From 7pm - watch TV ONE's election night coverage here (available worldwide). Follow the election results as they come in here. Have your say on the messageaboard at the foot of the page or on our Facebook page.
12.07am: Winston Peters will be on Q+A tomorrow
morning at 9am.
12.06am: Radar says he's enjoyed the immediacy of
this election campaign, with constant social media discussion, news
reports and so on.
12.01pm: On our voting system referendum, 53.9% have voted to keep it, 42.5% to change. Of those that voted for change, the highest voted was FPP on 31.8%.. The informals came in on 34.3%.
11.56pm: Guyon Espiner paints a picture of how National will most likely form a coalition, adding its 60 seats to the Maori Party's three, ACT's one, and United Future's one.
11.53pm: Some more winners: Tim Macindoe wins Hamilton East, Grant Robertson wins Wellington Central, Nikki Kaye wins Auckland Central, Hone Harawira wins Te Tai Takerau.
11.47pm: Felix Marwick tweets:
"Brash resigns, Banks wins Epsom. ACT has 1 MP. What was the point
again?"
11.46pm: Lee Densem tweets:
"Non-voters generally support Labour 2-1. Could have been a whole
lot different if people weren't so apathetic."
11.43pm: Another relatively close result has come through in Waimakariri. Kate Wilkinson (Nat) collected 15409 votes with Clayton Cosgrove ending up on 15014.
11.35pm: Key says he has spoken to Act and
United Future and will seek formal agreement with them soon. He has
also spoken to the Maori Party.
11.32pm: After hugging his family on stage, with
the Feelers song playing in the background, Key says:
"I always said it would be tight and I was right. What I can tell you is for another three years there will be another National-led government in New Zealand."
"Tonight, New Zealanders voted for a brighter future......and it will be a brighter future."
11.27pm: John Key arrives at Sky City with a huge smile. Says he's not entirely surprised at NZ First's result.
Key says he's not disappointed with 48%.
11.23pm: Matt McCarten says on TV1 the big surprise tonight has been the NZ First result. For Winston Peters, it was "cup of tea time and he's in".
McCarten says NZ First probably took the vote away from Labour. "I think it's had a big impact."
11.21pm: Nadine Chalmers-Ross tweets:
"People power overthrew 3 governments during the Arab spring. Here,
only 65% get off their arses to vote.
#clearlywehaveittoogood"
11.19pm:
With 99.6% of votes now counted, here are the
number of seats each party will have:
Nat 60, Lab 34, Grn 13, NZF 8, Maori 3, UF 1, Mana 1, ACT 1.
11.16pm: John Key is leaving his Parnell home for the National Party celebrations. He smiles and waves to the crowd around his front gate.
11.06pm: The voter turnout has been dismal at only 65%, the lowest since the 1880s.
11.09pm: A Facebook post by the Maori Party:
"Kia kaha whanau. Tomorrow we focus on the future. Tomorrow we focus on how we can fight for the best outcomes for our tamariki. We are the ONLY party that has a kaupapa maori voice and we will make sure it is heard."
11.04pm: A dead heat in Christchurch Central with 100% of votes now counted. It will go to special votes.
11.02pm: Nikki Kaye has won Auckland Central by 535 votes.
11.00pm: Phil Goff says he has made a decision on his future but is not going to make it public until he's consulted his caucus.
10.56pm: Don Brash says it is not tenable for him to stay as ACT leader. He does not accept that this campaign has been a disaster for ACT. He says they won Epsom when everyone said we wouldn't.
He says it is likely that John Banks will take over as leader but that is something to be decided.
10.55pm: "Guyon Espiner says we have had a low voter turn out, something which always affects Labour.
10.52pm: Paul Stenhouse tweets: "Only in New Zealand can people gather at the gate of the Prime Minister's private home..."
10.49pm: Phil Goff is speaking to his party. He
congratulates those entering Parliament but expresses sadness and
regret at those departing.
"It wasn't our time this time but we are members of a great
political party."
10.47pm: An incredibly close one in Christchurch Central with only four votes separating the front two. Labour's Brendon Burns is on 10410, National's Nicky Wagner on 10406. 96.7% of votes have been counted.
