With about a third of votes counted, New Zealand’s election remained too close to call as National’s bloc and the left-wing parties were both below a majority.
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Voting began Oct. 26 and ended on Saturday in New Zealand’s general election, which uses a system where voters cast two ballots—one for a preferred party and one to select a local representative.
Early results released with about a third of votes counted showed Christopher Luxon’s National party and its partners neck and neck with the left-wing parties, with National and Labour both at just under 30% of the vote, according to the first count.
The preliminary tally also reflected a higher-than-usual influence from smaller parties on both sides of the political spectrum. Early figures suggested that senior figures in Luxon’s National caucus could lose seats, and that new parties could enter Parliament for the first time.
One party highlighted in the early count is Opportunity, which had just crossed the 5% threshold required to win representation. Based on the early figures, Opportunity was poised to take six seats and would enter Parliament for the first time, led by 38-year-old political newcomer Qiulae Wong.
Opportunity said it was open to negotiating either a conservative or a left-wing government and would deal first with whichever major party won the most votes, though the magnitude of Wong’s success was still uncertain on Saturday.
Early numbers also showed what could be a narrow path to governing. The first results indicated a coalition of National, ACT and NZ First would hold 65 seats, short of the 66-seat majority that would apply in a possible 130-seat Parliament.
On the left, Labour and its bloc partners—including the Green party and Te Pāti Māori, an Indigenous rights group—held a combined 58 seats in the early count, a figure that was also expected to fluctuate as more ballots were tallied.
Election officials expected results from 95% of ballots to be available by the end of Saturday night, with a final verified tally due Nov. 27 that would include votes cast by New Zealanders living abroad.
To form government, parties must hold more than half of the seats, and the total number of seats is determined by official calculations on election night based on the election’s rules. Analysts had said economic strains, including inflation, living costs and unemployment, along with low enthusiasm for both major political leaders, could strengthen smaller parties and increase their bargaining power in coalition talks.
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