Wellington, Oct 26 (IANS) Advance voting opened across New Zealand on Monday, allowing voters to cast their ballots nearly two weeks before the November 7 general election, as political parties vie for support in a closely contested race.
A total of 207 voting places opened on the first day of advance voting, with more locations to become available in the days leading up to election day, according to the Electoral Commission. More than 2,300 voting places are expected to operate nationwide on election day.
Voting locations include community halls, shopping centres, schools, tertiary institutions and marae, or Maori meeting grounds. More than 220 dedicated Maori community voting places are also available, including 67 where voters can cast their ballots in either Maori or English, according to the commission.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s centre-right National Party is seeking a second term after taking office in 2023, while Labor, led by former prime minister Chris Hipkins, is campaigning to return to power amid public concerns over the cost of living, economic growth, jobs and public services.
Poll results suggested that neither major party could secure a parliamentary majority on its own, leaving smaller parties potentially pivotal in forming the next government, reports Xinhua news agency.
New Zealand uses a mixed-member proportional electoral system to elect its parliament. Under this system, the government is usually formed by two or more parliamentary political parties.
The electoral system makes the party vote particularly important. Voters cast two ballots, one for a political party and another for their local electorate candidate.
A party generally needs at least 5 per cent of the party vote or to win an electorate seat to qualify for proportional representation in parliament.
This allows smaller parties to enter parliament and potentially hold the balance of power when neither major bloc commands a majority.
Under changes to electoral law, voters in this year’s election are required to enrol or update their details by midnight Sunday.
Those who missed the deadline can no longer enrol during the voting period.
Official election results are scheduled to be declared on November 27.
New Zealand citizens or permanent residents aged 18 or above, who have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in their life, are eligible to vote in the election, according to the commission.
–IANS
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