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New Zealand election 2026 live results: National and Labour neck-and-neck as minor party eyes kingmaker role
· Confirmed
In Short: New Zealand's 2026 election results show National and Labour parties neck-and-neck, with neither securing a majority.
As early results from New Zealand's 2026 election began rolling in on Saturday, the outcome remained too close to call, with neither the National Party nor Labour securing a majority.
According to Arabnews, a final opinion poll released on Friday put Labour at 30 percent of the vote, just ahead of the National Party. By 9:00 p.m. (0800 GMT), with over 30 percent of the votes counted, the two main parties were neck-and-neck, with National on 41 projected seats and Labour on 36, data from the electoral commission showed.
The BBC reported that with more than 1.5 million votes counted, Labour leads with 29.87 percent of the vote compared to National's 29.36 percent. The South China Morning Post and The Guardian confirmed that both parties were polling just short of 30 percent of the popular vote, with just a few thousand votes separating them.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, leader of the National Party, expressed confidence in his party's ability to form a government. He told supporters, “National is once again the largest party in Parliament and we have a pathway to forming the next government.” Labour leader Chris Hipkins echoed a similar sentiment, stating, “Tonight, New Zealand has spoken.”
The election was dominated by concerns over rising costs of living and the economy, with both parties promising to address these issues. Luxon's National Party campaigned on promises of no new taxes, while Hipkins' Labour Party focused on economic stability and social welfare.
With more than 95 percent of the ballots counted, the results showed National slightly ahead with 29.45 percent compared to Labour's 29.25 percent, according to reports. This narrow margin has left both parties and their supporters on edge, with the final outcome still uncertain.
The election's close results reflect voter disillusionment with the two biggest contenders and a desire for change. As Anna Whyte and Ella Somers reported from Auckland, locals in the bellwether seat were uncertain about the direction of the vote.
The election's outcome will likely depend on the negotiations and alliances formed by the minor parties, particularly the Opportunity Party, which could hold the key to forming the next government.
What's confirmed
- He said Friday he was sure his party would “exceed expectations.” At a Labour event in Upper Hutt near Wellington bedecked with red balloons, party workers were quietly confident they had secured the largest number of seats.
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 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 National Party to oust him as leader and an economy in the doldrums.
- “You guys have voted for unity over division,” she said as votes trickled in.
- And at a National gathering in the country’s largest city of Auckland, cheers rose from the crowd as the party’s candidates were shown to be ahead.
- Neither is expected to win enough seats in New Zealand’s parliament to govern alone.
- New Zealand's ruling centre-right National Party and main opposition Labour were nearly deadlocked in the popular vote as counting began in the nationwide general election on Saturday.
- The left-wing bloc, led by the Labour party and Chris Hipkins, appeared to have fallen short of a majority.
- First published at 7.35am With more than 80 per cent of the votes counted, New Zealand ’s election produced no definitive victory for the right or the left on Saturday but the incumbent conservative government hovered on the brink of a wafer-thin majority that could allow it to eke out a precarious return to power.
- “Tonight, New Zealand has spoken,” Hipkins told supporters.
- Polls show no coalition is expected to secure a majority of seats, in one of the closest elections in recent history New Zealand heads for election cliffhanger with minor party cast as kingmaker In New Zealand’s bellwether seat, what are locals thinking as a knife-edge poll looms?
What's still developing
- New Zealanders are voting to elect a new government, three years after the country's previous general election.
- 1:34 – As I wrap up tonight, and presumably after most NZ readers have gone to bed, I wanted to explore the question of why the National Party has won so many more seats than Labour, giving them an overhang and producing a right-wing majority – at least for now.