| New Zealand’s National Party will need the support of two smaller parties to form a new government after losing two seats in final election results.and the closely aligned libertarian ACT Party a slim overall majority. But the addition of 600,000 special votes on Friday saw that majority evaporate, with the National Party losing two seats and opposition parties gaining three seats.
It remains unclear what concessions Mr Luxon will need to make in return for the support of the two smaller parties. Mr Peters, an anti-immigration populist and champion of the elderly, can be expected to oppose any moves to raise the age of eligibility for the state pension. He has also expressed reservations about National’s planned tax cuts, which would be partially funded by allowing sales of expensive homes to foreigners and applying a levy to the transactions.
The Labour Party won 34 seats, official results showed on Friday, unchanged from election night last month and marking a heavy defeat for the party that led the country through the COVID-19 pandemic.Labour’s share of the vote slumped to 26.9 per cent from 50 per cent at the 2020 election, when former prime minister Jacinda Ardern stormed to the first outright majority ever achieved under the proportional representation system New Zealand adopted in 1996.