Abbott lost the ensuing ballot by 44 votes to Turnbull's 54.
Turnbull announced Monday that he would resign as the Communications Minister and challenge Abbott for the prime ministership after months of speculation with Abbott trailing the leader of the opposition Labor party, Bill Shorten, in the polls.
Turnbull said Monday he had been urged to challenge for the leadership of the Liberal party by a number of people “over a long period of time”.
“It is clear enough that the government is not successful in providing the economic leadership that we need,” he said.
“It is not the fault of individual ministers.
