New Zealand election count leaves Labour level with National

New Zealand's governing National Party and the opposition Labour Party were level after about a third of the vote was counted on Saturday night, in a general election the Guardian's rolling tally described as too close to call and in which a newly formed centrist party was on course to enter parliament.

With 35 percent of party votes counted, the Guardian reported Labour on 29.9 percent and National on 29.4 percent, the Greens on 14.1 percent, Act 10.5 percent, NZ First 9.4 percent, Opportunity 5.4 percent and Te Pāti Māori 0.6 percent. With 8 percent counted earlier, National had led Labour by 31.2 percent to 28.4 percent, and Opportunity stood at 5.7 percent.

On the Guardian's count with 29 percent of the vote in, National stood at 41 seats, Act 13 and NZ First 11, while Labour had 36, the Greens 17 and Te Pāti Māori 5, in a House the Guardian projected at 130 seats because of an overhang. The Guardian said Opportunity would be kingmaker on those numbers.

New Zealand uses the mixed member proportional system, and a party needs 5 percent of the party vote or an electorate seat to enter parliament. The Guardian reported that no new party has cleared the threshold since MMP was introduced in 1996.

Opportunity's leader, Qiulae Wong, told reporters at her party's headquarters at Eden Park in Auckland that she was confident. "It is looking very likely that the Opportunity party is going to make history tonight," the Guardian quoted her saying. She told supporters: "You have voted to change New Zealand politics for good."

National MP Mark Mitchell, who spent the past term as police, corrections and emergency management minister, told reporters in Auckland that his party's early results were good and that incumbent governments around the world were struggling. He said he hoped senior colleagues including Nicola Willis and Paul Goldsmith would return to parliament, and appeared more open than Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to working with Opportunity, saying the shape of the government was decided by New Zealand. Luxon has repeatedly ruled the party out.

The Guardian reported offshore enrolments were up 60 percent on 2023, and that tens of thousands of New Zealanders had left the country in the past three years. Official results are not due until 27 November. Nine.com.au reported that polls had closed.