Right from the jump, election night went straight down to the wire across the country.
Once the final preliminary count was in for the night, National led by a narrow margin, locking in 42 seats to stay in position to lead the next government. However, compared to their 2023 result, National dropped 9% in the party vote. In the coming weeks, they will negotiate with other parties to form a coalition government
Labour actually finished ahead of National in the preliminary party vote count by nearly 4,000 votes. However, National won more electorate seats than its party vote entitlement, creating an overhang, while Labour secured 36 seats in Parliament.
Overhang seats created by National and Te Pāti Māori have pushed the projected size of the 55th Parliament to 131 seats, up from the usual 120.
This means 66 seats are needed for a majority, with National, ACT and New Zealand First currently holding a combined 67 seats.
Meanwhile, Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori hold a combined 57 seats. Even with the Opportunity Party’s seven seats, the bloc would reach only 64, two short of a majority.
With special votes still to be counted and overhang seats potentially shifting the final size of the House, there was no lack of action happening in the Māori seats.
Te Pāti Māori secure majority of the Māori seats
Right through the night, Whakaata Māori was making early calls for the Māori seats across all seven regions, with Te Pāti Māori claiming five seats and Labour locking down Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and Te Tai Tonga.
By 9:00 pm, with just 30% of votes counted, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke had built a solid lead ahead of Labour’s candidate by 7,536 votes, with a final count of 17,982 ahead of Kingi Kiriona, who was on 7,541.
Te Ao Māori News Reporter Riria Dalton-Reedy captured Maipi-Clarke celebrating alongside her younger siblings, and a haka performed by her whānau in attendance.
The Tāmaki Makaurau electorate stayed with the incumbent Oriini Kaipara of Te Pāti Māori with 98.4 per cent of the vote counted, holding a 7,442-vote margin over Kerrin Leoni.
Speaking with Reporter Māni Dunlop, Te Pāti Māori incumbent Kaipara said the night was about acknowledging the work of the candidates and their supporters, despite limited resources and scrutiny over political donations. Kaipara finished with 13,378 votes, and Leoni with 5,936.
Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader and incumbent MP for Te Tai Hauāuru, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, followed suit at 99.6% counted, holding down Te Tai Hauāuru to finish 3,832 votes ahead of Labour’s Te Puoho Kātene at 10,825.
Speaking to Taiuru’s Reporter, Phoenix Manley-Green, “Everyone has had a hard three years,” says Ngarewa-Packer, noting the past year was especially difficult, with internal conflict in the party and her suspension. She also lost her mother towards the end of the campaign. “It was really tough, and I don’t regret any decision that I made. It was a real honour to nurse Mum.”
At 10:00 pm, down in Te Tai Tonga, the seat headed back home to Labour. With 99.9% of the total vote counted, Mananui Ramsden claimed the win over the Greens’ Lisa Te Morenga, with Ramsden finishing at 8,614 and Te Morenga at 5,841.
On site is Reporter Hora-Kairangi Nicholas from Tahu News, capturing Ramsden’s moments with his whānau beside him, where he shares “ohorere taku katoa i runga i tēnei mea engari tuatahi me mihi ka tika ki a koutou Te Tai Tonga”.
Over in Waiariki at 10:15 pm, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rāwiri Waititi held firm to retain his seat with 99.6% of the vote counted. Despite a strong showing from Greens candidate Tania Waikato, Waititi held the electorate of Waiariki, finishing on 13,080 votes.
Rounding out the confirmed calls in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, Labour’s Cushla Tangaere-Manuel maintained her grip on the electorate. With over 99.1% of the vote counted, she took the win over Haley Maxwell from Te Pāti Māori, securing a final tally of 11,877 votes
Closing out the night in a nail-biter, the results for Te Tai Tokerau were too close to call. Te Pāti Māori candidate Aperahama Edwards currently holds the lead over Greens candidate Hūhana Lyndon with only 436 votes separating the two, with Willow-Jean Prime right on Lyndon’s heels with 6,209 votes and Te Tai Tokerau Independent Mariameno Kapa-Kingi with 4,059 votes.
