CANBERRA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The majority of voters have cast their votes before polling stations were closed in Australia as of 6 p.m. local time on Saturday, with a few booths still opening, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

While votes are being counted, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, leader of the Liberal Party from 2009 to 2015, has lost his seat of Warringah electorate in Sydney, where he was elected in 1994.

According to The Australian, former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said "I'm very sad. He was the prime minister of the country."

She said that Abbott's defeat was due to his views on climate change and same-sex marriage.

Abbott served as the country's prime minister between 2013 and 2015 before he was challenged by the former Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) official website showed that more than 16 million electors were enrolled to vote this year.

Voting started at 8 a.m. local time on Saturday, but the AEC on Friday night revealed that 4.76 million Australians voted early, up from 3.2 million in 2016.