Canberra, Sep 12 (IANS): Lawmakers of the Australian Labour Party (ALP) would meet Friday in Canberra to discuss the leadership issue following outgoing prime minister Kevin Rudd's decision to step down after the party lost Saturday's general election.

Former minister Bill Shorten has declared that he would contest for the party leadership.

The 46-year-old was instrumental in both the ousting of Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2010 and the downfall of Julia Gillard, in June this year, earning him the reputation of being a "prime ministerial assassin", Xinhua reported citing local media.

Former deputy prime minister Anthony Albanese, another prime contender for the post, was yet to state his intention, but local media said that he would decide on this very soon.

Rudd stepped down from the leadership Saturday night, but he still held his own seat of Griffith and would sit on the opposition backbenches for the three-year term.

The Australian Labour Party was thrown out of office in Saturday's general election, with the Tony Abbott-led Liberal-National coalition securing a decisive win.