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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern scored a landslide victory in New Zealand’s general election on Saturday, building on the success of the battle against Covid-19 by an unprecedented majority that she said gave her a mandate for progressive reform.
Ardern’s center-left Labor Party won 64 seats in the 120-member parliament with 49 percent of the vote, after the charismatic young leader led the nation through the turmoil brought on by the global pandemic.
“Thank you to the many people who gave us their vote, who trusted us to continue to lead New Zealand’s recovery,” the 40-year-old told supporters.
Ardern had dubbed the vote “Covid’s choice” and campaigned on his government’s success in eliminating community transmission of the virus, which has caused just 25 deaths in a population of five million.
The pandemic is one of a series of emergencies that put Ardern’s leadership to the test during a torrid first term, after he scored an unexpected victory in the 2017 polls thanks to a wave of support dubbed “Jacinda-mania.”
She showed empathy and decisive action on gun control after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshipers in the attack on Christchurch mosques last year.
Ardern again found himself comforting a shocked nation when a volcanic eruption on White Island, also known as Whakaari, killed 21 people and left dozens more with horrific burns.
“There is no doubt that the strong and great leadership that we have had from Jacinda Ardern has been a huge factor in all of this,” Labor Party chair Claire Szabo said of her party’s victory on TVNZ.
Saturday’s vote marked the first time a leader won an absolute majority since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996 and was the party’s strongest result since World War II.
Opposition leader Judith Collins awarded an “outstanding result” for Labor and congratulated Ardern on his victory.
“Wow, we knew it was going to be a tough campaign,” said Collins, whose conservative National Party is expected to win about 35 seats after its worst result in nearly 20 years.
Ardern was criticized during her first term for failing to deliver on some key promises, such as improving housing affordability, protecting the environment and reducing child poverty.
But she said the elections had prepared her for a second active term.
“We have a mandate to accelerate our response and our recovery, and tomorrow we start!” he said, noting an increase in state housing, more renewable energy and other infrastructure investments.
Greens co-leader Marama Davidson, whose party ruled in coalition with Labor for the first term, said the vote “shows how much New Zealanders want a strong and truly progressive government.”
About 3.5 million people registered to vote, and more than half cast their votes early, a much higher number than in previous elections.
The vote was originally set for September 19, but was delayed by a virus outbreak in Auckland that has now been contained.
Collins, who took over the National Party in July after a period of turmoil when the party had three leaders in three months, said the false start had cost him the momentum of his campaign.
The conservative leader, known as “Crusher” for her hard-line policies when she was a police minister in a previous government, has vowed to remain leader regardless of the outcome.
Voters also voted in two referenda, to legalize recreational cannabis and euthanasia, although the results of those votes will not be known until October 30.
ns / gle
