New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that her party will lead the nation for the next three years.
The Labour Party leader has managed to get 49.2 percent of the votes after two-thirds of the ballots have been tallied, and her allies in the Green Party have 7.6 percent, according to the Electoral Commission. At the same time, the opposition National Party, headed by Judith Collins, has 25.8 percent so far.
43.6% now counted in New Zealand. Labour on 66/120 seats, 50.1% of the national vote. First government ever to win an outright majority under MMP system. pic.twitter.com/9LEfskgxYG
— Malcolm Farnsworth (@mfarnsworth) October 17, 2020
The National Party has recognised that Labour won the election, conceding to Ardern.
"To Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who I have phoned, congratulations on your result because it is, I believe, an outstanding result for the Labour Party", Collins said.
The incumbent PM has been praised by her supporters for her anti-coronavirus measures and response to last year's shooting in Christchurch. She also became the second-ever national leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto.
Due to the early response, the island nation managed to eliminate coronavirus community transmission for 102 days; however, a new cluster was discovered in August in Auckland, prompting a month-long delay in the vote.
