New Zealand counts votes in general election after polls close
Preliminary results are due later Saturday, with final results expected by Nov. 27, as the ruling National Party faces Labour.
Polling stations across New Zealand closed on Saturday in a general election that pits the ruling National Party against the center-left Labour Party, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
Polls opened at 9 a.m. local time, or 2000 GMT Friday, and closed at 7 p.m., or 0600 GMT Saturday.
Vote counting started as soon as polling ended, Radio New Zealand reported.
Preliminary results are expected later on Saturday, while the final results are due by Nov. 27.
Beyond the two main parties, several other contenders are seeking votes in the contest.
The Green Party, ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First are the other major parties in the race.
Smaller parties, including Te Pati Maori and the Opportunity Party, are also standing candidates.
Among the newcomers is the Free Palestine Party, whose leader, Paul Hopkinson, told Anadolu earlier this year that the party wants to put the Palestinian issue at the centre of the campaign.
New Zealand holds general elections every three years, and it has used a mixed-member proportional voting system since 1996, after voters backed the change in a 1993 referendum.
Under that system, voters cast two ballots, one for a local electorate candidate and one for a party, which allows smaller parties to win seats if they clear a threshold or win an electorate.