New Zealand election ends with no clear winner as major parties fall to about 60%

No clear winner has emerged from New Zealand’s general election, with National and Labour neck-and-neck in vote share, according to the BBC. More than 99% of votes have been counted.

The preliminary results pointed to historically low support for the two major parties, with a combined vote share of around 60%.

National leader Christopher Luxon congratulated Labour’s Chris Hipkins on a “very hard-fought race” before addressing party colleagues, saying “whatever the final count, we are incredibly proud of each and everyone for you”.

“The people have spoken,” Hipkins said, adding: “It may take a bit longer to work out what they’ve said”. He said the results made clear the “next parliament is going to require all of us to compromise, to work together and to find a common ground”.

The Greens, ACT, New Zealand First, centrist party Opportunity and Te Pāti Māori, which represents Māori interests, followed the two major parties. The Opportunity Party crossed the 5% threshold to enter parliament for the first time, with leader Qiulae Wong saying it would work with either side.

It has been described as this election’s kingmaker as it remains open to working with either major bloc, but its leaders said they would negotiate first with the party that secures the most seats. Speaking at Opportunity’s watch party, Wong told supporters: “We believe that we can change the way we do politics to focus on the future, on the next generation, and on finding common ground.”

Professor Andrew Geddis from the University of Otago, an expert in election law, said “the Opportunity Party as a wildcard player” could “determine which bloc of parties is able to govern”. He said: “It will come down to some very fine vote margins not just between the parties, but in individual electorates. We are going to have to wait for the special votes to be processed and counted over the next three weeks.”

Special votes are votes cast outside a voter’s electorate, including overseas. The electoral commission was not due to announce the official result until 27 November.

The Greens – who have proposed forcing the country’s two main supermarkets to divest stores to create publicly-owned shops – saw their vote rise by a couple of percentage points.