10.45pm: Don Brash announces he'll step down as
leader of the ACT Party.
Asked whether this is the end of his political career: "I expect it
will be the end but let's cross that bridge when we come to
it," he says.
He blames part of ACT's poor performance on the media for how they portrayed the Epsom race.
10.39pm: Gareth Hughes from the Green Party tweets: "I'm stoked I'm returned to Parliament. I'll keep advocating for the Internet, warm rentals, smart transport, protecting sharks and more!"
10.33pm: Don Brash has arrived at ACT Party HQ.
ACT have only secured on seat in Parliament - John Banks.
Brach declares: "....we did it. You did it. John Banks did it. The
people of Epsom did it."
"I want to thank John Banks. He did a fantastic job."
10.31pm: There are simply too many results to
update them all but
go here to look at your electorate results.
10.28pm: Labour has taken out the Maori electorate
of Ikaroa-Rawhiti. Parekura Horomia has sailed home by 5924
votes.
10.24pm: "Fantastic result for the Greens," says Russel Norman. Metiria Turei says she's not worried about having inexperienced MPs in Parliament. She says: "They're very passionate and they're ready to hit the ground running."
10.20pm: TV1's projected end results have National on 48%, Labour on 27.1%, Greens on 10.6%.
10.17pm: Hamilton West - Macindoe (Nat) leads Moroney (Lab) by 3986 seats.
10.14pm: In
Waitakere, there is very little between Bennett
and Sepuloni, only 91 votes. 78.8% of votes have been
counted.
10.10pm:
Jessica Murch reports that John Key is still at
home waiting to see how the votes pan out before he
leaves.
10.07pm: John Banks looks to have Epsom in the bag, now leading by nearly 2500 votes. "Tonight is about thanking people," he says. He gives special thanks to ACT on Campus. He says he didn't have any doubts he'd win.
10.06pm: Greens co-leader Russel Norman says "We have exceeded our target!"
10.01pm: Phil Goff is now on his way to the Labour Party HQ in Mt Roskill, Auckland.
10.02pm: The Greens are partying down at HQ on K'Rd in Auckland. Guyon Espiner doesn't think the Greens will be disappointed with their 10% (13 seats) of the vote. Jon Johansson says they may pick up more from the special vote count.
10.01pm: National are heading for three more seats in Parliament than 2008. Labour 10 less, Greens four more. Maori two less, Act four less, Mana up one.
9.59pm: United Future Party leader Peter Dunne looks to have won his electorate of Ohariu. Mark Sainsbury asks Dunne what he thinks about whether National will go in with ACT. Dunne says that's Key's call and that Key will be looking to form a coalition that's "not just durable but has some compatibility as well".
9.55pm: John Pagani is on TV1 and says Labour
"have been pulverised" tonight. He says it would be nonsense for
the party to blame the result on Phil Goff, given his favoured
national leader results have improved of late.
9.50pm:
Banks is stretching his Epsom lead - up to 1137
now, 51% counted. Still just the 1 MP for Act, so no Brash.
9.49pm:
TV One reporter Michael Parkin tweets: "phil_goff
not arriving at mt roskill party until there is some "clarity"
around the result says campaign manager."
9.43pm: We're now up to 70% on the nationwide
party vote. Here's how the parties are sitting in terms of
percentages:
Nat 49.1%, Lab 26.1%, Grn 10.4, NZF 6.8,
Con 2.8%, Mri 1.4%, ACT 1.1%, Man 0.9%
9.40pm: Winston Peters arrives smiling to his Party HQ at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Auckland.
"It's great that MMP's winning tonight," he says. He thanks those voters that have brought them back to Parliament.
9.35pm: In Te Tai Tokerau, Mana's Hone Harawira is ahead by 654 votes. After 63.6% of the count, Harawira is on 4139, Labour's Kelvin Davis on 3485.
9.27pm: Auckland Central update - Kaye is just 73 votes ahead of Ardern. 56% of votes have been counted.
9.22pm: It looks like Winston Peters could be back in Parliament after maximising the media time lately. NZ First are sitting comfortably on 6.8% with 52.9% of the party votes now counted.
