New Zealand’s governing coalition holds slim majority in preliminary count

New Zealand’s ruling coalition has a slim majority in preliminary election results, although the outcome remains uncertain as about 14% of the votes have yet to be counted. The final results will determine which political group will govern the country for the next three years.

The tightest vote in years marked a significant setback for the country’s two major political parties, the center-right National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, and the center-left Labour Party, headed by Chris Hipkins, as voters threw more support behind minor parties on the ideological flanks than before.

Currently, New Zealand’s governing right-leaning bloc holds a narrow lead with 67 seats in an expanded 131-seat parliament. But that may be overturned as the remaining votes are counted, with the final results due November 27.

Market reaction  

At the press time, the NZD/USD pair is adding 0.37% on the day to trade at 0.5560.