Final tally in NZ elections provides boost for Labour

WELLINGTON: A possible LabourGreen coalition narrowed the gap with the ruling National Party in New Zealand’s final election tally, strengthening their position ahead of talks with the small nationalist party, which holds the balance of power.

The final Sept 23 election results released yesterday showed that National won 56 seats while Labour and Greens together took 54 seats, leaving them both reliant on New Zealand First’s nine seats to meet the 61 seats needed for a majority in parliament in New Zealand’s proportional representation system.

National lost two seats to the LabourGreen bloc compared with preliminary results – a development which Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said buoyed their position at the negotiating table.

“We will continue our negotiations in earnest with potential support parties beginning this weekend,” Ardern told reporters in Auckland yesterday.

“This now means that we have a strengthened mandate to negotiate and form a durable, stable coalition government.”

Ardern, 37, took over the Labour leadership nearly two months before the election, quickly drawing comparisons with youthful, cosmopolitan leaders such as Canada’s Justin Trudeau and France’s Emmanuel Macron.

She has almost singlehandedly brought Labour within reach of forming government. — Reuters