Conservative leader claims election victory in Australia

SYDNEY — Eight days after Australia’s general election ended in uncertainty, the prime minister finally claimed victory Sunday for his conservative coalition, bringing an end to the country’s political paralysis — at least for the moment.

With official results still days or even weeks away, it was unclear whether Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal Party-led coalition had won enough votes to govern in its own right, or whether it would need the support of independent and minor party lawmakers to form a government.

[...] Turnbull faces a rough road ahead with a divided party, a splintered Senate and a politically weary public that has endured five changes of prime minister in as many years.