Vote 2016: So what happens now?

The federal election result was too close to call when counting wrapped up at 2am on Sunday morning, and the country is still on tenterhooks waiting for news of who will govern for the next two years. However, the anxious and exhausted electorate will have to wait to find out who the next prime minister will be as counting is not set to restart in earnest until Tuesday.

Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science Christopher Pyne (AAP) Source: AAP

In a statement the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) detailed what was set to happen on Sunday and Monday before voting counting could resume.

This included unpacking, sorting and returning more than one million postal and absentee votes to their home electorates.

"The AEC's focus today, Sunday, July 3, is on the declaration vote exchange," the statement said. 

"The declaration vote exchange is where the large numbers of absent, interstate, postal and other declaration votes are reconciled, sorted and packaged ready for dispatch to the home division from Monday. 

"Only once the declaration votes are received and processed in the home division can the counting of these votes begin."

The statement said Monday would see AEC staff "verifying more than one million postal votes already returned to the AEC so that they can be admitted to the count beginning on Tuesday".

On election night the AEC counted more than 11 million house of representative votes including the votes cast at polling places and pre-poll votes.