New Zealanders may this week learn the formation of the Government that will lead the country for the next three years.
On November 3 the Electoral Commission released the official results of this year’s general election, with the counting of special votes having taken about three weeks since polling day on October 14.
It shows the National Party, led by Botany MP and incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, lost two seats it had on election night.
Te Pati Maori gained two seats, and the Green Party gained one.
National will have 48 seats in the next Parliament, down from the 50 it had on election night.
There are no changes to the Labour Party’s result, with it keeping the 34 seats it had when votes were cast on October 14.
The ACT Party will have 11 MPs, an increase of one from last term, while New Zealand First is back in Parliament and will have eight seats.
On election night, the National and ACT parties were in a position to form a two-party coalition Government with a slim one-seat majority, but with National losing two seats after the special votes have been counted it will also need New Zealand First to be able to govern.
On the day the official results were declared, Luxon told reporters he’d been progressing talks with ACT and New Zealand First over the past couple of weeks.
He said he was unable to give a deadline on when the formation of the new Government will be revealed.
“What I can tell you is there is good will and good faith from all three political party leaders to move through the process as constructively and as quickly as possible, but to make sure we have strong and stable Government.
“And that’s really what we’ve got to do. It’s only today we’ve had clarity, three weeks after an election and had our final votes confirmed and respected.”
In an email to supporters just after the official results were announced, ACT leader David Seymour said the final count shows his party’s best ever electoral result.
“Now the layout of the next Parliament has been revealed, the process of forming a Government to address the issues that matter to Kiwis will continue.
“To everyone who gave their vote to ACT, we will be working hard to ensure real solutions to the division, lawlessness and rising costs faced by Kiwis are on the negotiating table.
“ACT’s first commitment will always be to the best interests of New Zealanders.”
Outgoing Prime Minister, Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins, said his MPs will be a “formidable Opposition who will proudly stand on the Government’s record over the past six years and hold the expected three-party governing arrangement to account”.
“We’ve got great talent and experience in our team, including a number of former Ministers, and we plan to work hard to win back the confidence of more New Zealanders over the next three years.”
