New Zealand’s general election: still waiting on a final result - Westpac

Analysts at Westpac explained that the election is now over, but it will be some time before we will know the make-up of the new Government.

Key Quotes:

"Neither of the two major parties won enough seats to govern alone in Saturday’s election. The incumbent centre-right National Party received 46% of the vote, and the main centre-left opposition Labour party received 37%. Crucially, the centrist New Zealand First party won 7.5% of the vote. There are still around 384,000 special votes to be counted (around 15% of the total) which could shift the allocation of seats in the House somewhat. The final result is expected to be declared on 7 October.

Both major parties will now be entering negotiations with the minor parties to see if they can form a stable government. National could govern with support from New Zealand First, and this seems like the most likely outcome. Labour would require the support of the Greens (who polled 5.9%) as well as New Zealand First, making the negotiations more complex. We’ll take a closer look at the possible outcomes and what this could mean for the economy in a Bulletin later today.

Key policy areas that New Zealand First campaigned on include immigration settings, the focus of monetary policy, foreign investment and regional development."