New Zealand election too close to call after tight four-way battle

Summarised from 5 outlets · 7 reports · Updated 7 Nov, 15:39 · Archive

New Zealand's centre-right National Party narrowly leads with 42 seats but lacks a majority in the 120-seat parliament.

New Zealand held its general election on Saturday, with preliminary results showing a deeply divided parliament and no clear path to government for either major bloc. The centre-right National Party, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, emerged as the largest single party with 42 seats in the 120-seat parliament. The opposition centre-left Labour Party, under Chris Hipkins, won 36 seats. Combined, they secured only about 60 per cent of the popular vote, marking historically low support for New Zealand's two major parties.

National narrowly pipped Labour in the party vote by 0.02 per cent, with the two parties polling just short of 30 per cent each. The Green Party secured 13.3 per cent of the vote, whilst smaller parties also crossed the five per cent threshold needed to enter parliament: ACT at 11 per cent, NZ First at 9.8 per cent, Opportunity at 5.9 per cent, and Te Pāti Māori at 6 per cent.

Although National fell 19 seats short of the simple majority required to form a government alone, preliminary results suggested that a coalition of National with its traditional partners ACT and New Zealand First could secure 67 seats—a wafer-thin majority. However, the left-leaning bloc comprising Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori stood only three seats behind at 58 seats according to one count, leaving the outcome genuinely uncertain.

Luxon told supporters at an Auckland event that the result was "too close to call" and that special votes would need to be counted before coalition negotiations could begin. He said National remained the largest party and had "a pathway to forming the next government". Hipkins struck a different tone, saying the "shape of the next government" would remain uncertain "for a while" and that "the next parliament is going to require all of us to compromise, to work together and to find a common ground".

The election hinged partly on vacant seats in Māori electorates. Seven of parliament's 120 seats are reserved for Māori voters, and Te Pāti Māori, which held six seats in the previous parliament, faced internal instability heading into the election. In Te Tai Tokerau, the Green Party's candidate Hūhana Lyndon was leading the race, which could give the Greens their first Māori seat.

Special votes—including those cast overseas and outside a voter's electorate—have yet to be counted. In the 2023 election, these 600,000 votes made up 21 per cent of the total and tended to favour left-leaning parties, resulting in gains for Te Pāti Māori and the Greens. The electoral commission will not announce official results until 27 November, potentially leaving New Zealand facing weeks of uncertainty about the ultimate composition of its next government.

How it is being reported

• No clear winner after tight New Zealand general electionWeeks of coalition talks could follow after preliminary results pointed to a highly divided national parliament.BBC News · 7 Nov, 15:00
• New Zealand’s prime minister says election is ‘too close to call’New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon says he has a pathway to form the next government.Al Jazeera · 7 Nov, 14:03
• New Zealand facing weeks of uncertainty with election ‘too close to call’National party will be largest in parliament but ultimate shape of next government won’t be settled for some time New Zealand could be facing a weeks-long wait to know the shape of its next government, after its nail-biting election failed to hand a decisive victory to either the incumbent rightwing coalition or opposition left bloc. On preliminary results, the centre-right National party, led by prime minister Christopher Luxon, managed to secure enough seats to govern alongside his two traditional coalition partners, the libertarian Act and populist New Zealand First parties. Continue…Guardian World · 7 Nov, 13:48
• New Zealand election 'too close to call' with conservative coalition on brink of slim majorityThe New Zealand election count has ended without a definitive result as the two main parties remain almost deadlocked in the popular vote.Sky News · 7 Nov, 13:00
• Relative newcomer may hold key to balance of power as New Zealand election goes down to the wireRuling National Party and main opposition Labour remain neck and neck after over 90 per cent of votes are countedIndependent World · 7 Nov, 11:21
• Governing party ahead in early results of New Zealand’s knife-edge voteThis is a breaking news story.Al Jazeera · 7 Nov, 06:20
• NZ election 2026 live results: count on as National and Labour battle it out in knife-edge New Zealand pollAs major parties vie to form ruling coalition, the Opportunity party is being watched as a possible kingmaker New Zealand heads for election cliffhanger with minor party cast as kingmaker In New Zealand’s bellwether seat, what are locals thinking as a knife-edge poll looms? So, what’s at stake for Luxon and National tonight? A lot. The party is facing the dire possibility of being the first one-term National-led government since it was founded in 1936. Remember, National has never led for less than three terms, ever . So this is a huge night for Luxon’s legacy and the National party, both…The Guardian · 7 Nov, 06:06

In this story: Christopher Luxon · Chris Hipkins · National Party · Labour Party · ACT · NZ First · New Zealand · Te Pāti Māori

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