New Zealand's right-wing National Party won the election. According to the results published on the official website of the National Electoral Commission, with almost 98% of the votes counted, the National Party obtained 39.08% of the votes compared to 26.79% for the Labour Party.
"You have reached for hope and you have voted for change. On the numbers tonight, National will be in a position to lead the next government," Chris Luxon, leader of the National Party, said in statements reported by New Zealand National Radio.
"My pledge to you is that our government will deliver for every New Zealander, because we will rebuild the economy and deliver tax relief. We will bring down the cost of living, we will restore law and order, we will deliver better health care and we will educate our children so that they can grow up to live the lives that they dreamed of," Luxon added.
The results were recognized by current Labour Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. "The result tonight is not one that any of us wanted," Hipkins said.
"When the tide comes in big it almost invariably goes out big as well ... but Labour is still here, it is not going anywhere, and we will get up again as we have done many times before," added Hipkins.
