National Party leader Christopher Luxon will be elected as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, after winning a decisive election. However, Luxon's centre-right National Party and coalition partner ACT secured 61 seats in the 121-seat parliament.
But about 567,000 special votes, about 20% of the total, still have to be counted. The official results are due on 3 November 2023.
With most of the votes counted, Luxon's National Party secured about 40%. In contrast, the incumbent Labor Party won more than 25% of the vote. Proportional voting system is used in New Zealand.
Luxon, 53, a relative newcomer to politics and a former airline executive, said National would wait for the special votes to be counted before officially forming a government. Luxon had campaigned on promises of tax cuts for middle-income people and a crackdown on crime.
New Zealand is currently governed by a transitional government led by Labor led by PM Chris Hipkins. Who replaced former female Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.