New Zealand election ended deadlocked on 7 November, with National and Labour tied at 29.7 per cent each when about a quarter of the vote had been counted. The result left no party with a clear path to government, and the talks to form a government will now begin. National leader Christopher Luxon said the result was too close to call, and that there was a pathway to forming the next government, but he did not claim victory. The official results are due on 27 November, and parliament must convene by 14 January.
The New Zealand election result gives the conservative bloc 66 seats, with National on 41, ACT on 13 and NZ First on 12. A majority needs 65 or 66 seats, depending on the final size of parliament, which will have 129 or 130 seats. The bloc has enough seats to govern, if the numbers hold, but the special votes, which have historically favoured the left, are still to be counted. The voting ran from 26 October to 7 November, and about 3.8 million people were eligible to vote.
New Zealand election kingmaker is the Opportunity Party, led by Qiulae Wong, 38, which has said it will negotiate first with the party that wins the most votes. The party must cross the 5 per cent threshold to enter parliament, and its leader has said the party will talk to the highest-vote party first. The party holds the balance, and the talks will decide which side forms the government. The last time the talks took this long was in 1996, when Winston Peters took nine weeks to decide.
New Zealand election and the deadlocked result
The New Zealand election was fought on healthcare, housing and the economy, and the campaign was dominated by those three issues. The voters were asked to choose between the National-led government and the Labour opposition, and the result was a tie. The two parties were locked at 29.7 per cent each when about a quarter of the vote had been counted, and the count will continue. The special votes, which have historically favoured the left, could change the result, and the parties are waiting for them.
New Zealand election talks will now begin, and the parties will look for the numbers to form a government. The conservative bloc has 66 seats, and the Opportunity Party holds the balance. The party leader, Qiulae Wong, has said the party will negotiate first with the highest-vote party, and the talks will start with the party that leads the count. The official results are due on 27 November, and the parliament must convene by 14 January. The talks could take weeks, and the last time they did, in 1996, they took nine weeks.
New Zealand election and the MMP system
The New Zealand election was held under the MMP system, which gives seats in proportion to the vote. The system often leaves no party with a majority, and it forces the parties to talk after the vote. The 1996 election was the first under MMP, and it took nine weeks for Winston Peters to decide which side to support. The talks have become a regular part of the election, and the parties are used to them.
New Zealand election result leaves the country waiting, and the talks will decide the next government. Luxon said the result was too close to call, and that there was a pathway to forming the next government. The Opportunity Party leader, Qiulae Wong, 38, is the kingmaker, and the party will negotiate first with the highest-vote party. The official results are due on 27 November, and the parliament must convene by 14 January. The country will wait for the talks to end, and the government to be formed.
The New Zealand election ended deadlocked, with National and Labour tied at 29.7 per cent each. The conservative bloc has 66 seats, and the Opportunity Party holds the balance. The talks to form a government will now begin, and the official results are due on 27 November. The parliament must convene by 14 January, and the country will wait for the next government. The election was fought on healthcare, housing and the economy, and the result was a tie.