New Zealand: Government voted out – Conservatives storm into power

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Social Democrats voted out
Conservatives storm into power in New Zealand

Result: The conservative National Party in New Zealand with its leading candidate Luxon returns to power after six years. photo

© Shane Wenzlick/AAP/dpa

A change of government is imminent in New Zealand. In the parliamentary elections, the Social Democrats were voted out of power after six years in government. The big winners are the conservatives around Christopher Luxon.

In New Zealand it will be after the There will be a change of government in the parliamentary election. According to preliminary results, the clear winner is the conservative National Party with its top candidate Christopher Luxon (53). After counting more than 80 percent of the votes, the party has around 40 percent and 51 parliamentary seats, as the electoral commission announced. To form a government, at least 61 of the 120 seats in parliament are required. Luxon is therefore likely to rely on a coalition with the right-wing liberal party ACT, which has around nine percent of the vote.

The previously ruling Prime Minister Chris Hipkins (45) from the social democratic Labor Party admitted his defeat in the evening. “As things stand, Labor will not be able to form a government,” he said. The party is the big loser of the vote. According to calculations, she received around 26 percent of the vote and thus lost half of her previous mandates in parliament. Hipkins became prime minister in January after his world-famous predecessor Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly resigned from office.

New Zealand: Social Democrats lose election

At the time, Ardern emphasized that she no longer had the strength to continue leading the country. The charismatic politician made a name for herself thanks to her sensitive crisis management, for example after the fatal attacks on two mosques in Christchurch and during the corona pandemic. However, it was also controversial in its own country because of its tough pandemic policy.

The outcome of the election was less close than the polls had previously suggested. According to the figures, Luxon does not need a difficult alliance with the populist anti-immigration party New Zealand First in order to govern. Due to the sharp rise in the cost of living, especially in the area of ​​food, many New Zealanders are now hoping for reforms in economic policy.

There were no exact figures on voter turnout, but it was likely high. There were sometimes long queues in front of the polling stations on Saturday. Around 3.8 million citizens were called to the polls. Voting has been possible since October 2nd, and around a million people took advantage of this offer before election day.

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