A research commissioned by Australia's Opposition Labor Party has predicted that Labor would narrowly win the federal election later this year.

The coming election is shaping up as the closest in decades, with the research showing Labor ahead of the ruling Coalition by 10 marginal seats, The Sydney Morning Herald, one of Australia's leading newspapers, reported Wednesday.

If the confidential research is correct, and if it holds through to election day, Labor would win enough seats to wrest power from the Coalition, but not enough to govern in its own right without the support of independents, said the paper.

Speculation has been mounting that Australian Prime Minister John Howard may call an early election this weekend, the first weekend of the Athens Olympics, for September 18. This would mean the election campaign would overlap with the Olympics.

However, Howard tried to play down the speculation, saying there are still three months from now for the government to mark its re-election.

"I just remind everybody, particularly the press gallery, the third anniversary of the government's re-election is the 10th of November, 2004," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"Like every other prime minister in a similar position, when I've made up my mind when the election ought to be held, I'll seek adissolution from the governor-general," he said.

Source: Xinhua