The Greens are currently on 10.5% which will guarantee them 13 seats.
9.19pm: Epsom update - Banks' lead narrowing to 170 votes with 17%.
9.16pm: In the Christchurch electorate of
Ilam, Gerry Brownlee has over a 5000-vote lead.
He has 7396 votes. Closest rival is Labour's John Parsons on
2321.
Christopher Bishop tweets: "There is no doubt that the results in
Christchurch reflect approval of the government. Very happy for
Gerry."
9.08pm.
Right, so we've had just over a third of the
overall party votes counted now. Here's how the parties are sitting
on percentages:
Nat 49.6, Lab 25.7, Grn 10.5, NZF 6.8, Con 2.7, Mri 1.3, ACT
1.1, Man 0.9.
9.06pm:
A big gap has opened up in
Clutha-Southland. Bill English (Nat) is on 11696,
ahead of closest rival Tat Loo (Lab) on 2223.
9.02pm: The Conservative Party leader Colin Craig is way back behind the leader in Rodney, National's Mark Mitchell. Craig is in second place on 1794 votes and Mitchell is on 5721.
8.56pm: On TV ONE's Election night special,
Jacinda Ardern (Labour's Auckland Central candidate) says she
and Nikki Kaye have always fought against the idea of it being a
beauty contest. She says they've preferred to focus on ideas and
real issues. Things are very close between the two, with only 187
votes separating them; Kaye is on 2561 and Ardern on 2374.
8.51pm: In a dramatic moment earlier, John
Key took time out from watching the results to collect pizzas
from his front door.
8.39pm: Things are moving along - 12.8% of the nationwide party vote has been counted. National is up on 50.6%, Labour has dipped a little to 25.5% and the minor parties are mostly unchanges. Go here to see in full.
8.29pm: Mike Sabin is way ahead up in Northland. The National candidate leads on 2736 votes, a majority of 1740 over Labour's Lynette Stewart who is on 996.
8.25pm: In the Maori Electorates (4.9% counted overall) Labour lead in Hauraki-Waikato, Ikaroa-Rawhiti and Te Tai Tonga. Maori Party is leading inTamaki Makaurau and Te Tai Hauauru. Mana leads in Te Tai Tokerau.
8.19pm: ONE News reporter Kim Vinnell tweets a photo from the National HQ at Sky City, Auckland.
8.14pm: In the nationwide party vote, (7.3% counted) Labour are a long way back on 26.4%. National are sitting just under a majority on 49.8%, the Greens are on 10.1%, NZ First on 6.8%, Conservatives 2.4%, Maori 1.3%, Act, 1.2, Mana 1%.
8.12pm: Green Party tweets: "If you're in
Auckland head along to Saint Kevin's Arcade for the Green Party
election party!"
8.09pm:
There are a lot of eyes on Epsom. Follow the
results
here. Banks is on 2157, 401 votes ahead of
Goldsmith. Labour's David Parker sits back on 449 votes.
8.07pm: Peter Dunne is leading in Ohariu. The United First Leader is on 1927 votes, with Labour's Charles Chauvel close behind on 1702.
8.04pm: Labour is ahead in Dunedin South, with candidate Clare Curran on 1907. This puts her 532 votes ahead of Joanne Hayes on 1375 (Nat).
8.02pm: Very important update - John Key has just had a pizza delivered to his house.
8.00pm: Jack Tame tweets a photo of NZ First HQ.
7.58pm: There is a close battle going on in Auckland Central between Nikki Kaye and Jacinda Ardern. Only 4% of votes have been counted so far but Kaye (Nat) is on 1878 and Ardern (Lab) is 207 votes behind on 1671. Green candidate Denise Roche is back on 340 votes.
7.56pm: In Waimakariri, Kate Wilkinson (Nat) is on 2678, which gives her a 205 vote lead over Clayton Cosgrove (Lab).
7.51pm: New Plymouth has National's Jonathan Young ahead on 2227 votes, with Labour's Andrew Little trailing on 1289.
7.50pm: In Auckland's New Lynn, 9.1% of votes have been counted. Labour's David Cunliffe is ahead on 1840, with a 428 vote lead over National's Tim Groser on 1412.
