New Zealanders Vote on Election Day as National and Labour Tie

New Zealand is deciding its next government today, and the race could hardly be tighter. Polling stations opened at 9am local time on Saturday 7 November and close at 7pm, with the cost of living and the economy topping voters' concerns, according to Al Jazeera's report on the final day of voting.

More than 1.6 million of the nearly 3.8 million eligible voters had already cast early ballots by Thursday. Polls show the governing National Party and Labour neck and neck, and neither is expected to win enough seats to govern alone, which makes tough coalition bargaining between several parties almost certain.

Preliminary results from 95 percent of polling stations are expected by the end of election night, but the final result, including overseas votes, is not due until 27 November. That means the make-up of the next government may take days or even weeks of careful political negotiation to finally settle.