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New Zealand's Ardern wins election as opposition leader concedes defeat

Welligton
October 17, 2020

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's Labour Party overwhelmingly won the country's general election on Saturday, her opponent Judith Collins said.
"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 in a televised speech.

With a quarter of the vote still to be counted, Labour has 49 % of the vote and its ally the Green Party has 7.6 %, with Collins' National Party holding 27 %.
If Labour wins more than half the seats, Ardern could form the first single party Government under the current system.

Labour had led by wide margins in opinion polls before the vote.

The election was delayed by a month after new COVID-19 infections in Auckland that led to a second lockdown in the country's largest city. Labour was seeking a second term on the back of Ardern's success in containing COVID-19, while Collins argued she is best placed tackle the post pandemic financial challenges.