Federal election 2022: When will we know who is next prime minister

Election day is here and the anxious wait will soon begin as we countdown to the moment that Australia’s prime minister is announced.

Election day is here and the anxious wait will soon begin as we countdown to the moment that Australia’s prime minister is announced.

Pre-poll and postal votes have been flooding in ahead of polling stations opening across Australia at 8am local time on election day.

Which means both candidates for prime minister — Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese — have just a few more hours to convince Australians to give them their vote.

When voting closes at 6pm on election day, the counting begins.

Not sure where to vote, find the closest polling booth to you. Which is worth doing to avoid a fine.

Step one is a count of the first preferences in the House of Representatives ballots.

Then the field is narrowed to the two candidates likely to get the most preferences — a two-candidate preferred vote.

Step three is a count of the Senate first preferences.

Preferences will be counted during the week. There is no count Sunday but it is not a day off for Australian Electoral Commission staff. There is a lot of work needed to ensure all ballots are accounted for and safe.

Anthony Albanese at Carnegie Primary School in the seat of Higgins in Melbourne early on Election Day. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Scott Morrison votes with his wife and daughters at Lilli Pilli Public School in the seat of Cook. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

When will we know who has won the federal election?

Counting begins at 6pm, immediately after polling booths close.

The first results start appearing about 6.10pm AEST. Follow our live blog for results of each seat as they are called throughout the night.

A huge number of pre-poll votes cast before election day will mean we won’t know the result in some booths for days.

One party usually concedes defeat, often with a phone call, before the winning leader claims victory.

ABC election analyst Antony Green told the Guardian you usually know by 7.30pm if there will be a winner on the night.

“I always say that by 7.30 you will know the result or you’ll know you have to wait,” he said.

Could the results be delayed?

It could be June 3 or later before we have an official election result.

The Australian Electoral Commission has to wait 13 days after polling day before making the declaration.

This is to ensure all postal votes have been received. Even then, problems with the count could cause further delay. And the raw numbers show the magnitude of the job.

Almost 97 per cent of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote, and close to a third of them will cast ballots before election day.

Where can I watch the coverage?

News.com.au has a blog which will feature live results for seat-by-seat updates as votes are counted, and another blog for interviews with experts and much more.

Originally published as Federal election 2022: When will we know who is next prime minister