Preliminary results from New Zealand’s national election show the incumbent, centre-right National Party, in the lead. The party has secured 30.81 percent of the vote so far, closely followed by the opposition centre-left Labour Party, which has garnered 29.99 percent. The margin between the two parties is extremely narrow.
This information was released on Saturday by the country’s Electoral Commission. The Commission also indicated that the centrist Opportunity Party is set to surpass the threshold of votes required to enter Parliament.
Voting began at 9:00 AM local time on Saturday and continued until 7:00 PM.
In terms of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the polls opened at 8:00 PM on Friday and closed at 6:00 AM on Saturday.
The preliminary results point to a tight race between the ruling party and the opposition. However, the final outcome will only become clear once the vote count is complete.
