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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won a second term in New Zealand’s general election, in which she won by an overwhelming difference.
With the majority of the votes counted, Ardern’s liberal Labor Party held 49%, against 17% for its rival, the conservative National Party.
Labor was on the verge of winning an absolute majority in Parliament, something that has not happened since New Zealand implemented a proportional voting system 24 years ago. Usually parties must form alliances to govern, but this time Ardern and Labor can do it alone.
In a speech after the victory, Ardern told hundreds of enthusiastic supporters that his party had garnered more support than in any other election in the past 50 years.
“This has not been an ordinary election and these are not ordinary times,” he said. “They have been full of uncertainty and anxiety, and we strive to be an antidote to that.”
He vowed not to take the support of his new voters for granted and to govern for all New Zealanders.
“We live in an increasingly polarized world, where more and more people lose the ability to see each other’s point of view,” he said. “I think that in this election the New Zealanders have shown that we are not like that,” he added.
Like a rock star
During the campaign, Ardern was received like a rock star by people who crowded into shopping malls and took to the streets to greet her and take selfies with her.
His popularity soared earlier this year when he successfully led the country’s fight to eradicate the coronavirus. Currently, the nation of five million people has no cases of local transmission and it is no longer mandatory to wear a mask or maintain social distance.
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