EARLY results in New Zealand's national elections suggest incumbent conservative Prime Minister Bill English's National Party is ahead of Jacinda Ardern's liberal Labour Party.
With a little over one-third of the vote counted, the National Party was winning 46 per cent of the vote with Labour on 36 per cent. The New Zealand First Party had seven per cent and the Green Party six per cent.
Under New Zealand's proportional voting system large parties typically have to form alliances with smaller ones in order to govern, so parties may bargain over the coming days or weeks to form a coalition.
Ardern, 37, has enjoyed a surge in popularity since taking over as opposition leader last month. English, 55, has highlighted his experience and promised tax cuts.
Voting ended at 7pm local time on Saturday. Figures released by election authorities showed that a record 1.2 million people chose to cast their votes before election day.
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