AKIPRESS.COM - Embattled Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday pulled within striking distance of the votes needed to form a narrow majority government in a cliffhanger election that has left the country in limbo and his leadership in doubt, reports Reuters.

Electoral officials are counting 1.5 million postal and absentee votes that will be crucial to the result of Saturday's poll, which saw a swing against Turnbull's conservative coalition government and the rise of populist independents.

A final reckoning may not be known for days, possibly weeks, leaving Australia in a political vacuum.

The latest projections shifted two seats into the government's column, giving Turnbull's Liberal-National coalition 71 out of 150 lower house seats, and the center-left Labor opposition 67. Seven seats are too close to call.

Both major parties are short of the 76 seats needed to form a majority government in the House of Representatives, and negotiations are underway with independents who will hold at least four seats.

Turnbull's gamble in calling an early election failed to deliver a clear mandate for his agenda of corporate tax cuts and his disastrous polling has led to attacks from inside and outside his coalition after his attempt to end a querulous upper house Senate failed.

Despite the internal criticism, Turnbull's position as Liberal leader does not appear in danger in the short term.

The surge in support for independents, combined with rules that make it easier for smaller parties to win Senate seats in a so-called double dissolution of parliament, will likely make it impossible for Turnbull to push through policies including a A$50 billion ($37.19 billion) corporate tax break over 10 years.

Even if the coalition wins a narrow majority in the lower house, Turnbull would then have to shepherd legislation through an even more intransigent Senate.

The election was meant to end political turmoil that delivered Australia four prime ministers over the past three years. Instead, it has left Turnbull's authority in tatters less than a year after he ousted then prime minister Tony Abbott in a party-room coup with a promise of stable government.

The National Party, the junior coalition partner, is demanding a greater say in a future government given its strong electoral performance.