The country’s Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has won a second term in office after her landslide victory in the country’s general election.
The ‘historic’ results confirmed what everyone already knew with opinion polls comfortably placing Ms. Ardern on course to win her second term.
Tallies showed Ms. Ardern’s center-left Labour Party won 49.1% of the votes, far ahead of the opposition center-right National Party at 26.8% in Saturday’s poll.
Ms. Ardern’s campaign was dominated by her successful handling of the Coronavirus crisis. The poll was originally going to be held on 19 September but was postponed by a month after a small resurgence of Coronavirus in Auckland.
More than a million New Zealanders cast their votes in early polling, which opened on 3 October. Voters were also asked to vote in two referendums alongside the general election. The 40-year-old leader promised her supporters that she would build an economy that works for everyone, train people, create jobs and address climate challenges.
After her victory, Ms Ardern told roaring crowds: “New Zealand has shown the Labour Party its greatest support in almost 50 years. We will not take your support for granted. And I can promise you we will be a party that governs for every New Zealander.”
61-year-old National Party leader, Judith Collins, congratulated Ms. Ardern on the win and promised her party would be a “robust opposition”.
She added: “To Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who I have phoned, congratulations on your result. Which has been an outstanding result.”
