Australian PM almost certain victor in election but no celebration

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reacts as he speaks during an official function for the Liberal Party during the Australian general election in Sydney, Australia, July 3, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull looked almost certain to retain power after a bruising national election as key independent lawmakers pledged support and marathon vote counting in close-run electorates leaned in his favour on Friday.

Pollsters said a long-delayed victory, albeit a very tight one, was virtually in the bag but the man himself was more circumspect, declining to declare the win until final seats were counted.

Turnbull's gamble in calling an election, ostensibly to clear the Senate of what he saw as obstructive minor parties, backfired badly with a swing to the centre-left Labor opposition and a rise in the popularity of minor parties and independents.

The minority government that Turnbull is now expected to lead will no longer have a clear mandate for his centre-right Liberal-National coalition's jobs and growth agenda, including a return to budget surplus and a A$50 billion ($37.6 billion) corporate tax break.

Counting of votes from Saturday's election dragged on into a sixth day, with a rubber stamping of Turnbull's government expected to be still a few days away, but the likelihood of a minority government and an obstructive Senate has already set off alarm bells.

Turnbull's coalition is projected to hold 73 seats in the lower house, three short of the 76 it needs to form a government on its own. But it now has the backing of three of the four independents who won seats and looks likely to snatch at least half of the six seats that are still undecided.

On a projected 66 seats and without support from any of the four independents, Labor is out of the race to form a government but it believes Turnbull could be forced to call another election in a bid to clear the impasse.