Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's National Party holds a razor-thin bloc lead, but hundreds of thousands of special votes will decide the final outcome.

Published 7 Nov 2026, 19:55 GMTUpdated 7 Nov 2026, 20:17 GMT

2 min read

Labour leader Chris Hipkins addresses supporters on election night in New Zealand — Labour leader Chris Hipkins speaks to supporters on election night

Listen to this article

Playback position

0:002:32

Playback speed

New Zealand's general election ended without a clear winner on Saturday, November 7, leaving Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and opposition leader Chris Hipkins waiting up to three weeks for special votes to determine the next government.

With nearly all regular ballots counted, the New Zealand Electoral Commission will not declare the official result until Friday, November 27, after hand-counting hundreds of thousands of overseas and out-of-electorate ballots.

Preliminary figures put Luxon's centre-right National Party on 42 seats, narrowly ahead of the opposition left bloc when combined with its right-wing coalition partners, ACT New Zealand on 13 seats and New Zealand First on 12.

Hipkins' centre-left Labour Party trailed closely on 35 to 36 seats, alongside traditional allies the Green Party on 16 seats and Te Pāti Māori on five.

The drop in support for the two big parties carried the centrist Opportunity Party past the five per cent mixed-member proportional threshold into parliament for the first time with seven projected seats.

Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong said her party would speak first with whichever party wins the most seats, telling supporters in Auckland: "We believe that we can change the way we do politics to focus on the future, on the next generation, and on finding common ground."

Addressing supporters in Auckland before midnight, Luxon said caretaker conventions would apply until the final count allows formal coalition talks.

"National is once again the largest party in parliament, and we have a pathway to forming the next government," Luxon said. "But right now it is too close to call."

Speaking in Upper Hutt north of Wellington, Hipkins declined to concede ahead of the special vote count, which shifted three seats to the left in 2023.

"New Zealand has spoken. It may take us a little bit longer to figure out exactly what it is that you've said," Hipkins said. "Our next parliament is going to require all of us to compromise, to work together, and to find common ground."

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

New Zealand general election leaves no clear winner after knife-edge count

Suggested for you

More Stories

Afenyo-Markin calls on Mahama to pardon Camilla Alhassan

Wembley Sports Construction&#8217;s Robert Coleman gifts Nathaniel Attoh GHC 50,000

Isaac Aboagye Duah elected Tennis Africa West Africa Zone President and Vice President

Isaac Aboagye Duah elected Tennis President of West Africa Zone

Nathaniel Attoh wins 2026 GJA Sports Journalist of the Year

Afenyo-Markin urges Mahama to free TikToker Camila, warns against fear as a political tool

Discussion

Wembley Sports Construction’s Robert Coleman gifts Nathaniel Attoh GHC 50,000