total population of 20.2 million. There are about 8,000 polling stationsacross the country.     

    Voting systems

    In the election of Members of House of Representatives, a "preferential" voting system is introduced. Voters are required to rank candidates in order of preference on the ballot papers. To beelected, a candidate must achieve an absolute majority, namely, atleast 50 percent plus one vote, either on first preference or following distribution of preference votes.

    If no candidate has won an absolute majority, preferences are allocated, starting with those of the least-supported candidate, until an absolute majority is obtained.

    Candidates in Senate election are elected through a proportional representation system or single transferable vote method, where seats are won in proportion to votes received.

    Vote counting is expected to finish late on the polling day. Enditem