By Elishya Perera
AUCKLAND (CWBN)_ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took a commanding early lead in the New Zealand General Elections Saturday, with her Labour Party gathering 50.4% of Advance Votes after counting of 40% of Advance Votes. The main opposition National Party was second with 25.8%, followed by the Green Party at 8.1% and ACT New Zealand at 7.7%.
If the Advance Votes give an accurate prediction, Ardern will win an outright majority in the 120-seat legislature. Advance Votes, cast in a 2-week period prior to Election Day, accounted for 50.7% of total votes.
Opinion polls prior to Election Day had suggested that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is on course to win a second term, boosted by her successful handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, the big question is whether she will win a parliamentary majority, which no party has won since New Zealand adopted the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system in 1996.
In the last political poll before the election, the ruling Labour Party obtained  45.8%, while National recorded 31.1%. Meanwhile, the Greens obtained 6.3%, ACT 7.4% and NZ First 3.5% respectively.
 In the 2017 elections, National won the largest share of 44% of the vote, with Labour 36%, the Greens 7% and NZ First 6%. However, Labour formed a minority coalition government together with NZ First and the Greens.
The darling of most New Zealanders and a role model for millions of women around the world, Jacinda Ardern has become the country’s most popular Prime Minister in a century according to opinion polls, attracting headlines for being the youngest to hold her office and for giving birth while leading a country.
During her three years in office, Ardern, the once small-town takeout store worker has been widely praised for her strong and compassionate leadership. She won the hearts of the nation for her empathetic handling of the Christchurch mosque attacks, and recently her swift, effective action against the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of which, according to global business leaders, have been the best in the world. However, her critics say that Ardern has not done enough during her term to combat poverty and achieve other policies she proposed before being elected PM.
Ardern is mother to 2-year-old Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford, along with her partner Clarke Gayford, who is a supportive and down to earth father with a penchant for fishing. In a world full of dramatic world leaders seen as corrupt and selfish, Ardern is a breath of fresh air that blows through the political arena on a global scale.
The functioning Electoral System of New Zealand has been the Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system since 1996. One of the salient characteristics of the system is that it tends to produce coalition governments since a single political party could hardly secure an overall majority at the legislature. For the first time since the system was introduced, the Labour party may get the numbers to win outright and secure a majority of the 120 seats in parliament, making history in the island nation.
The National Party is led by Opposition Leader Judith Collins. A veteran politician who has pulled no punches with her direct and steely demeanor after being thrust into the role a few months before the election, she counts Hillary Clinton and Margaret Thatcher among her list of political heroes. Collins earned the nickname ‘Crusher’ for her policy regarding the cars of illegal street racers during her early years in parliament.
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