Campaigning in Australia's national elections has entered its last day with the two main parties neck and neck.

澳大利亚全国选举活动已进入最后一天，两大不分上下。

Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are heading for a photo-finish in the national elections

An opinion poll suggested the governing Labor¹ Party had lost its narrow lead to be tied with the opposition² coalition³（联合，结合） .

Julia Gillard, Australia's first female prime minister, is facing a fight to the finish with centre-right coalition leader Tony Abbott.

Ms Gillard became prime minister in June after ousting⁴ her predecessor⁵（前任，前辈） , Kevin Rudd.

But correspondents say she faces a backlash at the ballot⁶ box over a range of issues including the way she replaced Mr Rudd and her policy direction on climate change.

According to the survey by Newspoll for The Australian newspaper on Friday, voters were split 50-50 between the two main parties.

A Newspoll survey on Monday had put Labor at 52% and the Liberals at 48%.

However, most analysts⁷ still expect Labor to hang on to power for a second three-year term with a narrow majority.

In the run-up to Saturday's poll, Mr Abbott - who leads the Liberal Party - vowed⁸ to campaign non-stop for 36 hours to woo more voters away from Labor.

Welsh-born Ms Gillard has warned that the election will be "a real cliffhanger（扣人心弦的比赛） ".

Before taking office, she had been Kevin Rudd's deputy and her sudden leadership challenge in June stunned⁹ many Australians.

The challenge came as the Labor Party's popularity was sliding in opinion polls.

Mr Rudd surrendered without a fight after realising his support among government colleagues had collapsed¹⁰.