Labour Party, ruling National Party locked in tight race as vote counting continues in New Zealand election

Polling stations opened at 9 am (2000GMT Friday) and closed at 7 pm (0600GMT Saturday).

Vote counting began after polls closed.

The National Party was leading with 29.4% of the vote, or 657,339 votes, narrowly ahead of the Labour Party, which had secured 29.1%, or 650,810 votes, as 86.1% of votes had been counted.

The Greens were in third place with 13.3%, or 298,647 votes.

Full preliminary results are expected later Saturday, while final results are due by Nov. 27.

Other major parties competing in the election include the Green Party, ACT New Zealand, and New Zealand First, along with smaller parties such as Te Pati Maori and the Opportunity Party.

Among the newcomers is the Free Palestine Party, whose leader, Paul Hopkinson, told Anadolu earlier this year that the party aims to bring the Palestinian issue to the forefront of the election campaign.