New Zealand election: PM Ardern’s Labour Party wins general election with almost half of the votes
BI Report || BusinessInsider
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has won a landslide victory in the country's general election with almost half of the total votes.
With all votes tallied, Ardern's centre-left Labour Party won 49.1%, bringing a projected 64 seats and a rare outright parliamentary majority, reports BBC.
The opposition centre-right National Party, on the other hand, won 26.8% in Saturday's poll - just 35 seats in the 120-seat assembly.
The poll was scheduled to be held in September this year. It was later postponed by a month after a renewed Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
Ahead of Saturday's vote, more than a million people cast ballots in early polling, which opened on October 3.
"New Zealand has shown the Labour Party its greatest support in almost 50 years. We will not take your support for granted. And I can promise you we will be a party that governs for every New Zealander," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told her supporters after the victory.