New Zealand’s political future was in the balance on Saturday with over two-thirds of votes counted and both major parties needing to form coalitions to govern after a campaign dominated by worries over rising costs of living and the economy.
Kiwis are struggling to make ends meet -- the price of basic goods remains stubbornly elevated, and unemployment at its highest in more than a decade.
The war in the Middle East and the subsequent global fuel shock have been widely blamed for the hit to New Zealand’s economy.
With over two-thirds of votes counted, neither the conservative National Party nor the center-left Labor will have enough seats in parliament to govern without help from minor parties.
The two main parties are neck and neck at 29%, with just a few thousand votes separating them.
“New Zealand has spoken. It may take us a little bit longer to figure out exactly what it is that you’ve said,” Labor leader Chris Hipkins told supporters.
“Our next parliament is going to require all of us to compromise, to work together, and to find common ground.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had hoped his right-wing coalition could cling to power with promises of “no new taxes,” after three fractious years in office, two failed bids by his own party to oust him as leader and an economy in the doldrums.
And while his National have a path to power and the largest number of seats, they would do so without several of their most senior and highest-performing members.
Deputy leader and Finance Minister Nicola Willis will not return to parliament due to her party’s poor performance in party voting.
And Chris Bishop, the minister for housing, infrastructure and transport, looks set to lose his Hutt South seat, leaving him out of parliament.
The knife-edge poll drew intense attention on the country’s minor parties, in particular the upstart centrist Opportunity Party.
Under the country’s mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) system, voters must tick two options -- a general party list as well as an individual member to represent their electorate.
Results put Opportunity winning over five percent -- the threshold needed to gain seats in parliament without an electorate candidate win, which would likely secure the party a kingmaker role in the next government.
The party is led by former KPMG consultant Qiulae Wong, who has vowed a kinder, gentler politics and said she could work with whichever party wins the most seats.
“You guys have voted for unity over division,” she said as votes rolled in.
“You have voted to change New Zealand politics for good.”
At a Labor event bedecked with red balloons in Upper Hutt, near Wellington, party workers were quietly confident they had secured the largest number of seats.
Hipkins arrived late to cheers of “Chippy” -- greeted with adulation even as he accepted that Labor may not play a role in the next government.
And at a National gathering in the country’s largest city of Auckland, Finance Minister Willis was hugged and heralded by supporters as she effectively conceded she had been ousted.
“It’s pretty much exactly what we thought it was going to be, really, really tight race,” Immigration Minister and National lawmaker Erica Stanford said.
“It’s a really sad night,” she added, paying tribute to her ousted cabinet colleague.
