New Zealand election result: National, Labour near...

Summary

• The New Zealand election result looked tight on Saturday night, with National and Labour each close to 30 percent of the party vote.
• What the New Zealand election result shows so farWith 95 percent of voting places counted, National held 29.31 percent of the party vote and Labour held 29.19 percent.
• The vote pits National against the centre-left Labour Party, with the Greens, ACT, NZ First and Te Pāti Māori also in the field.

AI Generated Summary

The New Zealand election result looked tight on Saturday night, with National and Labour each close to 30 percent of the party vote.

Polling stations opened at 9 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m. Counting began straight after, and early results showed a race that could take weeks to settle.

What the New Zealand election result shows so far

With 95 percent of voting places counted, National held 29.31 percent of the party vote and Labour held 29.19 percent. The Greens had 13.30 percent, ACT 10.99 percent and NZ First 9.81 percent. Te Pāti Māori had 0.57 percent.

Earlier, with only 5.7 percent counted, National led Labour by 31.58 percent to 28.37 percent. That lead shrank as more votes came in.

The National, ACT and NZ First bloc held a majority by two seats at the 95 percent mark. Labour would need to win a few marginal electorates to cut into National’s overhang, one expert said.