In the New Zealand general election held on the 7th (local time), the ruling centrist conservative People's Party and the main opposition party, the centrist Progressive Labor Party, recorded almost equal votes.
There is a possibility that the three existing ruling right-wing parties, including the People's Party, will win the majority of seats by a very narrow margin, but as variables such as overseas voter voting that are not included in the vote count remain, the negotiation process between political parties to establish a future coalition government is attracting attention.
According to the New Zealand Election Commission on this day, with 99.6% of domestic votes counted, the Labor Party won 29.36% of the votes and the National Party won 29.22% of the votes.
This was followed by the progressive Green Party with 13.30%, the conservative Action Party with 10.92%, the right-wing populist New Zealand First Party with 9.78%, and the centrist Opportunity Party with 5.96%.
Accordingly, the combined vote rate of the three parties in the existing right-wing coalition, the National Party, the Action Party, and the New Zealand First Party, was 49.92%, and the Labor Party and the Green Party, which are also likely to form a coalition, were 42.66%.
The National Election Commission predicted that the three right-wing parties could occupy 67 seats, one more than the majority requirement of 66, by using the mixed proportional representation system, which selects local candidates and party proportional representatives.
However, the final vote counting results, including up to 126,000 overseas votes, will be confirmed on the 27th.
In addition, as overseas voting has been in favor of the progressive camp, the exact results of the election, including whether the three right-wing parties won a majority of seats, will only be known when the final official tally is released.
The Associated Press reported that in the last four general elections in New Zealand, the National Party lost 1 to 2 seats when including overseas votes, while left-wing parties gained 1 to 3 seats.
Accordingly, right-wing party members on this day seemed to refrain from declaring victory despite the vote counting results.
National Party Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told supporters in North Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, "Based on the figures so far, it is encouraging that the National Party has once again become the largest party in parliament and has paved the way for forming the next government. But what I must say right now is that it is too close to be a winner or loser."
Former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who leads the Labor Party, also said near Wellington, the capital, "The will of the New Zealand people was revealed tonight," but added, "It may take a little longer to figure out exactly what choice you made."
In addition, the two major political parties that have led New Zealand politics, the People's Party and the Labor Party, both performed poorly this time, with vote rates below 30%, while minor parties were found to have increased their votes compared to before.
In particular, the Opportunity Party, founded in 2016, exceeded the 5% vote rate required to enter parliament for the first time, winning 7 seats, giving it the possibility of playing the role of a 'kingmaker' in the process of forming the next government.
Kulay Wong, leader of the Opportunity Party, a former KPMG consultant who advocates pragmatism across the left and right, said that once the election results are confirmed, he will begin negotiations with the largest party to establish a coalition government.
“We made this decision taking into account the fact that a majority of seats in parliament is needed to form a government. We will stick to this principle,” he said. “You chose unity, not division.”
