⁍ Jacinda Ardern delivered the biggest election victory for her centre-left Labour Party in half a century on Saturday.


⁍ The mandate means Ardern, 40, could form the first single-party government in decades.


⁍ Labour was on track to win 64 of the 120 seats in the country’s unicameral parliament.


– Jacinda Ardern is set to become New Zealand’s first female prime minister after her Labour Party won a stunning victory in the country’s general election Saturday. The 40-year-old, who became New Zealand’s youngest-ever leader when she took over as prime minister last year, is widely expected to form a new government with the help of smaller parties, Reuters reports. “This is a historic shift,” says political commentator Bryce Edwards of Victoria University in Wellington, describing one of the biggest swings in New Zealand’s electoral history in 80 years. “We are living in an increasingly polarised world. A place where more and more have lost the ability to see one another’s point of view. I hope that with this election, New Zealand has shown that this is not who we are.” Ardern, who is known for her inclusive “be strong, be kind” approach to gun laws after last year’s mass shooting in Christchurch, says she plans to build an economy that works for everyone, protect the environment, and address climate challenges and social inequalities, the AP reports. She says she will wait until the final result to say if her government will include smaller groups like the Green Party, a former coalition partner that secured a bigger 8% mandate.



Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-newzealand-election/new-zealands-ardern-wins-historic-re-election-for-crushing-covid-19-idUSKBN2712ZI