CANBERRA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Australia's ruling Liberal-National Party coalition (LNP) has lost its governing majority in the nation's parliament.
Independent Kerryn Phelps on Saturday claimed victory over the LNP's Dave Sharma in the Wentworth by-election, leaving the LNP with 75 of 150 seats in the House of Representatives.
It marks the first time in over 100 years that the Liberal Party has lost Wentworth, an electorate in the affluent eastern suburbs of Sydney, and the 22 percent voter swing against the party was the biggest by-election swing against a government in Australian history.
The result will not cause government to be dissolved but will leave Prime Minister (PM) Scott Morrison facing an uphill battle to achieve his legislative agenda ahead of the 2019 general election.
However, it does leave the LNP in the precarious position of potentially losing a motion of no confidence from the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP), which would trigger an immediate election.
The Wentworth by-election was triggered when Malcolm Turnbull resigned from parliament after the Liberal Party deposed him as PM and installed Morrison as leader in August.
Morrison on Saturday night said that the defeat was the price the party paid for switching leaders.
"The Liberal Party has paid a big price tonight for the events of several months ago," he said in a speech.
"But as a party, we will continue to rise again."
Sharma received 41 percent of primary votes compared to only 30 percent for Phelps but Australia's preferential voting system delivered a win for the independent.
Phelps in 2003 became the first female president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and has also served as the Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney.
"Thank you to the people of Wentworth for placing your trust in me," she said in her victory speech.
"This win tonight should signal a return of decency, integrity and humanity to the Australian government."
Sharma, who was Australia's ambassador to Israel between 2013 and 2017, congratulated Phelps on her victory, describing her as a "formidable" opponent and admitted his first electoral campaign was "bruising".
