WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealanders vote on Saturday, Nov. 7, with the governing National Party and the opposition Labour Party close in the polls, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
Neither main party is on course to win enough seats to govern alone, the outlets reported. Smaller parties could decide the outcome.
Key facts
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of the National Party is seeking a second term. He governs in a coalition with New Zealand First and ACT.
- Labour leader Chris Hipkins, a former prime minister, is bidding to return to the job.
- The 120-seat parliament usually needs 61 seats for a majority. A party needs 5% of the party vote or one electorate win to enter.
- Polls disagree on who leads. Figures from three surveys appear below.
What the polls show
An RNZ-Reid Research poll of 1,000 voters, taken Oct. 20–26, put Labour at 30.6% and National at 24.8%, RNZ reported. The Greens had 14.5%, ACT 10.1%, New Zealand First 9.9% and Opportunity 7.2%.
That poll projected 64 seats for Labour, the Greens and Opportunity, and 54 for the current coalition, RNZ reported. Its margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 points.
A 1News-Verian poll taken Oct. 21–25 had National at 29% and Labour at 27%, RNZ reported.
The final Post/Freshwater Strategy poll put Labour at 30.7% and National at 26.4%, RNZ reported on Friday.
“Ultimately, it’s out of step with most of the other polls that we’re seeing, including our own,” National campaign chair Simeon Brown said of the RNZ-Reid Research poll, according to RNZ.
The issues
Most parties are campaigning on the economy and the cost of living, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
Immigration and voting rights are also on the agenda. ACT wants to deport serious offenders regardless of how long they have lived in New Zealand, the outlets reported. New Zealand First wants to restrict voting to citizens.
New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 5.7% in the September quarter, Statistics New Zealand data showed this week.
Related coverage
Sources
- Al Jazeera and Reuters, “New Zealand braces for knife-edge election: What you need to know,” Nov. 5, 2026
- RNZ, via The Spinoff, “RNZ-Reid Research poll: National below disastrous 2020 result as Opportunity surges,” Oct. 29, 2026
- RNZ, “Last poll before election puts Labour slightly ahead of National,” Nov. 6, 2026
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