National Party’s Christopher Luxon wins New Zealand election as incumbent PM Chris Hipkins concedes

Former businessman Christopher Luxon is set to become New Zealand’s next prime minister as the country’s incumbent leader Chris Hipkins conceded deafeat.

Mr Luxon said he would form a new government with its preferred coalition party ACT, Reuters reported.

New Zealand’s National Party, which is currently in opposition had about 40 per cent of the votes, while the ACT party had 9 per cent, giving the coalition enough seats to form a government.

The Labour party currently has a little over a quarter of the vote share – about half the proportion it got under Ms Ardern in the last election.

“As the numbers stand, Labour is not in a position to form a government,” Mr Hipkins said, adding that he called Mr Luxon to concede defeat.

The election results signal a change among voters after six years of a liberal government in New Zealand that was led for most of the time by former prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who stepped down in January saying she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do justice to the job.

“I want you to be proud of what we achieved over the last six years,” Mr Hipkins, who served as education minister under Ms Ardern and later took over as the prime minister, said, acknowledging that the results were not what he wanted.

Political commentators say the labour party’s loss comes due to New Zealanders’ dissatisfaction over the country’s long lockdowns to curb Covid-19 spread and the rising cost of living.

During the lead-up to the elections, Mr Hipkins had promised free dental care for people under 30 years of age, as well as the removal of sales taxes on fruit and vegetables.

Meanwhile, Mr Luxon’s main campaign promises included tax cuts for middle-income earners and a crackdown on crime.

He also promised to fix Wellington’s traffic with a new tunnel project.

His National Party has also campaigned to bring the country’s high inflation under control as well as reduce the country’s debt.