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Early vote counts for the New Zealand general election show the National Party and Labor Party are tied, and the ruling coalition may temporarily retain the majority. However, it is still difficult to finalize the final results and government formation before the special votes are counted.
new zealand National elections were held today, and preliminary results showed that the ruling centre-right National Party and the main opposition Labor Party were neck-and-neck in terms of vote share.
Reuters reported that results released by the New Zealand Electoral Commission showed that after more than 95% of the votes had been counted, both parties had won by slightly less than 30%, with a difference of only a few thousand votes.
The Election Commission’s seat forecast shows that the current three-party coalition government led by the National Party is expected to retain its parliamentary majority with a margin of 2 seats.
Both parties say that it will take some time for the final results to come.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxonauckland “The exciting thing is that, given the current figures, the National Party is once again the largest party in Parliament and we have a path to forming the next government,” he told supporters.
But he quickly added: “However, now I have to tell you that the election is still very close, and the outcome is still difficult to determine.”
Labor leader Chris Hipkins gave a similar message to supporters in Upper Hutt, north-east of the capital Wellington.
“New Zealand has spoken tonight. It may take us some time to understand what you have expressed,” he said.
This includes overseas voters and locations outside their respective constituenciesvote Those special ballots will not be counted until official election results are declared on Nov. 27.
Such votes have in the past generally favored left-wing parties, and right-wing parties see their support slipping after the votes are counted. In constituencies where the Labor and National candidates are close, special votes can also be crucial to the election outcome.
New Zealand’s electoral system idealizes coalition governments, and this year’s close election means one or more small parties are almost certain to participate in forming a government.
New Zealand switched to a federal system (Mixed Member Proportional Representation, MMP) in 1996. Voters are required to vote for political parties and candidates in their respective constituencies.
There are 71 constituency seats in the New Zealand Parliament, and at least 49 party seats. A political party or coalition of political parties must secure a majority of seats to form the government.
Support for both Labor and the National Party is at historic lows. Surveys show that voters have lost confidence in the two major parties. If the National-led coalition loses its parliamentary majority, that coalition or the leftist coalition may need the support of the centrist Opportunity Party.
Opportunity Party leader Kyulae Wong said she would try to negotiate with the party that won the most seats after the official results were released.
