By Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Charlotte Greenfield

 

WELLINGTON, 23 Sept. - (ANA) - New Zealand’s ruling National Party enjoyed a wide lead over the Labour Party with 70 percent of results counted in the country’s general election on Saturday after the most hotly contested race in recent history.

 

Votes cast for New Zealand’s ruling National Party reached 46.5 percent, while support for the opposition Labour Party was 35.5 percent, according to the Electoral Commission.

 

The nationalist New Zealand First Party had 7.4 percent of the vote so far, tipping it as a likely kingmaker in the German-style proportional representation system.

 

Votes for the Green Party, which has a working agreement with Labour, reached 5.9 percent, above the 5 percent threshold for parliamentary representation. Preliminary results are due at 1130 GMT.

 

National and the Labour Party had been neck and neck in the polls, after the charismatic Jacinda Ardern almost single-handedly changed the chances of the Labour Party after taking over its leadership in August.But two recent polls have put Bill English’s National Party with a near 10 point lead, after nearly a decade in government. - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/ 23 September 2017 - - -