No clear winner after tight New Zealand general election

New Zealand's general election has produced no clear winner. The National Party, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, and the Labour Party, led by Chris Hipkins, are neck-and-neck in vote share. With neither holding a clear lead, forming a government will likely require negotiations between parties. The electoral commission is due to announce the official result on 27 November.

Preliminary results

More than 99% of votes have been counted. Preliminary figures point to historically low support for the two major parties, with a combined share of around 60%. They are followed by the Greens, ACT, New Zealand First, the centrist Opportunity Party and Te Pāti Māori, which represents Māori interests. The Greens, who have proposed forcing the country's two main supermarket chains to sell off stores to create publicly owned shops, increased their vote by a couple of percentage points.

The role of Opportunity

The Opportunity Party crossed the 5% threshold to enter parliament for the first time. Its leader, Qiulae Wong, said the party would work with either side, although it would negotiate first with whichever party wins the most seats.

Professor Andrew Geddis of the University of Otago, an expert in election law, said the outcome would come down to very fine margins, both between parties and in individual electorates. Special votes, which are cast outside a voter's electorate, including overseas, will be processed and counted over the next three weeks.

Luxon congratulated Hipkins on a "very hard-fought race". Hipkins said the people had spoken, but it might take longer to work out what they had said. He added that the next parliament would require compromise and cooperation.