New Zealanders head to polls on final day of voting

More than half of New Zealand’s voters cast early ballots in the tightly contested race.Published On 6 Nov 20266 Nov 2026Polls have opened on the final day of voting in New Zealand against a backdrop of concerns over the rising cost of living and the broader state of the economy.Polling stations opened at 9am on Saturday (20:00 GMT Friday) and close at 7pm (06:00 GMT Saturday).Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3New Zealand braces for knife-edge election: What you need to knowlist 2 of 3Australian government defends social media ban for under 16s in courtlist 3 of 3Australia appoint Mike Hussey as consultant for Ashes and Cricket World Cupend of listVoting already began on October 26. More than 1.6 million voters, out of nearly 3.8 million in total, had cast their ballots by the end of Thursday, according to the country’s Electoral Commission.The country has strict laws banning any talk of politics on election day.The 19-hour election day blackout, which ends when polling places close on Saturday evening, bars everyone, including political parties, news outlets and social media users, from commenting on likely election outcomes, campaign issues and anything else that migh...