Conservative Christopher Luxon has won the New Zealand election after incumbent prime minister Chris Hipkins conceded.
The former businessman will become the country’s new prime minister after people voted for change following six years of a liberal government, led for most of that time by Jacinda Ardern.
Mr Hipkins, who was in the job for just nine months after Ms Ardern unexpectedly stepped down in January, saying she no longer had “enough in the tank” for the role, told supporters he had conceded defeat.
“But I want you to be proud of what we achieved over the last six years,” the Labour leader said at an event in Wellington.
The centre-right National Party – which is currently in opposition – will form a new government with its preferred coalition party ACT, having won 40% of votes.
Labour got 26% of the vote, while ACT had 9% – meaning the National-ACT majority is slim and still may need support from populist party New Zealand First to form a government.
Under Ms Ardern, Labour in 2020 became the first party to secure an outright majority since the country switched to a mixed member proportional system in 1996.
But Labour has since lost support, with many in New Zealand dissatisfied over the country’s long COVID lockdown and the rising cost of living.
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