AUCKLAND, Oct 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – New Zealand Labour Party leader, Jacinda Ardern, said at a press conference today, she expected to form a government within the next two to three weeks, before the release of official election results.
According to the preliminary count results, for the New Zealand 2020 General Election and Referendums, released by the Electoral Commission, New Zealand Labour Party won 49 percent of the vote, which transfer to 64 seats in the 120-member parliament in a Mixed-Member Proportional voting system, with the opposition National Party lagging behind at 27 percent, or 35 seats.
While addressing the media in Auckland this afternoon, Ardern said, the work would begin and the Labour caucus will meet tomorrow.
“My expectation is that we will form the government within the next two to three weeks,” said Ardern. “We clearly have a mandate on behalf of New Zealand, to crack on with government formation.”
Official results for the 2020 General Election and referendums will not be published until Nov 6, according to the Electoral Commission.
Ardern did not rule out the possibility to form a coalition government with the Green Party, which won 7.6 percent of the vote or 10 seats in parliament. There was a range of options for agreements with the Greens, said Ardern.
After the 2017 New Zealand General Election, the Labour Party, which won 46 seats in parliament, formed a coalition government with the support from New Zealand First Party and Green party.– NNN-XINHUA
