New Zealand Elections 2020: PM Jacinda Ardern On Track For Landslide Re-Election Victory

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on course to win a second term, boosted by her successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern/ File image AFP

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party was poised for a landslide victory in New Zealand’s general election on Saturday, and possibly the first single-party government in decades. Labour was on track to win 66 of the 120 seats in the country’s unicameral parliament, the highest by any party since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996. Also Read|'I'll Have To Leave The Country If Biden Wins': Donald Trump's Statement Has Democrats Say 'I Approve This Message' Labour Party leader Ardern, 40, and National Party chief Judith Collins, 61, faced off in the election to form the country's 53rd parliament, a referendum on Ardern's three-year term. Labour had 50.4% of the votes, to 25.8% for the opposition National Party with 20% of ballots tallied, according to the Electoral Commission. Of Labour's current coalition partners, the nationalist New Zealand First Party had 2.3% and the Green Party 8.3%. Labour had led by wide margins in opinion polls before the vote. The surveys initially had suggested Ardern was on track to be able to form a Labour-only government, the first outright majority government since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996. But more recent polls have indicated she may need the continued support of the minor Greens. A Labour-Green coalition would be the first fully left-leaning government in decades, a scenario that National's Collins warned would mean more taxes and an environment hostile to business. “This is a historic shift,” political commentator Bryce Edwards of Victoria University in Wellington said, describing the vote as one of the biggest swings in New Zealand’s electoral history in 80 years. “This is new ground,” he said. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was applauded for her "Go Hard, Go Early" approach for coronavirus The prime minister won global acclaim for her handling of a mass shooting last year by a white supremacist in Christchurch, with her inclusive “be strong, be kind” mantra and swift action to ban guns. She burnished that reputation this year with a “go hard, go early” approach to the new coronavirus, which has eliminated locally spread COVID-19 in the nation. The election was delayed by a month after new COVID-19 infections in Auckland, which led to a second lockdown in the country’s largest city. While known internationally for promoting progressive causes such as woman’s rights and social justice, at home Ardern faced criticism that her government failed on a promise to be transformational. Life is back to normal in New Zealand, but its borders are still shut, its tourism sector is bleeding and economists predict a lasting recession after the harsh lockdowns.