New Zealand's National Party wins general election: preliminary results

WELLINGTON - New Zealand's National Party wins the general election, with the Labor Party to step down after six years in office, according to preliminary results of the election on Sunday (local time).

A coalition of right-wing parties led by the National Party won more than half of parliamentary seats and secured the right to form a government, and National Party's leader Christopher Luxon will be the prime minister of the new government.

"You have reached for hope and you have voted for change," Luxon said, adding that the National Party will be in a position to lead the next government.

Bringing down the cost of living is among issues mentioned by Luxon to address.

Labor Party's leader Chris Hipkins said the Labor Party would remain strong in opposition.

According to results of the vote count, the largest opposition party, the National Party, won 50 of the 121 parliamentary seats, with the ruling Labor Party winning 34 seats.

In addition, the Greens Party, the ACT, NZ first, and the Maori party won 14, 11, eight and four seats, respectively, the vote count showed.

A total of 17 political parties contested in the election, but only six parties eventually made it into the parliament.

With no party winning a majority of seats, the formation of a new government will depend on the outcome of inter-party negotiations to form a coalition government.

The official results of the election will be announced on Nov 3.

About 3.5 million people were enrolled to vote in the 2023 election. More than 2,300 voting places opened across the country on Saturday, the election day, including in rural areas, said Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne.