MELBOURNE – Ben Carroll was sworn in as the 50th premier of the southeastern Australian state of Victoria on Tuesday after Jacinta Allan resigned ahead of an expected challenge to her leadership of the governing Labor Party.

Allan announced on Tuesday morning that she would step down as Labor leader and premier, ending her tenure of nearly three years.

Her resignation came ahead of a party meeting at which Carroll, who had served as deputy premier, had been expected to challenge her leadership.

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Carroll defeated Victorian Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny by 50 votes to 15 in a caucus ballot. Kilkenny subsequently withdrew from the contest, and Carroll was unanimously endorsed as Labor leader before being sworn in as premier.

The leadership change came four months ahead of the state election on Nov 28.

Labor has governed Victoria since 2014, winning three consecutive elections under Allan's predecessor Daniel Andrews, who stepped down in 2023. Recent opinion polls have shown the governing center-left party trailing the opposition Liberal-National Coalition ahead of the election.