OMM Newsroom
New Zealand’s governing center-right National Party held a narrow lead over the opposition Labour Party in Saturday’s general election. AnewZ reports that the current three-party coalition is projected to remain in power.
With about 85% of votes counted, the National Party had received 29.37% of the party vote, 0.31 percentage points, or about 6,740 votes, ahead of Labour.
The election campaign focused on a slowing economy, rising living costs, unemployment and dissatisfaction with the country’s two main political parties.
Early projections suggest the current governing coalition, comprising the National Party, ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First, could win 68 seats in a parliament that may expand to 131 members. That would be enough to remain in power. The results are preliminary, with official results expected to be announced on November 27.
Smaller parties strengthen their position
New Zealand’s political landscape has traditionally been dominated by the National Party and the Labour Party. The center-right National Party, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, has been in power since 2023 and is currently in coalition with two smaller parties, ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First.
The center-left opposition Labour Party is led by former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. The party was in power from 2017 to 2023, including under former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The National Party has emphasized economic management, public spending and business confidence. Labour has focused on public services, health care and the cost of living. Neither of the two major parties is expected to win enough seats to govern alone, making cooperation with smaller parties essential.
Preliminary counts put the Green Party at about 13.7% of the party vote, ACT New Zealand at 11% and New Zealand First at 9.6%. The relatively new Opportunity Party, led by Qiulae Wong, has received about 5.9% and could enter parliament for the first time.
Under New Zealand’s electoral system, smaller parties can enter parliament if they receive at least 5% of the nationwide party vote or win an electorate seat. The current coalition is projected to secure enough seats to stay in power without the Opportunity Party, although the final allocation could change as counting continues.
Official results due on November 27
New Zealand uses a mixed-member proportional (MMP) system. Introduced in 1996, it gives voters two votes: one for a political party and another for a candidate to represent their electorate.
The party vote largely determines how many seats each party receives in parliament, while the electorate vote chooses the representative for each area. Parliament usually has 120 seats: 71 electorate seats and at least 49 seats allocated from party lists.
Overhang seats can increase the size of parliament. This happens when a party wins more electorate seats than its share of the nationwide vote would entitle it to. In this election, the National Party and Te Pāti Māori could win additional electorate seats, potentially bringing parliament to about 131 members.
If parliament has 131 seats, a government needs at least 66 to hold a majority. Current projections allocate 68 seats to the National Party and its coalition partners, and 56 combined to Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori. The Opportunity Party is projected to win seven seats.
Unlike electoral systems in which a single party regularly wins a parliamentary majority, New Zealand’s proportional voting system makes coalition governments common. Winning the most votes does not automatically give a party the right to govern: parties must secure enough parliamentary support to form a government, often through negotiations with smaller parties.
Those negotiations can involve compromises on policy, public spending priorities and ministerial posts. The National Party-led government, in which three parties have shared power since 2023, is an example of this model. The latest projections suggest the coalition could remain in power, but its final parliamentary majority will depend on the official results.
New Zealand’s Electoral Commission is expected to announce the official results on November 27. The final count will include special votes cast overseas and by people voting outside their registered electorates. Given the narrow gap between the main parties, those votes could affect the allocation of seats.
Coalition talks may continue after the official results are released and could delay the formation of the next government.
