00:01New Zealand's ruling centre-right National Party and main opposition Labour were locked in a tight race in Saturday's general
00:10election,
00:10with both securing just under 30 percent of the popular vote after more than 95 percent of ballots had been
00:17counted.
00:18Electoral commission figures showed only a few thousand votes separated the two parties,
00:23while projections indicated that the three-party coalition led by National was on track for a narrow two-seat majority.
00:31The election was dominated by economic concerns and voter dissatisfaction with the two main political parties,
00:39with both leaders acknowledging that the final outcome remained uncertain.
00:44Now look friends, tonight New Zealand has voted and it looks like certainly an MMP special.
00:51It is heartening to see that on the numbers so far, National is once again the largest party in Parliament.
01:03And we have a pathway to forming the next government.
01:06But I have to tell you right now, it is too close to call.
01:10Labour leader Chris Hipkins also urged patience, saying every vote mattered and all ballots had to be counted before the
01:18result could be determined.
01:19Tonight New Zealand has spoken.
01:22It may take us a little bit longer to figure out exactly what it is that you've said.
01:28Every vote matters and every vote must now be counted.
01:33Special votes, including ballots cast by overseas voters and those voting outside their electorates,
01:39will only be included when official results are released on November 27th.
01:44Under New Zealand's mixed-member proportional electoral system, introduced in 1996,
01:51voters cast separate ballots for a political party and a local constituency candidate.
01:57With smaller parties likely to play a decisive role in the closely fought race,
02:02coalition negotiations are expected to determine who forms the next government.
02:06They are likely to be granted.
02:07If a person is not included, let's make sure that the statement is hopefully间 code
02:08But how can they not be considered a diagnosis and the technology-level comment?
02:15let's make sure that all of the people have taken care of in our country.
02:16But this is the number ofplications that we are not more than likely to do for the very good news,
02:17We have to leave this fact on your whistleblower,
