New Zealand leaders wait for final vote count

New Zealand voters will wait until late November to learn who will lead the country. Saturday's election did not give a decisive win to the right or the left. The result leaves a narrow governing majority as the only apparent path forward for either side.

The vote was the tightest in years. Voters shifted support toward minor parties on the ideological flanks. This move delivered a rebuke to the major parties that have long dominated the political scene. Those parties include Christopher Luxon's center-right National party and Chris Hipkins' center-left Labour party.

A new entrant group called Opportunity gained seven seats. The party is led by Qiulae Wong, a 38-year-old business consultant. Wong is a political newcomer who became leader less than a year ago. Her pledges of evidence-based centrism helped her party frustrate both the left and right blocs in their path to power.

Luxon appeared close to returning to power by just one seat on election night. He did not claim victory immediately. Instead, he struck a note of cautious optimism. He suggested that National had a viable path to a second term. His opponent, Hipkins, did not appear to benefit from the economic discontent that had plagued his previous term.

Electoral officials began counting nearly 400,000 special votes on Sunday. This count includes ballots from New Zealanders living abroad. The process is expected to take three weeks. These ballots have historically granted additional seats to left-wing parties. That shift could change the current razor-thin majority held by the right.

Luxon told reporters to enjoy a break from politics for the next three weeks. He will lead a caretaker government until an outcome is reached. He noted that National secured more seats in Parliament than any other group. However, several of his party's most senior lawmakers will exit politics based on the current results.

The National party lost the ministers of finance and defense. The speaker of parliament and the attorney general are also set to leave. Luxon faces a more strident list of policy demands from his traditional governing partners. Those partners include Libertarian ACT, which won 13 seats, and populist New Zealand First, which won 12.

National won 29.21% of the preferred party vote as of Sunday. This was a collapse from its previous result. The party secured 42 seats entirely by winning local constituency races. Labour won 29.36% of the party vote but has secured only 36 seats so far. Labour won fewer local races than National.

Minor parties on the left saw bolstered support. The environmentally-focused Greens won 16 seats. The Indigenous rights group Te Pāti Māori secured five seats. The total number of lawmakers elected is currently 131. A majority requires 66 seats.

Luxon's conservative bloc currently holds 67 seats. The left bloc held 57 seats before the special votes were counted. Negotiations to form a government will not begin until final tallies are released on Nov. 27. If a government cannot be formed, New Zealand could face a fresh vote.