Live: Counting begins in New Zealand election
A tight election result looms in New Zealand as polls show the leaders of both major parties — incumbent National Party leader Christopher Luxon and Labour's Chris Hipkins — may struggle to form a government alone.
Follow the latest updates on our live blog.
A timeline for this evening
Voting closed at 7pm New Zealand time (5pm AEDT) and vote counting has now begun.
The first results are expected to be entered before 7.30pm (NZ time).
You can access the results on the NZ Electoral Commission's results website: http://electionresults.govt.nz
The Electoral Commission's targets are:
• results from 50 per cent of voting places by 10pm (NZ time)
• results from 95 per cent of voting places by 11.30pm (NZ time)
However, the count on election night only provides the preliminary results.
We’ll talk a bit more about when the official result is due a bit later.
The counting begins
By Doug Dingwall
By Doug Dingwall
Voting has closed in New Zealand's election and we will soon see results trickling in.
In an election campaign overshadowed by cost of living pressures and an economy buffeted by international shocks, the National Party has been making its case to stay in government and Labour has tried to prise back votes it needs to regain office.
But experts say both parties ran negative campaigns.
"I'm not sure anyone has much enjoyed it," Richard Shaw, a professor of politics at Massey University, told the ABC.
"The policy contest which marked the opening stanzas has largely fallen away into an acrimonious exchange between the left and the right about how to game the electoral system through strategic voting."
National and Labour focused on criticising not just their rival parties but also the people involved, with Labour trying to seize on the unpopularity of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and National sought to exploit similar sentiment about Labour's Chris Hipkins, said Tom Jamieson, a senior lecturer in political science at Victoria University of Wellington.
"For a party leading the incumbent government, National ran less on their record than you might have expected on their record and more about what their opponents were likely to do in power."
On the other hand, smaller parties including New Zealand First, ACT, the Green Party, Te Pāti Māori and the Opportunity party focused their efforts on policy initiatives and their vision for the country, Dr Jamieson said.
"In an electorate with a plurality that has consistently indicated they are on the wrong track, it could be that these parties benefit from dissatisfaction with the direction of the government," he said.
Polls have indicated it could be a tight election.
Results released tonight will indicate the election outcome and are expected to arrive over several hours. The official count begins tomorrow and the Electoral Commission is aiming to release the official results by November 27.
Professor Shaw expected it would be a long three weeks and said special votes — which take longer to count — may be consequential.
"We may have a clear result tonight but that seems unlikely," he said.
Nau mai, haere mai!
By Nelli Saarinen
By Nelli Saarinen
That stands for "welcome" in Māori, so come join us as we begin our live coverage of the 2026 New Zealand election!
Voting has just closed at 7pm local time (5pm AEDT).
We're expecting to see the first results coming in soon, but the official results are not anticipated until Friday, November 27.
The polls are showing both major parties may struggle to form a government alone, so it's not just Chris vs Chris (Luxon and Hipkins, leaders of the National and Labour parties).
The top minor parties may become the "kingmakers" with the power to decide who is next to govern Aotearoa (New Zealand).
This election is expected to be tightly fought, so strap in as we bring you the latest from across the ditch.
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