7.44pm: Hamilton West is known for being a good indicator electorate. National's Tim Macindoe is ahead by 732 votes at the moment with Labour's Sue Maroney the closest on 1301.
7.41pm: In six of the Maori electorates, Labour is leading in three, Maori Party are leading in two and Mana's Hone Harawira is leading in Te Tai Tokerau.
7.32pm: In the keenly-watched electorate of Epsom, John Banks is ahead after 6.4% of votes have been counted. ACT's Banks is on 2157 votes, 401 votes ahead of National's Paul Goldsmith on 1756.
7.28pm: 4.8% of party votes have been counted and National have dipped below 50% (to 49.9%), Labour are on 27%, Greens 9.7%, NZ First 6.7% and the Conservatives on 2.2%.
7.21pm: 3.1% of the overall vote has been counted. National are on 50%, Labour 33%, and Greens 12%.
7.10pm: As of now, 2.3% of votes have been counted. Out of 120 seats, current results would give National 64, Labour 33, Greens 12, NZ First 8, United Future 1, Maori 1 and Mana 1. Very early days though obviously.
7.10pm: Nikki Kaye is leading Auckland Central right now .
7.08pm: Just under 43,000 of the referendum votes have been counted and Keep MMP is at 51.1%, to change is 45.2%.
Of those who voted for an alternative system, the largest
proportion so far is for First Past the Post on 34.3%
7.02pm:
Political editor Guyon Espiner says one of the
things he's most interested in seeing tonight is if New Zealand
First make it back into Parliament. If so, "It'll make Parliament
an interesting place".
7.00pm: And the polls have closed. Now it's time to sit back and wait for the results to come in over the evening.
6.56pm: Jeremy Elwood sends out a tweet:
"Voting took me all of 4 mins. Always reminds me how many millions
don't have that right we so often take for granted."
6.39pm: United Future leader Peter Dunne voted at
Khandallah School in his Ohariu electorate.
Act Party leader Don Brash cast his vote at St David's Presbyterian
Church Hall in Parnell.
6.36pm: National Party leader John Key and Labour Party leader Phil Goff cast their votes this morning.
Key walked from his Remuera home to vote at Parnell School while Goff went to the polling booths at Wesley Intermediate School in his Mt Roskill electorate.
Key said he is "looking forward to it tonight" and he's "sort of
happy the campaign is over". Goff told media he is "feeling really
good" and "now it's over to the people".
6.30pm:
Welcome to our live updates of the general
election and referendum on our voting system.
Voting kicked off at 9am today and polling booths close at 7pm. Preliminary results will be released from 7pm with a target of 11.30pm for 100% of results being received.
We'll bring you all the lasest results as they come in throughout the evening.
Politics News Video
-
VIDEO: John Key blasts 'Planet Labour' (4:35)
-
VIDEO: David Shearer reacts to Budget (4:32)
-
RAW VIDEO: Students protest against the Budget (1:30)
Add a Comment:
Post new commentadeej said on 2011-11-27 @ 17:15 NZDT: Report abusive post
Any electorate where the winning margin is under 1000 votes could easily change with special votes. That means Auck. Central (535), Chch Central (0), Waimakariri (395), Waitakere (349), Tamaki Makarau (746), Te Tai Tokerau (874)
Aha said on 2011-11-27 @ 11:23 NZDT: Report abusive post
John Key has led a strong Govt during the World Financial Crisis, Christchurch Earthquake which cost millions + much more; it shows what a good job John Key has done to keep this Country Stable. Being open to work with MMP partners gives an across the board shows his open mind and is a voice for all NZers. A fantastic outcome for NZ all round.
redhat said on 2011-11-27 @ 10:33 NZDT: Report abusive post
Maybe, If there was a party with policies that were actually different, We might have someone to vote for. I'll tick the box, None of the Above, ONLY IT'S MISSING !!! Labour National and NZ first, are all the same, and think only of themselves, Greens are loonies, as is Maori, and Mana, (yep, Apartied works in NZ right?) and the rest are washed out, so Why bother. NZ is in a hole, and getting deeper. so why bother, supporting more of the same.