Australian Prime Minister calls National Election for 18 May

  11 April 2019    Read: 1296
Australian Prime Minister calls National Election for 18 May

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Thursday that the country's federal election will be held on 18 May.

"Earlier this morning, I visited the Governor-General here in Canberra and he accepted my advice for an election to be held on the 18th of May", Morrison said during a press conference in the prime minister's courtyard at Parliament House, as aired in Periscope.

During the vote, Australians are expected to elect members of the country's parliament, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The government will be formed by the party that gains the majority in the election.

Notably, Facebook has said it would temporarily block electoral advertisements bought from outside Australia ahead of the upcoming federal election in the country as a part of its approach to protecting voters from foreign meddling.

The measure will reportedly take effect the day after the Australian authorities call the election and will apply to ads containing references to politicians, parties, and electoral procedures, as well as various political slogans and logos.

The hi-tech giant’s other policies include providing more information on advertisements; introducing fact-checking in Australia in cooperation with Agence France-Presse (AFP) to review stories posted on the platform; improving quality and authenticity of information published on Facebook; dealing with fake accounts; and boosting efforts for safety and security on the platform.


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